Sports
Eye on the Ball: Chris Sale’s early returns for the Red Sox
Published
7 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Brandon Niles EBS Sports Columnist
The Boston Red Sox acquired star pitcher Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox last December for prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, along with a pair of minor leaguers.
The acquisition of Sale, coming off five straight All-Star appearances, was a rare opportunity for the Red Sox to add another elite starting pitcher to an already potent rotation that features All-Star Steven Wright and two Cy Young winners in David Price and Rick Porcello. Sale, 28, is in the prime of his career and Boston was hoping he might be the key to another postseason run.
So far, so good.
Though Sale had only started four games as of this writing on April 21, he’s been historically good. He led all of baseball with 42 strikeouts—10 more than Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers who ranked second—and had a 0.91 ERA, ranked sixth.
Largely due to the strength of their pitching staff, the Red Sox are keeping pace with the red-hot Baltimore Orioles in the American League East division.
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old infield prospect Moncada is still working on finding his way out of the minors. While he was batting .292 for the Charlotte Knights on April 21, the Red Sox have to feel a bit relieved that the youngster hasn’t made an immediate impact for the White Sox. Boston assigned him to three different minor league teams last season after batting .211 in eight major league appearances.
Moncada is still an excellent prospect, but Boston made the right move sacrificing the future to firm up possibly the best pitching rotation in baseball. The Red Sox are built to compete right now, and waiting for Moncada to emerge as an All-Star player wasn’t an option. With the fifth highest payroll in baseball at $176.9 million, the Red Sox are determined to do better than last year, when the Cleveland Indians swept them in the American League Division Series.
It may be a small sample size, but Sale’s early season success is already garnering national attention. It was the best start by a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez threw 44 strikeouts and had a 0.84 ERA in his first four games back in 1998. Sale even got the ultimate compliment from Martinez himself, who tweeted April 20, “If I am going to pay money to go see a pitcher right now it would be Chris Sale! The guy brings integrity to the game!”
Boston has a long way to go before they get a chance to avenge the shellacking they took from Cleveland in the playoffs last year, but with Sale returning dividends early in the season, steady production from young hitters Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi, it looks like it could be a magical season for the Red Sox.
Brandon Niles is a longtime fan of football and scotch, and has been writing about sports for the past decade. He is a fantasy football scout for 4for4 Fantasy Football and is co-host of the 2 Guys Podcast.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m.
Event Details
Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m. on April 24.
Jacob Rountree is an alternative/indie songwriter living in the stunning alpine of Montana. Contemplative yet playful, his lyric forward style is reflective of his love for philosophy, poetry and quantum physics.
Time
(Wednesday) 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location
The Wilson Hotel
145 Town Center Ave
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd