The White Sox yesterday suspended P Chris Sale for five days and fined him an undisclosed amount after he "destroyed some 1976 throwback jerseys the team was supposed to wear" for his start on Saturday, according to Paul Skrbina of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. White Sox Senior VP & GM Rick Hahn said that Sale "disagreed with the punishment Saturday evening when the two had what Hahn called 'a candid conversation.'" Hahn also said that Sale "didn't express regret about his actions after voicing his displeasure with the uniforms." Hahn said that the punishment was decided by himself, Exec VP Ken Williams and Chair Jerry Reinsdorf. Skribina notes Sale "has eluded discipline for past indiscretions," including his involvement in this spring's Adam LaRoche ordeal. Hahn said Saturday's incident "crossed a different line." Hahn: "We felt it was now appropriate to take disciplinary action." White Sox manager Robin Ventura said that while starting pitchers "typically are allowed to choose which uniforms the team wears on days they start, there are exceptions, such as promotional days" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/25).
BUSINESS SIDE OF THE GAME: Hahn said Saturday marked an "organizational effort to put on a specific night" around the '76 throwbacks. He said, "The uniforms are actually a little bit baggy, and this year in Spring Training, we had a different measurement done so that these uniforms hopefully would fit a little better, at least aesthetically." Hahn noted there are a "lot of people" in the franchise "that are all together trying to put the organization in a best position to win a championship." Hahn: "Part of the element of being in a position to win a championship is the revenue side of the operation and respect for their reasonable requests to help enhance the revenue” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 7/24). ESPN’s Dallas Braden said, "The business aspect of the game is something that we all have become accustomed to. ... From a pitcher's perspective, if (Sale) is looking to just take a little off that collar -- hey, I totally get it, I understand. But you got to understand that there is a business aspect of this game that has taken over, if you will, and this is part of it” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 7/23). Braden added, "You can't let the dollars and cents of the game impact the way you're going to go out there and throw your 0-2 slider” (“Baseball Tonight,” ESPN, 7/24).
BOTH SIDES BARE SOME BLAME: In Chicago, David Haugh wrote Sale responded to the promotion "immaturely and irresponsibly." He "violated his contract and put himself before the team, something leaders cannot let happen." Hahn "did what he had to do, answering open defiance with firm discipline the way every self-respecting sports executive should." But the "whole absurd episode reflects poorly on everyone." Both sides "made regrettable decisions related to timing." Sale was not reminded "about the promotion" before Saturday though the date "had been set since the beginning of the season" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/24). Also in Chicago, Mike Imrem writes Sale's behavior was "dumb, immature and embarrassing." But "don't lay all this" on him. He and the White Sox "are co-conspirators, the club as much the cause as the player is the effect." Sale "is a better pitcher than Reinsdorf is a club chairman, Williams is a vice president, Hahn is a GM and Ventura is a field manager" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 7/25). Meanwhile, the TRIBUNE's Paul Sullivan writes Sale "endeared himself even more to a fan base that already loved him" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/25).
WEARING OUT HIS WELCOME? The Detroit Free Press’ Mitch Albom said Sale has a "real issue apparently with the GM there, and apparently so do other guys." Albom: "Some of this bounced off the GM, the LaRoche situation was that too." ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski noted the White Sox should trade Sale after this incident, saying, "Go back to the beginning of the season, he was at the forefront of the Adam LaRoche situation. He has been a thorn in management's side for a long time, and I think they have just about had it" (“The Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 7/24). Meanwhile, ESPN CHICAGO's Christina Kahrl wrote, "Look past the laundry, and we’re still left with a basic problem: Sale and Williams don’t mix, which makes for an uncomfortable coexistence." And when "push comes to shove, over this latest stupid thing or the next stupid thing, you can bet on the White Sox -- and on Williams -- to win" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 7/24).
MORE THAN SARTORIAL STATEMENTS: FOXSPORTS.com's Ken Rosenthal cited sources as saying that White Sox players "left Seattle on July 20 without paying clubhouse dues and tips, objecting to a new Mariners policy that redirects 60 percent of the dues into an account managed by the team." Mariners Exec VP & GM/Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto confirmed that the White Sox "were the first club to refuse payment to Seattle's visiting clubhouse manager, Jeff Bopp." Dipoto acknowledged that other clubs have reacted with "curiosity" to the Mariners' policy, and the Giants "quickly reversed an adjustment to its own procedures last season when visiting players complained." Sources said that White Sox players "withheld their money because Mariners management unilaterally entered a financial relationship that historically has existed between only players and 'clubbies'" (FOXSPORTS.com, 7/24).
