The Boston Red Sox could not have done a better job of picking things up during Chris Sale‘s brief stint on the DL. In is first game back, however, he reminded everyone that he can be the most dominant pitcher in baseball.
When you combine the dominance and power of the Red Sox offense while he was out, with the looming threat of knowing you will have to see him at least twice in a seven game series, it is hard to imagine any team being capable of taking four or three off of them in the playoffs.
In that same first start, the Red Sox made it clear that they are still going to be as cautious as possible with Sale. Everyone knows that he wants to be out there for every single pitch in a game and he could help them finish off a truly historic regular season.
For everyone involved, however, they realize that the regular season should be quite meaningless the rest of the way. The Red Sox have built a strong enough lead that they do not need Sale to make sure the playoffs will be going through Fenway Park.
In the playoffs, however, he can be all the difference. Sale has starting hitting 100 miles per hour on a regular basis, and that has made his off speed pitches arguably the most unhittable in the MLB. Sale’s last start was a reminder that he can take over any game at any time, and that is the most valuable weapon a team can have in the playoffs.
For the Red Sox, they need to make sure that Sale is healthy enough to be at full strength in the playoffs, and they need to make sure he is as crisp and ready as he looked in his return.
It is a great sign that Sale can take that time off, and come back with one of his finest performances of the season. The Red Sox want to keep him pitching, because he is on a streak and establishing a rhythm that makes him the best pitcher in the MLB.
For the remainder of the season, the priority with Sale is limiting him enough to make sure his arm strength does not fall off at any point in the playoffs, while keeping him prepared enough to make sure he maintains the absurd standard he has been setting over the last couple months.
There is a case to be made that Sale is playing the best baseball of his career right now. Home runs are not even a thought, he is on a remarkable scoreless streak and nobody is striking out players the way he is right now. He is the most efficient pitcher in baseball, and if he keeps this up into the playoffs, it is hard to imagine any team finding a way to beat the Red Sox in a playoffs series.
There are always going to be different pieces, but there is so much depth to this offense and position players. The Red Sox have multiple options to make up for an off day from their big bats, and multiple players they can trust to break open a game at any moment.
With Sale, however, you get a weapon that is unmatched in this league. The Red Sox cannot hope to find someone that can have the same impact of Sale, and a bad game on his part could be detrimental to a series. Right now, however, Sale is the most exciting pitcher in baseball, and the Red Sox are going to do everything they can to keep it that way into the playoffs.
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