Chicago White Sox: Chris Sale scratched from start over uniform issue

Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale was scratched leading up to Saturday night’s start causing mass speculation as rumors abound.

In a strange twist of events to tonight’s Chicago White Sox game versus the Detroit Tigers, Chicago’s scheduled starter Chris Sale was scratched leading up to the 7:10 p.m. start. The apparent reason? Sale’s unwillingness to wear the White Sox’s 1976 throwback uniforms.

For a second, all of baseball universe seemed to stand still, as reporters and fans alike waited to hear word on the exact reason for the move. In recent days, rumors of Chicago dealing Sale have reached a fever pitch and this news seemingly played into the story perfectly.

But alas, in a statement released by the Chicago White Sox, that proves to not be the case.

Though, this tweet will certainly not aid in deterring speculation when it comes to both the White Sox and Sale, as all of baseball now begins to wonder the nature and effects of this “non-physical” clubhouse incident.

The feelings between Sale and the Chicago organization have been strained this season to say the least, as earlier this year the Adam LaRoche ordeal greatly impacted the lefty.

As the Chicago Sun-Times reported in March, Sale accused Sox vice-president Ken Williams of lying:

“Lying, plain and simple,’’ Sale said. “We got bald-faced lied to by someone we’re supposed to be able to trust.’’

Even after those strong words, Sale added:

“You can’t come tell the players it was the coaches [who wanted less of Drake] and tell the coaches it’s the players and then come in and say something completely different,’’ Sale said.

It’s easy to understand Sale’s frustration with being felt lied to, and it also hasn’t been the only rough patch in this relationship.

After starting the season strong, and even leading the AL Central for a time, the White Sox have fallen back down to the bottom of the division. This in turn has led them to start listening to offers on both of their young stud pitchers – Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.

Sale has stated his desire to stay at the club and his approval of the direction the team is taking, so the idea of the Sox shopping their ace is likely not sitting well.

“I have a hard time believing that I would be traded, and I really don’t want to (be).”

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It presumably won’t be too long until we know just what transpired in the clubhouse tonight. But until then, the strained relationship between club and player, added to the numerous trade rumors being thrown around will only continue to build speculation.