North: Any underlying issues behind Sale's latest tirade?
Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale didn't want to wear the supposedly uncomfortable collared throwback uniforms so he decided to destroy them.
The "clubhouse incident," as the Sox have called it, resulted in a five-game suspension without pay for Sale. Although he missed a scheduled start, Sale appeared to be unconcerned about any fallout for manager Robin Ventura, the organization or his teammates.
Let's remember that Sale has had previous outbursts, like the one over Adam LaRoche's retirement after no longer being allowed to bring his teenage son to the locker room on a daily basis.
Ventura has been viewed in some circles as powerless, and any behavior such as what Sale did doesn't help the manager's weak reputation. There is nothing that Robin can say or do to erase Sale's childish antics.
I'm wondering if it was OK with Sale's teammates. Did he tell them he was going to do it or did he discuss it with any of them? Or did he just cut, rip or shred his teammates' uniforms without their knowledge or consent?
Would you be cool with a co-worker taking a knife or scissors to your work clothes? Not likely.
This incident seems to be all on Sale, but there must be underlying issues here that spurned his irrational actions.
There's no denying that Sale (14-3 with a 3.18 ERA) is extremely valuable to the White Sox, and baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal said last Thursday the Sox were offered a "king's ransom" for Sale and turned it down.
Unfortunately, we only know what the Sox are willing to tell us, which isn't much. Given more time, I'm thinking more of the story eventually will leak out.
Cubs back to dominating:
While the White Sox are making news for all the wrong reasons, the Cubs are back to their winning ways and Joe Maddon has the guys working on all cylinders.
Sure, there are things that still need some tweaking, but they are dominating once again.
They might have coasted going into the all-star break, but Dexter Fowler, who homered in his first at-bat after coming off the DL, made a huge return and helped to stabilize the lineup. Defensively they are back on track, too, and now they've added closer Aroldis Chapman.
Stay tuned, the Cubs aren't done yet.
Go USA basketball:
I enjoyed watching the USA men's basketball team play Argentina and former Bulls forward Andres Nocioni.
It's early, but Paul George, (Indiana Pacers) played well along with Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors) and the beast, DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings).
I'm all about the USA but I have to be honest and admit I was a little concerned about their chances.
Not any more. These guys look good! Go USA!
Program notes:
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