The Worst Contract in Red Sox history
Chris Sale is 3 years into his 5 year $145 million dollar contract. He has pitched in a grand total of NINE games. He is 5 - 1 with a 3.16 ERA in that stellar stretch. The Red Sox over extended themselves to Sale after their World Series win for 1 reason. John Lester.
John Lester was the best home grown pitcher the Sox produced since Roger Clemens and there has not been anybody since Lester that has come through the system. Larry Luchino decided it was best to low ball the shit out of Lester in 2014 and it back fired horribly in the Sox face as they traded away a fan favorite to Oakland and were argonant enough to think he would sign back with the team.
As a quick aside this method hasn’t really gone away. We saw it with Betts and we are seeing it now with Bogaerts and Devers. Just pay these guys. A wise man once said over pay you home grown talent and pay market for everyone else. It develops a culture guys want to play in. Anyway, Chris Sale was the exact opposite.
Coming off a World Series win the Sox did not want to repeat the mistake of letting their #1 pitcher walk out the door so they gave the 9 foot string bean a 5 year deal after saying they would never pay pitchers in their 30’s. Idiots.
Sale was a shell of himself in the 2018 playoffs. His entire career is a track record of him breaking down at the end of each season. We saw it up close in 2017 and 2018 with him. Just watch the guy throw and look at his frame. His ass is literally inverted. In a day and age where Tommy John surgury is a pre cursor for every major league pitcher Chris Sale was the odds on favorite to be the next guy to go down. And Wallah, he was. After a complete misusage of that noodle arm by the brass.
So, lets take a quick look at the other atrocious contract in Sox history.
Pablo Sandoval. In 2014 instead of giving Lester his deserved contract they went out and signed Panda for 5 years $95 million. Pablo was a 3 time champion and performer in the playoffs. He was a marketing wet dream and he also was fat as shit. And just got fatter. He even sparked a fat shaming controversy. Only a really fat guy sparks that kind of response. Pablo played 126 games in 2015. He hit .245 with 10 HR and 47 RBI. He played a total of 35 games the next 2 seasons barely scraping the Mendoza line at .212 before the Sox designated him for assignment. Chris Sale can possible salvage his deal, but so far it’s 9 games to Pablo’s 161.
Carl Crawford 2010 7 year $142 Million contract. Crawford is the poster child of “can’t handle Boston”. It’s a real factor that has to be taken into consideration. Crawford went from a lightning rod Gold Glover in Tampa to a freaking shadow in Boston. He completely disappeared. Numbers never lie
3. We can throw Edgar Renteria on the “couldn’t handle Boston list”. He was signed for 4 years $40 million at 28 years old. The deal was favorable for the Sox, but Renteria just turned into a shell of what he was in St. Louis. In 2005 he hit just .276 with 8 HRs in his only season in Boston. The worst part of this deal was watching Orlando Cabrera leave after helping the Sox break the curse. Cabrera came in the deal that sent Nomar out of town. So in less than a year you went from fan favorite and at one point the best hitter in the game Nomar Garciaparra to a 1 and done sackless stiff.
4. Daisuke Matsuzaka’s services were won by the Red Sox in 2007. Beating out the Yankees which was originally a win. Daisuke had a decent 1st couple seasons, but inevitably only pitched 56 games over the next 4 seasons, posting a 5.53 ERA and a 1.537 WHiP in his 296 innings. Certainly not worth the 6 year $52 million deal. Even with the gyro ball.
Sale may be able to come back off Tommy John, then his “rib injury” Aka he sneezed, then his mysterious set back from the sneeze attack. He may, but if history tells us anything it is that 10 foot giraffes do not get healthier as they age. Especially when that anchor of an ass continues to concave into his body. Or if the lunatic keeps failing to rip TV’s off walls. If we think about it it’s probably a good thing Sale refuses to get the Covid vaccine. It’s another 60 IL stint in the waiting. Maybe the doctors told him he’s just too frail to take the prick.
Regardless, show me a $30 million dollar pitcher and I’ll show you someone with at least 10 starts in 2+ years. I’m just saying.