Cooper: Best Is Yet To Come For Chris Sale
By Bruce Levine-
(CBS) The pitching coach of the Chicago White Sox expects greatness from his prized student. Expressing his faith and pride in the efforts of ace Chris Sale, Don Cooper believes the best is yet to come for the 25-year-old left-hander.
Appearing on WSCR's "Inside the Clubhouse," Cooper talked about projections for his three-time All-Star pitcher.
"We are talking about a very talented guy," Cooper said. "We want him to continue to do his conditioning as we watch his workload. We will work the same way on his game preparation. This is a gifted young man."
Cooper and the White Sox management group have been creative and careful with the injury-prone Sale. While other pitchers with questionable mechanics and injuries have gone under the knife and missed seasons, Chicago has been both cautious and innovative in its handling of Sale.
With Sale using a combination of band exercises and weight work, the team has kept him on the field for most of his first three seasons as a starting pitcher. Sale was on the disabled list for five weeks in 2014 with a muscle strain. The front office admitted he was kept at least 10 days longer in rehab as a precaution.
Overall, Sale has missed 13 starts in three years using the average of 33 starts a season for a No. 1 pitcher.
Cooper and I had a fiery discussion last summer about the possibility of changing the young pitcher's mechanics in order to prevent injury. At that time, Sale had just returned from the five-week injury and his first stint ever on the DL. The Sox have avoided other DL situations for Sale by skipping his starts at certain times. That practice gave Sale as much as 10- 12 days to let soreness in his pitching arm calm down.
"Anyone who would try to change what he is doing would be foolish," Cooper said Saturday. "If it ain't broke, you don't try to fix it here. Chris has put up the numbers. He is on the road to greatness. He has a chance to become a great pitcher."
The ground work is certainly there for continued excellence. Even without presenting the numbers, which are impressive, hearing opponents grumble about facing Sale is the highest praise you can receive in Major League Baseball.
Sale averaged almost 11 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched in 2014, an American League high. He has struck out 12 or more batters a franchise-record 10 times in his career. Sale has finished in the top five for the AL Cy Young award all three season that he has been a starter. Sale has a 44-29 lifetime record with a minuscule 2.76 ERA.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
