Rogers: Sale To Bullpen A Curious Move
(WSCR) So, what is going on with Chris Sale?
When he was first called up, Sale was sent to the bullpen. Before the 2012 season, however, it became clear the White Sox would move Sale to the starting rotation to help fill out the five-man rotation.
Through his first five starts, Sale enjoyed success as a starter, owning a 3-1 record with 2.81 ERA. That's when the White Sox unexpectedly moved Sale to the bullpen due to "tenderness" in his left elbow.
After one relief appearance this season, Sale recorded a blown save after giving up a hit, a walk and a run in one inning of work in last night's 10th-inning victory against the Indians.
"It is a head-scratcher," Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune told The Mully and Hanley Show. "Their investment in him is as a starter. It's not a closer or as a bullpen guy. For this year's team, he was the second best starter behind Jake Peavy. Long term, he's the guy in their organization that has front-of-the-rotation-type potential. You don't walk away from that. Teams don't do that.
LISTEN: Phil Rogers on The Mully and Hanley Show
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"He felt some tenderness, (but) you're talking about a guy that hadn't missed a start. You take a guy who is in a new role - you don't necessarily get fully-prepared in Spring Training because you're not really going at the same maximum effort that you are with every pitch that you throw at the start of a season. … The organization knows things we don't know, but Chris Sale would know those same things. For him to be caught off guard really makes the whole thing curious."
