Chris Sale to miss Wednesday start
Updated: May 22, 2013, 12:20 AM ET
By Doug Padilla | ESPNChicago.com
CHICAGO -- Left-hander Chris Sale will not make his scheduled start Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox because of a mild case of tendinitis in his left posterior shoulder, the Chicago White Sox announced Tuesday night.
Hector Santiago will start in Sale's place, giving him one last chance to make a case for a rotation spot if John Danks returns, as expected, Friday.
Sale said he felt more shoulder soreness than usual after his start Friday against the Angels and his between-start routine had to be altered.
Despite the discomfort he had every intention of pitching Wednesday until he was told otherwise in a meeting with the medical staff, as well as manager Robin Ventura, pitching coach Don Cooper and general manager Rick Hahn.
"I pitch every fifth day, I want to be out there and I told them that: 'I'm pitching tomorrow,'" Sale said. "They told me, 'You're going to miss this one.' I said, 'I'm going to pitch tomorrow.' We collected as a group and sat in a meeting and the doctor explained to me that this is not going to happen."
Sale still wasn't completely comfortable with the decision hours after it was made.
"I just don't like doing it; I want to be out there," he said. "I don't want to put my job in other people's hands. That's not what I'm here to do. I'm here to do my job and make every start. What I needed to do, it just wasn't in the cards."
Sale is adamant about making his next start, which would be on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field. That would give him 11 days between outings, essentially four days shy of a full disabled list stint.
"Yes, absolutely, I'll be there," Sale said.
The 24-year-old has pitched at least seven innings in eight of his nine starts this season, including a complete-game one-hitter against the Angels on May 12.
The Opening Day starter has embraced his role as the staff ace, posting a 2.53 ERA so far this season, to go along with a 5-2 record and a 0.92 WHIP.
"He's just been mentioning he's a little sore and I think it's precautionary," manager Robin Ventura said. "We're protecting him. He would like to pitch, but I think you're looking at a long season, and we're just making sure. I think you're just extra careful with somebody with his talent and his age. It's probably something he can pitch with, but it's us being very cautious with him."
The White Sox also announced that Sale is expected to miss just one outing and will be lined up to make his next outing next Tuesday against the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field. That part of the announcement seemed to emphasize the idea that the move to skip Sale's turn in the rotation Wednesday was simply precautionary.
With Sale's success this season has come his longer outings. His one-hitter came on just 98 pitches, but in his return engagement against the Angels on Friday he threw 113 pitches over 7 2/3 innings. The start before his one-hitter, he threw a season-high 119 pitches over 7 1/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals.
Manager Robin Ventura was asked before Tuesday's game if long outings for Sale every five days are a cause for concern.
"With him being young, it's more about communication of how he's feeling, if he's getting his work in between and staying strong," Ventura said. "Ideally, you'd like him to stay somewhere within that range. But if he's not going that long, people are wondering why he's not going that long. He's good enough and you just want to make sure he's strong enough to finish that way, too."
Sale was asked if he appreciates good health after seeing Danks miss an entire calendar year with a shoulder injury.
"You do something every day for your entire life and someone tells you you can't do it anymore, it's tough," Sale said. "Whether it's riding a bike, pitching, talking, seeing, anything. It's going to be tough. The physical part of it everyone knows. It's the mental grind of coming in and seeing guys go out there and you can't do anything to help your team win."
