At just past the one-third mark of the season, we still don't know how the Red Sox' plan to preserve and protect Chris Sale is working out.
Other than the two starts previous to his gem on Friday night, Sale has pitched well. He's among the league leaders in strikeouts and in eight of his 14 starts, he's allowed one or no runs. He has a 0.97 WHIP and a .197 batting average against -- all positive indicators of Sale's dominance.
But, of course, the real test comes not in June or July, but rather September or October. That's when Sale has traditionally faltered, having run out of gas. And it was with an eye toward the fall that the Sox carefully plotted out a program that began in spring training, designed to limit pitches, monitor rest and ensure that Sale is at his best when the games mean the most.
The Red Sox, however, are not the first team to try to do this. Sale's original club, the Chicago White Sox, attempted the same -- albeit with slightly different methods.
Pitching coach Don Cooper pushed for Sale to pitch to contact more and forget about strikeouts, reasoning that lower pitch counts and more efficiency would be helpful for Sale in the long run.
"He's got the ability to throw 91-92 with sinkers,'' Cooper said, "and guys will pound that into the ground. My thought was, not only for year-to-year but for career longevity, staying longer in games (this would help). I mean, listen, I love strikeouts and power as much as the next guy and he certainly has that. But I saw him pitch six innings and strike out 12 or 13 and he's out after six. The top guys, you want them out there for eight.''
So Cooper stressed the benefit of throwing sinkers and changeups away in an attempt to initiate early contact and limit pitch counts.
"The thought was: longer in games, longer throughout the season, and hopefully into the playoffs, as well as year-to-year and career,'' Cooper said.
The White Sox were never good enough to qualify for the playoffs in Sale's tenure, so the true measuring stick never occurred. But while in Chicago, Sale's ERA still spiked the longer the season went on. In 2015, the first year of Cooper's experiment, Sale's September/October ERA was 4.34; the following year, his last in Chicago, it was 4.39.
Cooper maintains that the Red Sox' program isn't much different than the one he initiated. Like the Red Sox, the White Sox eased Sale into his spring training workload, cutting back on bullpens. During the season, they would limit his side sessions, especially in the middle of the summer when the heat and humidity could drain his energy. Whenever possible, he'd be given an extra day of rest.
"We did all of that,'' said Cooper. "I get what you're saying and I get what they're trying to do. But we were onto all of that a while ago with him, and had we kept him and he was still here, we would have continued to pursue that because, again, I want Chris Sale staying in the game for seven, eight and sometimes nine innings.
"I always talked about sprinting across the finish line, not falling across it. Hell, if you're falling across the finish line and not sprinting ...''
Cooper's voice trailed off. That, after all, is what happened to Sale last season.
And as the Red Sox approach the halfway point, his words as a sobering reminder that, as much as the Red Sox have worked diligently to preserve their best pitching asset for the end of the season, there are no guarantees of success.
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