Every time the Red Sox had a chance to rush Chris Sale, they declined.
Neck stiffness around the holidays? Shut him down. A bout with COVID just after the New Year? Shut him down. Random soreness during his lengthy recovery from Tommy John? Back off for a day or two.
Sale has emotional reaction to long-awaited Sox return
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They even played it safe until the very last moment before Sale transitioned from rehabbing athlete to active one, pushing his 2021 debut potentially from Thursday vs. the Rays to Saturday vs. the Orioles to ensure that he was fully rested and fully prepared for the rigors of big-league competition.
The result was a truly electrifying moment at Fenway Park on Saturday, with Sale returning to the mound to beat the Orioles over five strong innings. But more than winning a game, Sale's return justified the cautious approach the Red Sox took with their ace, refusing to rush him even when they badly needed a boost in early August and he was raring to go.
"I was just trying to soak in moments," Sale said. "This isn't going to last forever. Today was a special day for me and a lot of other people. I wanted to recognize that, I wanted to feel it, and I wanted to soak in as much as I could. This game was ripped out of my hands. I had a hole in my chest for two years. I'll be completely honest with you, I took days for granted. I've been a big leaguer for 11 years now, and I took moments, I took days, I took weeks for granted.
"Through all of this, I guess I've had a huge perspective change. I can tell you one thing -- I'm not wasting another damn day of my big league career. That's just not going to happen."
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While Sale made a triumphant return, it was hard to miss the juxtaposition just a couple of hundred miles away in New York. Fellow All-Stars Luis Severino of the Yankees and Noah Syndergaard of the Mets underwent Tommy John at roughly the same time as Sale, and there were points this summer when both looked well ahead of the Red Sox left-hander.
But after experiencing pain during a rehab start in May, Syndergaard shut it down. The Mets now hope he can make an impact in September as a reliever. Meanwhile, on the same day that Sale returned to the mound, the Yankees announced that Severino needs an MRI on his shoulder after being scratched from Friday's rehab start, putting his season in jeopardy.
Tomase: Sale makes magical return and Sox suddenly have hope
Red Sox manager Alex Cora isn't one to gloat, but he couldn't help noting that the team's cautious approach has seemingly paid off. Sale showed up to work on Sunday feeling OK and is scheduled to make his next start on Friday.
"We can say there's a lot of people that bounce back from Tommy John, but a lot of people thought we were slow-dancing this, taking our time, but you look around the league, there are two guys, I feel bad for them, but Severino and Syndergaard, they were ahead in their rehab assignments compared to Chris, right?" Cora said.
"For us to take the time to be diligent, to take every step, regardless of the criticism. If you pitch against Baltimore or you pitch against Tampa or New York, it doesn't matter. It's just something we saw from the get-go that we had to take care of the player, and the fact that he pitched yesterday meant everybody did their part, everybody was patient, everybody was disciplined, and that's why Chris Sale is going to post on Friday, too."