MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- On Friday night, Chris Sale appeared on stage in a packed theater inside a casino crawling with Boston Red Sox fans and got a standing ovation for doing nothing more than showing up and putting on a jersey.
It won't always be so easy.
Sale has been the best left-handed pitcher in the American League five years running. He's also the Red Sox's shiny new bauble, finally unveiled this weekend at the team's annual winter festival after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox six weeks ago.
That's enough to get the attention of a region still obsessed with baseball, regardless of how preoccupied it is at the moment by the local NFL team's march toward another Super Bowl.