Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora had the same reaction as many others upon seeing Chris Sale walk off the diamond injured just two outs into his second start of the season.
"I don't want to say disappointment, but kind of like, here we go again," Cora told reporters after Boston's 13-2 loss to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon. "That was my reaction."
Sale exited the game in the first inning with what has now been revealed to be a broken pinkie. The team has not revealed an estimated timeframe for Sale's recovery, but it's fair to assume the left-hander is headed back to the injured list.
Cora offered some additional insights after the game.
"He's going to see the hand specialist tonight or tomorrow and we'll go from there. Hopefully there's nothing that's going to take him out for a long, long time," Cora said, referencing the doctor in Boston. "We'll have to wait."
The Red Sox manager, though, wouldn't say whether Sale would pitch or not again this season. Sale remains optimistic. Cora believes it's too early to tell, however, the team obviously is hoping for the best.
"I mean, hopefully, yeah. We just have to wait. We just have to wait and the doctor's going to check him out. We'll see," Cora said.
"Obviously the reaction is, you think more about the person instead of the player, right? He's been through a lot. And obviously put himself in this situation. He was ready to compete. And now he'll have to wait," Cora continued. "It's not about the baseball player, it's about the person. I talked to him a little bit about obstacles throughout the journey, right? The last few years. I don't want to say disappointment but kind of like, here we go again. That was my reaction. He's a guy that he's worked hard to get back and, you know, another obstacle in his road."
Cora revealed how Sale knew his pinkie was broken immediately as he walked off the mound following the eventual single by Aaron Hicks.
