McAdam: On a back field, Chris Sale's 2019 journey begins

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- On another day, for another pitcher, it would have been barely noticed.

But this wasn't just anybody on the mound for any simulated game. And so, Dave Dombrowski, Frank Wren and Tony La Russa were in attendance. So were Alex Cora and Dana LeVangie. And a dozen or so organization scouts, members of the Baseball Operations department and a sizeable portion of the training staff were gathered behind the backstop.

The sun was brutally hot and officially, the Red Sox were enjoying their lone off-day on the spring schedule. But Chris Sale's first appearance of the spring overrode all of that.

Sale threw three innings Monday  -- some of which were truncated by pitch counts -- against a lineup mostly comprised of prospects from the lower minors, and predictably, the matchup sometimes resembled, quite literally, a man against boys.



One hitter, expecting a breaking ball, instead saw Sale's fastball zip past him chest high for a called third strike. "Oh, damn it,'' he said, in exasperation and the hundred or so onlookers who had navigated their way to Field No. 4 at Fenway South chuckled in sympathy.

Sale threw 45 pitches -- 33 for strikes -- and allowed a run on three hits with a walk, a hit batsman and five strikeouts. Told to rein in his effort level somewhat, Sale still topped out at 93 mph with his fastball.

"Felt good, good,'' concluded Sale afterward. "Nice to come in and get some work and finally get in somewhat of a game atmosphere and crank on it a little bit. This was kind of part of the process, too -- being in a controlled environment, being able to roll innings and really just focus on the work that needs to be done, the building-up process.

"It was just nice to get out there and let a couple go.''

Sale and veteran starters David Price, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi have been largely shielded from the usual early spring exhibition games. Instead, they've toiled on mounds, thrown live batting practice and prepared for the season away from the main stadium, the better to control effort and reduce unnecessary stress.

"Obviously, we're taking it a little bit slower,'' said Sale. "We're still working out some kinks in my delivery and finding my release point. There's definitely a process going on right now and we've bought into it and we're going to ride until we get to March 28.''

Sale said the mild shoulder inflammation which limited him to just 17 regular season innings after last July 27 is a complete afterthought. He began his usual winter throwing program in late November and hasn't had to adjust anything.

"It was a kind of a non-issue,'' insisted Sale. "We knew what it was before and we know what we were dealing with. I just needed some time to take off and now we're rolling again. I think all those things (done in the winter) were kind of the buildup to where we are now and think that's hopefully going to get us over the hump throughout the year and towards the year.''

The buildup this spring limits Sale's repetitions, so the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity.

"The times I do get out there,'' he said, "I need to focus a little bit more on what needs to be done and doing things right.''

Sale said he was unaware of what the plan calls for him to do next, but he wasn't concerned. The setting is irrelevant so long as he gets his proverbial work in.

"I don't want to sound like an old man,'' Sale said with the hint of a smile, "but I've done this a few times, so I'm not too worried about once the lights flick on. I know what I'm capable of and I know once the adrenaline starts flowing, any process is thrown out the window and it's go-time then.''

Sale has come to appreciate the need for the deliberate ramp-up in the spring, careful not to take too many big leaps while honoring the program in place.

"Mainly what we're focusing on is the build-up,'' he said. "We don't go from here to here (spreading his hands apart); we want to hit all the steps in between.''

Until, that is, March 28 in Seattle when the lights go on and all bets are off.