The Cleveland Indians Have Figured Out Red Sox Ace Chris Sale
On Tuesday night, Chris Sale became the quickest pitcher to reach 1,500 strikeouts. Yay! Do you think he cares? No. Sale admittedly believes that statistics such as K’s are empty trivialities in the world of baseball. This dude wants nothing more than to win, be it in glamorous fashion or not. He is a tenacious nitty-gritty competitor. Despite Sale reaching this career-milestone rather efficiently, does it alleviate any concerns in regards to his history in the latter-half of the season? Don’t forget, there’s still that “Cleveland problem”.
The obstacle that the Indians represent for Chris Sale is certainly an unnerving one. It has encumbered the minds of fans who have appreciated him, as well as the media who have covered him. Be it in Boston or in Chicago, it has always been a conspicuous tarnish on the young lefty’s reputation.
After Sale’s victory over the Blue Jays, John Farrell was asked to address this overshadowing issue. When questioned whether or not Chris Sale has a “Cleveland thing”, Farrell gave a diffident response: “If you look at the starts across the board, maybe.”
Well, that’s not exactly the vote of confidence you want to hear from your manager!
There was no cushioning in his answer. No niceties whatsoever. For Farrell (who would readily go to bat for any of his players) to volunteer that “maybe” there’s a problem: There’s a problem.
History Repeats Itself
His entire career, Chris Sale has been haunted by the Cleveland Indians. Most recently, we saw the Tribe shellac him for 7 runs in 3 IP, last Thursday. What substantiates the forebodings over Sale facing his arch-nemesis is the fact that the Indians are an ineluctable playoff opponent for the Red Sox. Historically he is 5-8 against Cleveland with an outlier of an ERA of 4.72.
Now, many people have suggested that Chris Sale is tipping pitches when he faces the Indians. That is to say: Cleveland has somehow cracked the cryptology of Sale’s delivery. This implies that Cleveland’s scouting report is much more formidable than that of any other team in the MLB. Does this seem plausible, or is it that the Indians just have Chris Sale’s number?
The Perfect Storm
Look at the 10 players on Cleveland who have at least 10 AB’s against Sale. They’re crushing him with a .283 BA, slugging at .429 and they have .781 OPS collectively. This is not derived from a negligible sample-size; those are the aggregate stats of 240 AB’s. The Indians represent a team that has well acclimatized themselves to Chris Sale’s pitching, through experience. They also represent a team that will inherently hit a pitcher with Sale’s approach on the rubber.
There are a few Indians’ players who embody this natural inclination to hit the arsenal of pitches that the “Stickman” (terrible nickname) brings to the table. Let’s take a gander.
Francisco Lindor, the blossoming shortstop, has a .455 BA against Chris Sale while slugging .636 of those hits. What is his success against the flame-throwing lefty predicated on? A wheelhouse compatible with Sale’s attack. Against left-handed pitching, Lindor’s hot-zone tells you that he loves pitches away, especially up in the zone. This is the location of Sale’s bread and butter put-away fastball. He likes to make righties stretch, and Francisco Lindor is one who is flexible enough for the job. In fact, he’d prefer to clobber pitches outside! But that’s just one example of Cleveland’s batting order. The trend overwhelmingly continues.
Edwin Encarnacion: a Right-handed hitter who loves anything up and away against lefties. He’s batting .353 when facing Sale with a 1.182 OPS.
Perhaps the most alarming performance is that of Cleveland’s first-baseman Carlos Santana. In 43 AB’s (the most of the group) he has a .302 BA with a .419 slugging percentage against Sale. His scouting report: A righty who loves the ball up and away.
A Monkey on Sale’s Back
For the rest of the regular season, the Cleveland Indians are not on Boston’s schedule. But predictions tell you that the Red Sox will face them in the playoffs, be it in the ALDS or the ALCS. In any event, Chris Sale will invariably be our ace in the rotation. His resolve to win is going to have to overmaster his vulnerabilities when facing Cleveland, in order to be successful.
Presumably, Sale will be making his postseason debut, come this October. Adrenaline will certainly be a factor. Taking on the Indians, his approach may have to mutate into an aberration of itself. He may have to wander out of his comfort-zone, attacking righties in on the hands. Rest assured that Carl Willis, Chris Sale and the rest of the pitching staff will have ample time to make the necessary adjustments. Whenever Sale sees Cleveland again, he will be more educated, more experienced, and he will surely be out for blood.
