Perhaps never have the White Sox jerseys hanging in players' locker stalls commanded so many stares as they did Thursday in the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field.
Will Chris Sale approve? How will they fit? Is that a wrinkle?
Once Sale arrived to mark the official end of his five-game suspension for destroying some Sox throwback uniforms Saturday in a juvenile fit of rage, he started hugging teammates _ Melky Cabrera twice. The angry left-hander's smile lifted tension as teammates warmly welcomed back their leader.
"It's like a normal day," Sox manager Robin Ventura said.
Sorry, Robin, the day was anything but normal _ just like the rest of a wacky week of Cubs-Sox.
This year's City Series morphed into a four-game debate over whether the Cubs or Sox had the most volatile left-hander pitcher, with subplots courtesy of Sale and Aroldis Chapman dominating baseball storylines. One night after Chapman surpassed 100 mph in 13 of his 15 pitches in his Cubs debut, Sale returned to make his first start in 10 days, a must-see baseball moment in the city.
With temperamental John Lackey opposing Sale, the final game of the series really should have been sponsored by a sedative. It might have marked the only time all season Lackey started a game against someone easier to agitate than he is.
Wearing road gray uniforms with nary a scratch, the Sox scored first off Lackey before he settled into a rhythm well enough to barely outduel Sale, who gave up two runs and six hits in six innings and left after his 111th pitch. In that way only, it was a normal day for Sale who ended up on the losing end of 3-1 score.
Asked pregame if he ever had been around a pitcher as overpowering as Sale over an extended period of time, the Sox manager and former third baseman who played in 2,079 games over 16 major league seasons shook his head.
"I haven't," Ventura said. "Maybe one year you might be with a guy that dominant, but not for that long."
Teams don't trade guys like Sale _ even if the Yankees were reportedly the latest to inquire. Teams build with guys like that, not without them. Eventually, the Sox will build a statue of Sale.
Anyone and everyone else on the Sox not named Sale merits trade discussion. With the Sox showing more life this week, the risk comes in convincing themselves it changes their status as sellers. It shouldn't. The Sox made that mistake last year when they won seven of eight games right before the trade deadline. They felt compelled to hold onto commodity Jeff Samardzija, who lost eight of his next nine decisions after July 31 and left for the Giants via free-agency after the season. The Sox were left with regret.
To repeat the same mistake two years in a row would border on professional negligence.
"For me, I hope we do it again," Ventura said of going on a winning streak before the deadline. "I think we're better situated to sustain that than last year."
Resurgent starting pitcher James Shields represents one of the reasons Ventura believes so. But the Sox would be wiser to sell high to get a return on Shields, who always could opt out of his contract to test free-agency if his success continues.
The Sox possess assets beyond Sale. Closer David Robertson surely appeals to a playoff team. Third baseman Todd Frazier and his 29 home runs also should pique interest from a contender. Outfielder Cabrera could help a team. If teams ask about first baseman Jose Abreu or outfielder Adam Eaton, the Sox owe it to themselves to listen. But it makes the most sense to aggressively shop No. 2 starter Jose Quintana, one of baseball's most underrated starters who could bring in the biggest haul of prospects other than Sale.
Yet Ventura, like a typical manager focused more on the upcoming two series than the next two years, sounded skeptical of seeing a revolving door in the clubhouse.
"This week probably led to some more phone calls, of people calling just to see what's going on with us," Ventura said. "But I don't want to see anybody go out of here. I don't think that's going to happen."
Once the clock hits 3:01 Monday afternoon, Ventura knows the players general manager Rick Hahn put on notice last week will breathe a collective sigh of relief. Maybe no Sox player will exhale more than Sale, who Ventura acknowledged might have let the rumors affect him.
"I don't think a guy can help not having it distract him ... because your whole life changes," Ventura said.
If any animosity lingered from Sale criticizing his manager in an MLB.com interview for not fighting for him in the promotional jersey flap, Ventura hid it well. This is the Ventura players love, diffusing tension with praise and diminishing controversy by treating every day the same.
"He's a great kid," Ventura said of Sale. "This hasn't changed that. We've seen him do some really great stuff."
Chicago has seen Sale greater than he was against the Cubs, but nobody was complaining.
