ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It was the third inning of a seemingly meaningless spring training game. But the moment was worth noting.
With Chris Sale cruising through his first Grapefruit League action, Dennis Eckersley -- who had joined the Red Sox radio broadcast for a few innings -- let out an exclamation: "He just shook him off!"
What the NESN analyst was talking about was Sale doing something he didn't do for the entirety of the 2017 season with catcher Sandy Leon. Whichever pitch Leon called for, that's the one the Red Sox ace was going to throw.
This time around the backstop was Christian Vazquez. That's why the moment was worth surfacing.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has decided to start Vazquez in the season opener, pairing him up with Sale. The two worked together in game action for just 5 1/3 innings last season, with the lefty pitcher giving up eight runs on 10 hits over those two games. Sale's results with Leon catching him? In 209 regular season innings, he finished with 2.63 ERA.
Despite Vazquez's emergence as an all-around catcher over the past year, the move would seem a bit of a gamble.
"It's important for us to get Sandy along with us in the conversation as well to get a feel of in-game decisions, pitches, which one is most effective in certain counts," said Red Sox pitching coach Dana LeVangie. "It's going to be a bit of a feel-out period. Anytime Chris throws a pitch he's expected to throw a championship pitch. As much as it might fall on the catchers it's also him and us as a group, we're trying to figure all of this out to together. He's going to be part of our conversation with everything. We're going to sit down between innings and talk about what is going on, making sure we're on top of things."
Sale, of course, downplays the dynamic.
"It would be a pretty arrogant thing to say, but I have confidence in myself. I do. I don't want to come off as arrogant or cocky or anything, but you have to be. If you're not confident in what you're putting out, you're kind of wasting your time. Just like you guys – when you hit enter on that last line of the day," the pitcher said. "Seriously, I'm not joking. This is real. If you're not confident in what you're putting out, don't do it. For me, that's where I'm at.
"It just takes thinking out of it. I've said it before, if I was smart I'd be a scientist. It takes the thinking aspect out of the game and it also, for me, if I'm thinking in my mind OK I want to throw a fastball right here, and Vazqy or Sandy or [Blake] Swihart throw down a slider or changeup, I now have doubt in my mind and you never want to go out on that field with a single doubt. They'll eat you alive. So throw every pitch with a purpose and whichever one it is, that's what I go with."
Sale's spring training debut was the only legitimate outing Vazquez caught the starter, with the pair also hooking up during the lefty's last outing when he was driven from the game in the first inning due to a line-drive to the hip. There was also, of course, some backfield bullpens and minor-league games added into the mix.
And despite the one aforementioned moment of uncertainty, that five-inning outing in Jupiter was fairly impressive, with Sale allowing just one run while cruising through the Marlins' lineup.
"Chris expects us to have success anytime he goes out and pitches, regardless of the catcher. They had a good relationship in that game," LeVangie said. "They worked well together. It was a good flow and Chris had a good outing. It was a really good stepping stone leading into this."
"It's easier than last year. I have an idea now," said Vazquez, who notes Eduardo Rodriguez has a similar approach to Sale when it comes to relying on his catcher. "It's easier for me. ... It's all more on [the catcher]. It's cool."
