Don Cooper On Possibility Of White Sox Trading Chris Sale: 'Don't Think That's Going To Happen'
(CBS) Longtime White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper doesn't believe the organization will trade ace left-hander Chris Sale, who's been amid trade speculation even before a meltdown last Saturday and ensuing five-game suspension further clouded his future with the team.
"I know nothing about a trade or anything like that -- I don't think that's going to happen," Cooper said in an interview on the Mully and Hanley Show on Wednesday morning.
Cooper didn't defend Sale's antics Saturday in which he cut up the team's 1976 throwback uniforms before his schedule start, but he emphasized that passion is a big part of what makes Sale so good on the mound. Sale is 14-3 with a 3.18 ERA this season. He started for the American League in the All-Star Game and is a leading Cy Young candidate.
Sale will return to the mound Thursday when he faces the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
"He's a passionate kid," Cooper said. "Here's what I know about Chris Sale: He's a good kid, got a good heart. I see him do many, many good things. His head, the way it works for pitching, he's driven. He's competing. Sometimes, you know it's stuff we've talked to Chris about over the years, it's very little about mechanics. It's been some. It's very little pitch selection, there's been some. It's controlling the moment, it's controlling the head. Whenever he gets angry, sometimes he directs that anger at himself. And my saying is, if the cockpit is out of control, the plane is going to crash. It has never worked for Chris (getting that angry and producing good results).
"In all things, he can be passionate. But he's a good kid and he's built up way too much interest in my account. Listen, he's 27 years old. There's some things that, maybe somewhere down the road he's going to look at it a little different, but he's still passionate about where he's at."
Cooper was joined in studio with Mully and Hanley by Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio. You can listen to the full interview below.