Chris Sale has almost always said all the right things.
But he has never been more on-point than after his latest rehab outing with the Worcester Red Sox.
On the field, it was undoubtedly another step in the right direction, with Sale allowing one run on five hits over five innings, striking out seven and walking one. He threw 81 pitches (51 strikes), while hitting 97 mph with his fastball before deciding to reel it in a bit for the sake of better command.
Then came the press conference and talk of his immediate future.
It was obviously of significance that Sale will be making another rehab outing with the WooSox, this one coming in Scranton ("The Electric City"). But it's how he is planning on getting there which is the true takeaway.
“You can bet your (expletive) I’m getting on that bus with the guys on Monday," said Sale, who is making $30 million this season.
As for the outing?
“I finally put in my first real day of work in two years,” Sale told reporters in Worcester. “It felt good. Today felt normal. I was out there competing like I always do, throwing all my pitches and competing again. It’s different knowing I’m only going to go two innings today or three innings today. Today was like, ‘Hey, you have to carry some load and you have to figure out how to navigate this game.'”
Oh, and there was this catch from Worcester's Tate Matheny ...