Gems for Sale

 I think it's safe to say this guy's out of the pen for good.

After fighting for the closer role in 2011 and then being relegated to the bullpen in early May 2012 after beginning the year as a starter, Chris Sale has found himself back in the rotation. If Robin Ventura knows what's best for him, Sale will be there to stay.

Sale won his eighth game of 2012 today, pitching a beauty against the Astros (yes, I understand holding the Astros to one run isn't exactly an untouchable feat, but for the purposes of illustrating dominance, it shall be mentioned). 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. With today's victory, Sale has now won five straight with an 0.98 ERA in those last five games. He's in a three-way tie for most wins in the AL, leads the AL in ERA with a 2.05 (second in the majors to Brandon Beachy), and leads all of baseball in WHIP with 0.92. Can I repeat, dominance?

I'm quite amazed and impressed by this dude. He freakin' argued his way back into his starting role and now after posting about a potential NL Cy Young candidate, it looks like I'm posting about the current frontrunner in the AL now. Early innings guy, late innings guy, Sale's been doing it all. It almost seems to good to be true. He only has a few more starts to go before the All-Star break, so it seems likely that this scrawny 23 year old from Florida will be traveling down South to Kansas City in July.