The Red Sox on Tuesday swung a blockbuster trade in which they acquired lefty ace Chris Sale from the White Sox in exchange for four prospects headlined by Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. Sale joins a rotation that already includes David Price and AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello, and bear in mind that Boston also boasts one of the best lineups in baseball (yes, even after the retirement of David Ortiz). For a team that won the AL East by four games last season, the Sale addition is bad news for the rest of the division.
On that point, we cast our eyes toward the rival Yankees ...
Chris Sale: 1.17 ERA vs Yankees is lowest by any pitcher in last 100 years (min . 50 IP).
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) December 6, 2016
Indeed, Sale's put up dominating numbers against the Yanks. In addition to the sparkling ERA you see above, Sale's also struck out 61 batters and walked just 12 in 53 2/3 innings against the Yanks.
Of course, these player-versus-team stats aren't all that illuminating.
That's partly a function of sample size and partly a function of the fact that teams have so much roster turnover from year to year. What Sale's done against Yankee hitters in prior seasons has only so much bearing on 2017 and beyond. For instance, hitters currently on the Yankee roster have combined for just 73 plate appearances versus Sale. Chase Headley leads the way with 14 PAs. That said, yes, Sale is a certifiable force. Give him better catcher framing in Boston, and he's likely to thrive.
As for AL East opponents who are particularly ill-suited to facing Sale, sure, maybe there's something to the Yankee thing, but it's the Orioles who were the most punchless against left-handed pitching in 2016. There's left-handed pitching, you know, and then there's Chris Darn Sale. Beware Orioles and Yankees. Also, beware everyone else.
