Cutting to the chase: White Sox suspend Sale for 5 days

The Chicago White Sox are back in the national headlines … for all the wrong reasons.

Ridiculed inside and outside of the game during spring training following the Adam LaRoche retirement fiasco, the Sox returned to damage control mode after their best player, starting pitcher Chris Sale, cut up the 1976 throwback uniforms long scheduled to be worn Saturday night, according to multiple reports.

It was Sale's turn to start against the Detroit Tigers Saturday but he was scratched and sent home.

On Sunday, the White Sox announced Sale is suspended for five days. The 27-year-old lefty is eligible to return Thursday and is likely to pitch against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, Vice President Kenny Williams and General Manager Rick Hahn talked it over and decided on Sale's suspension.

"(Sale) and I met late in the day (Saturday) for about a half-hour in my office," Hahn said. "We had a very candid conversation about his thoughts on the matter and what led to his actions, what led to his exchanges with our staff members down there (in the clubhouse) and I was very candid with him about our point of view about the event and the appropriateness of his behavior and his comments.

"We both expressed remorse that it got to this point. At that point last night Chris stood by his actions. Part of what makes Chris great, part of what makes him elite, is his passion and commitment. We've seen that sometimes spill out from between the white lines. Yesterday was one of those instances and it unfortunately led to events that required discipline."

Hahn offered no details on Sale's actions, but he was suspended for "violating team rules, for insubordination and for destroying team equipment," according to a statement the Sox released Sunday morning.

Why did Sale act in such a bizarre manner?

"I'll let Chris explain any issues with the uniform when he speaks to you next," Hahn said.

While offering few details on Sale's latest clubhouse blow-up, Hahn did say the pitcher was not trying to force a trade to a contending team. This is Sale's seventh season in a White Sox uniform - so to speak - and barring a miracle, it's going to be his seventh season missing the playoffs.

"I don't want to get into the specifics but at no point, I will say, did he express the desire not to be a Chicago White Sox," Hahn said. "I spoke to him again this morning to inform him of the discipline. We spoke for maybe 10 minutes this morning and again, a very calm and rational discussion about the events. While he may not have agreed with the club's perspective on this, he understood where we were coming from and why."

Did Sale go on a cutting frenzy because he's upset that his name is being mentioned in trade rumors?

"You know, I got no sense of that from Chris, and I also don't think that's realistically behind it, I really don't," Hahn said. "I mean, he's through this every year. Most professional players go through this at some point of their career but boy, Chris goes through it at least once if not twice a year, usually around the winter meetings and sometimes around the trade deadline.

"He's professional when it comes to that stuff. I know it's never easy for any player, it's probably even harder on a player's family, but I don't think anything from yesterday pertains to trade rumors or anything like that."

On Saturday, Sale's teammates had no words of criticism, and that continued Sunday.

"I've seen a lot of crazy things happen in the game, but sometimes emotions get the best of us," said starting pitcher James Shields, who was acquired in a June 4 trade from the San Diego Padres. "Sometimes, these things happen. We've just got to move forward as a group. I've known Chris for years. Now that I've gotten to be his teammates he's one of the better teammates I've been around. He's definitely a team player. He's a winner. He wants to take the ball every five days and win ballgames."

Since the end of the 2014 season, Sale has been in four known off-the-field incidents. He was directly involved in the LaRoche/spring training controversy, swearing at Williams and calling the White Sox's VP a liar.

This is the first time the Sox suspended the hot-tempered Sale.

"We had perhaps the opportunity to discipline him back in spring and as an organization we decided to not do that," Hahn said. "(Saturday) crossed a different line. We felt it was now appropriate to take disciplinary action."

Scouting report

Cubs vs. White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field

About the Cubs: The Cubs continue their bus road trip after spending the weekend in Milwaukee. They'll start and eight-game homestand, beginning with two more against the White Sox, on Wednesday. The Cubs entered Sunday first in the National League in on-base percentage and walks drawn by their batters. They were third in runs scored and fourth in homers. The team ERA of 3.27 was second best in the NL, and the Cubs also were second in quality starts (60). Anthony Rizzo may be the front-runner for MVP honors. He entered Sunday at .288/.397/.588 with 24 homers and 72 RBI. Teammate Kris Bryant was at .284/.376/.554 with 25 homers and 65 RBI.