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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:23 am
CHICAGO -- White Sox ace Chris Sale?said he felt like he was out on an island for five days. He was back in more comfortable terrain Thursday: on the pitchers mound at Wrigley field. And now Sale is anxious to put his recent controversy to bed.This is what I signed up for, is to play baseball, Sale said Thursday night. So it was nice to get out there and pitch again.Sale, considered the front-runner in this seasons chase for the American League Cy Young Award, overcame early command problems Thursday to hold the Cubs to two runs over six innings. Nevertheless, Sale (14-4) took the loss in the Cubs 3-1 win and missed out on a chance to become the first 15-game winner in the AL this season.I thought he pitched a good game, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. You know, he had a walk and a hit by pitch that ends up costing us. But he pitched a good game.Of his outing, Sale said, Felt good. First couple, I was knocking the rust off a little bit. [Catcher] Dioner [Navarro] really did a great job of getting me through that.The rust was most evident in one regard: a lack of strikeouts. Even though Sale punched out four Cubs looking, none of those Ks occurred during the first three innings. According to ESPN Stats & Info research, that hadnt happened to Sale in any of his previous 135 career starts.Of course, the focus before, during and after Sales outing was not on his performance on the mound. He returned to the White Sox on Thursday after serving a five-day suspension for a much-publicized incident in which he cut up some throwback jerseys that were to be worn Saturday in a game against Detroit.Sales postgame news conference marked his first time addressing the general media, and although he spoke for 10 minutes, he didnt want to delve into specifics about the incident.Listen guys, I dont want to get too far into it, Sale said. It is what it is. Its in the past. Just look to the future and try to make things right, make things better and win ballgames.Regrets?I regret not being there for my guys. Im a pitcher, called upon every fifth day. If I cant go out there for my guys, for the fans, that gets to me, he said.Sale said that while he was away from the team, teammates, former teammates and other players around the league sent him text messages to boost his spirits. The gestures did not go unnoticed.There is a lot of crap that was going on this week, no doubt about it, Sale said. But for them to do what they did today, and the previous four or five days, it says a lot about who they are and how much they care about me.Sale was received warmly in the clubhouse before the game after arriving at Wrigley Field, exchanging hugs with teammates as he made the rounds in the cramped visiting clubhouse at the old ballpark.I have a group of unbelievable guys in there, my teammates, Sale said. I knew who they were before this, but I found out who they really are and what theyre about. I have unbelievable teammates, I really do.Sale said he did not address his teammates as a group before the game but planned to talk with them individually.Get to them on a personal level, Sale said. I want to let them know where my heads at, where my hearts at. And let them know how much I appreciate them.Sales return comes just four days before the trade deadline. His name has come up often, and the uniform controversy added an extra layer of intrigue to the situation. Nevertheless, even with a lot of extra time on his hands, Sale said he paid no attention to the rumor mill.I dont read the newspapers, Sale said. I dont have Twitter. I stay out of all that. That stuff is for other people. Im a pitcher. I get ready to pitch and play baseball.Sale also dismissed suggestions that his relationship with the White Sox front office is irreparable.I think everyone is making a little bit bigger deal of this than it really is, Sale said. Were here to win games. And from this point forward, I think thats our main focus.Im here to win. Im happy exactly where Im at. Cheap NCAA Basketball Jerseys . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Stitched College Jerseys . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. http://www.cheapncaajerseysfastshipping.com/ .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Discount NCAA Jerseys . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Wholesale NCAA Football Jerseys . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask.Manuel Pellegrini refused to call time on Manchester Citys title challenge, despite seeing his side held to a goalless draw by Norwich. Pellegrini had admitted the visitors would need nine wins from their remaining 10 games for a chance at Premier League glory but Alex Neils relegation-threatened side went closest at Carrow Road as Patrick Bamford hit the crossbar in the first half.Manchester City - who have not won back-to-back league games since October - are now nine points behind leaders Leicester, who host Newcastle on Monday Night Football, but Pellegrini vowed to fight on until the numbers no longer add up. Every time you drop points it can be more difficult, but that will not change my mind [about the title], Pellegrini said.If you mathematically have a chance to do it, you must always think you can do it. Sergio Aguero reacts to a missed chance in the first half If you ask me before the first game of the season what we must do, we must try to win all the games and we continue with the same mentality.And at the end of the season well see how many points we can have and in which position well be.The visitors failed to register a shot on target in the second half, having dominated the early stages of the game, and Pellegrini bemoaned his sides failure to create space in the final third. Norwich 0-0 Man City Manchester Citys Premier League title bid continued to stutter Im disappointed because of course we wanted the three points, he told Sky Sports. From the first minute of the game we were trying to be aggressive with the ball and without the ball.I feel we had a very good attitude throughout the game, we were very concentrated on our defensive movement, but we couldnt create the space.We had a lot of possession but couldnt create clear space to score. Aguero touched the ball in the area just four times at Carrow Road Manchester City had 66 per cent of possession in the game, but striker Sergio Aguero touched the ball in the box just four times, while Wilfried Bony did not register a single touch in the area before being substituted in the 58th minute.ddddddddddddPellegrini recognised his sides failure to convert possession into chances, and described his players as static in the opposition third. Alex Neil felt that he couldnt have asked for any more effort from his Norwich side I think it is one thing to have possession and another thing is to make the movements in the last third of the pitch. Today we were a little bit static in front so couldnt make the space, he added.We started with two centre-forwards because we knew we were going to have a lot of possession.After that we tried to do it with the wings with Raheem and Fernandinho. But it was exactly the same. 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