Chris Sale aiming to return

glennhoffmania

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I have no inside information, but mental health issues can absolutely be described as a personal medical issue.
This was my first thought. I don't know what else could be a medical issue, but not related to baseball, but has kept him from rehabbing.
 

Van Everyman

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I didn’t mean to suggest it was COVID related. For some reason I just assumed it wasn't.

But the COVID thing made me think he isn’t really a team-first guy anymore. And while it’s not fair because he wasn't the one to say it, when a young guy on the staff like Houk can miss games for refusing to the get the vaccine too—and then get away with saying “I am willing to do anything to help this team win”—I kind of feel like some of that is on Sale, too.

Obviously if this is a mental health thing as some of suggested here I only wish him the best. But Chris Sale doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt from me anymore. And that makes me both kind of angry and a little sad.
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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Obviously if this is a mental health thing as some of suggested here I only wish him the best. But Chris Sale doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt from me anymore. And that makes me both kind of angry and a little sad.
Why do you not wish him the best if it is not a mental health thing but just the result of some stupid accident - slipping on the stairs or falling off a bicycle or something that can happen to anybody at any time?
 

Van Everyman

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Why do you not wish him the best if it is not a mental health thing but just the result of some stupid accident - slipping on the stairs or falling off a bicycle or something that can happen to anybody at any time?
Because I’m assuming he’ll be fine from the other thing?
 

genoasalami

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Does not want to deal with fans giving him crap when he can't make the trip to Toronto in late June? Couple more weeks off pushes his return to early July.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Does not want to deal with fans giving him crap when he can't make the trip to Toronto in late June? Couple more weeks off pushes his return to early July.
Oh, surely that's it because if there's one thing baseball players are good at, it's looking six weeks ahead. :eyeroll:

It's a three game set in Toronto (as is the one in September). A starting pitcher can easily miss such a series by pitching in the last or next to last game before it begins.
 

moondog80

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How many people who hated the Sale signing also hated the Eovaldi one? I hated both.
 

streeter88

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I do not understand the honor in continuing to take money for a job that you no longer are capable of doing.

I find it crazy that the Red Sox will pay Sale another $10 million per annum from 2035 to 2039. The only consolation to this contract is that we only have to endure it for two more years, as it would look extremely unlikely that Sale will finish in the top 10 in Cy Young voting in 2024 as well as be healthy at the end of that year - given he has not been healthy at the end of any year since 2018.
 

sodenj5

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I do not understand the honor in continuing to take money for a job that you no longer are capable of doing.

I find it crazy that the Red Sox will pay Sale another $10 million per annum from 2035 to 2039. The only consolation to this contract is that we only have to endure it for two more years, as it would look extremely unlikely that Sale will finish in the top 10 in Cy Young voting in 2024 as well as be healthy at the end of that year - given he has not been healthy at the end of any year since 2018.
If someone offered you 30 million dollars to attempt to play baseball, which you’ve been extremely good at your entire life, you would do it.

This is shades of the Pedroia thread. Sale is under no obligation to just forfeit his money and go quietly into the night because it’s annoying seeing him on the IL.
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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I do not understand the honor in continuing to take money for a job that you no longer are capable of doing.

I find it crazy that the Red Sox will pay Sale another $10 million per annum from 2035 to 2039. The only consolation to this contract is that we only have to endure it for two more years, as it would look extremely unlikely that Sale will finish in the top 10 in Cy Young voting in 2024 as well as be healthy at the end of that year - given he has not been healthy at the end of any year since 2018.
I don't understand why people get upset about things like this. Its just a deferred payment. Instead of getting $30 million in cash this year, he's getting $20 million now and $10 million in 2035. Instead of getting $27.5 million next year, he's getting $17.5 million and then $10 million in 2036. Why do you care when Sale gets his money? If you have a pension, are you going to decline it when you're 70 and no longer capable of doing your job? It has nothing to do with honor - it has everything to do with the agreement you and your employer have reached about how and when your are compensated for your work.
 

Kliq

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If someone offered you 30 million dollars to attempt to play baseball, which you’ve been extremely good at your entire life, you would do it.

This is shades of the Pedroia thread. Sale is under no obligation to just forfeit his money and go quietly into the night because it’s annoying seeing him on the IL.
Also, baseball's system basically underpays talent for their early seasons so I have zero issue with a guy cashing out later in his career. Sale was significantly underpaid when he was finishing Top 5 in CYA voting; and he's overpaid now when he can't stay healthy. It all evens out in the end; it's just too bad the Red Sox are on the hook for the bad part of that value.
 

HangingW/ScottCooper

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While it could potentially be ripe with abuse, I would have liked to see something in the CBA that would account for dead money / injured players not counting against the Luxury Tax. I don't know what form it would take but as a starting point, say a 50% recoup against the Luxury Tax for guys that are DFA'd or on the 60 day IL.
 

ookami7m

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While it could potentially be ripe with abuse, I would have liked to see something in the CBA that would account for dead money / injured players not counting against the Luxury Tax. I don't know what form it would take but as a starting point, say a 50% recoup against the Luxury Tax for guys that are DFA'd or on the 60 day IL.
If you want to see this in action and how it gets abused, look no further than the LTIR in the NHL. Which has a league where a guy who is still technically on contract with the AZ Coyotes is also currently employed by the League (Pronger).
 

Sad Sam Jones

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While it could potentially be ripe with abuse, I would have liked to see something in the CBA that would account for dead money / injured players not counting against the Luxury Tax. I don't know what form it would take but as a starting point, say a 50% recoup against the Luxury Tax for guys that are DFA'd or on the 60 day IL.
At least 75% of the league has zero incentive to allow that since they're never up against the luxury tax anyway. It would be a "rich getting richer" scenario from their view point.
 

jon abbey

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At least 75% of the league has zero incentive to allow that since they're never up against the luxury tax anyway. It would be a "rich getting richer" scenario from their view point.
Yeah, the players would have to fight for it and they had plenty of other more pressing needs to fight for this past negotation.
 

soxhop411

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View: https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1536805033097969664

Chris Sale said he feels more useless than a sack of potatoes for the Red Sox right now because “at least (the potatoes) could feed them.”
Here's Sale on the medical situation that caused him to stop his throwing progression for about 10 days: View: https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/1536812917139591173/photo/1
Sale said the “personal, non-baseball, non-COVID” medical situation was one related to family health history that needed to be resolved, but said that concerns on that front had been addressed to everyone’s satisfaction.
View: https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/1536806150523568128
 
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streeter88

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These kind of quotes make me wonder if he’s not gonna be back at all this year? 96 mph fastball or no…

I really hope I’m wrong. Because he really is more like a sack of …something else… at this point.
 

effectivelywild

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These kind of quotes make me wonder if he’s not gonna be back at all this year? 96 mph fastball or no…

I really hope I’m wrong. Because he really is more like a sack of …something else… at this point.
Even that could be used to help fertilize the outfield grass.
 

oumbi

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“Your dogma is less useful than shit.” We see that dog shit can fertilize the fields and man’s can feed the dog. And dogmas? They can’t fertilize the fields, nor can they feed a dog. Of what use are they?

Mao Tse-tung, Feb., 1, 1942 in Stuart Schram, The Political Thought of Mao Tse-tung.