White Sox left-hander Chris Sale said he brought his concerns about pitching in the 1976 throwback uniforms to manager Robin Ventura and pitching coach Don Cooper before he took the drastic steps to destroy them before Saturday's game.
In an interview with MLB.com's Scott Merkin, Sale said the uniforms were "uncomfortable and unorthodox" and he didn't want them to keep him from pitching at his best.
He said he first voiced his concerns over the uniforms in spring training and then twice brought it up again before his start. The Sox sent Sale home after the dispute, and he was suspended five games the next day.
"Robin is the one who has to fight for us in that department," Sale told the website. "If the players don't feel comfortable 100 percent about what we are doing to win the game, and we have an easy fix _ it was as easy as hanging up another jersey and everyone was fine. For them to put business first over winning, that's when I lost it."
Ventura said Monday afternoon that Sale will make his first start after the suspension Thursday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, adding an intriguing storyline to the finale of this year's City Series.
Ventura said he doesn't think there needs to be "a big meeting or anything" with the team upon Sale's return.
"We'll deal with that when he gets here," Ventura said. "I'm sure they'll have conversations about it. But I don't think we need to have a whole team meeting and address it that way."
Ventura said he thinks Sale would throw a side session on his own to prepare for the start. He deferred to Cooper, who said he didn't want to talk about Sale but said he would be ready to pitch.
The Sox at least felt good about winning two games against the Tigers on Sunday, including the completion of Saturday's game, which was suspended because of rain.
"It has definitely been a swing of emotions," Sox right fielder Adam Eaton said. "We love Sale. We love his competitiveness. We love the way he goes about his business. Tough go at it for sure, but at the end of the day, the team stepped up and got two wins, which was huge. That's what we wanted to do here. We wanted to win ballgames.
"He'll agree with me 110 percent. That's what our main focus should be is winning baseball games. ... To have that type of day and then come back and win two games, I'm sure wherever he is, if he's in Florida or if he's still here, I'm sure he's happy we're winning, and we'll be excited when he gets back for sure."
Right-hander Anthony Ranaudo will start against the Cubs on Wednesday instead of right-hander Jacob Turner, who gave up 12 earned runs over 7 1/3 innings in two starts.
Ranaudo joined the Sox via trade with the Rangers for right-hander Matt Ball on May 12, and he has a 6.33 ERA over parts of three major-league seasons with the Red Sox and Rangers. The 26-year-old has posted a 3.20 ERA, two complete games and 53 strikeouts over 13 starts with Triple-A Charlotte since then.
Ranaudo is filling in for left-hander Carlos Rodon, who made a rehab start with Charlotte on Monday night for the first time since spraining his left wrist. He gave up three runs _ two earned _ on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.
