Hall-of-Famer Dennis Eckersley, known for his quick wit and hilarious “Eckisms,” has always been a straight shooter, giving his unfiltered view on all things Red Sox. So naturally, the longtime color analyst didn’t hold back when talking about Chris Sale’s recent outburst in Worcester, trashing the clubhouse after a sluggish rehab outing at Polar Park (3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BBs, 5 Ks over 72 pitches).
“That was kind of an ugly scene,” Eck admitted to Tom Caron on Thursday’s NESN pregame show. “It was kind of an embarrassing experience for him, because I don’t think he thought anybody was watching when he went off like that.”
Sale, whose temper has gotten the best of him before (while with the White Sox, he famously destroyed his team’s throwback jerseys, feeling the uniforms were “uncomfortable”), didn’t seem particularly apologetic after the incident, though he did pay for the TV he smashed.
“I acted like an idiot last night. I’ve acted like an idiot before,” said Sale of his locker room tantrum. “You think that you’re in private. That’s not really a place where you’re supposed to have cameras. There’s no public access to that, so I thought I was in kind of a safer spot, but it is what it is. That’s who I am. That’s what makes me a big leaguer.”
While it wasn’t a great look for Sale, he’s not the first player—and certainly won’t be the last—to lose his composure in the heat of the moment. David Ortiz, whose plaque in Cooperstown will be unveiled later this month, once beat a dugout phone to a pulp at Camden Yards, drawing the ire of teammate Dustin Pedroia. Sale could have handled the situation better, but you’d be frustrated too after a slew of injury-plagued seasons, spending most of the past three years as a spectator while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and, more recently a ribcage stress fracture suffered in spring training.
“He’s going to be fine,” said Eckersley, who felt Sale, despite walking five batters, showed enough for the Red Sox to start him Tuesday at Tampa Bay. “I think we’ve all had a moment where we’ve lost our temper like that. He’s a perfectionist, he wants to be as good as he can be.”
Slowly but surely, the Red Sox are getting healthier with Sale, Opening Day starter Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock all on the comeback trail with Rich Hill not far behind. Assuming his next start will be in the big leagues, Sale will finish his rehab assignment with a 2.38 ERA, logging 19 strikeouts over 11 1/3 innings for Worcester (AAA), Portland (AA) and the FCL Red Sox (Rookie) in Fort Myers.
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