CHICAGO — The year before the Chicago White Sox traded Chris Sale to the Red Sox, pitching coach Don Cooper and Sale came up with a plan that targeted peak performance in October, should the White Sox make the playoffs for the first time in Sale’s career.
They called it the hybrid.
They didn’t want to completely abandon Sale’s ability to throw fastballs in the upper-90s, but the idea was that if his stuff was a little more hittable, it could have a two-pronged effect, both saving him innings and keeping his arm fresh late in the season.