Chris Sale's outburst following his rough rehab start with Triple-A Worcester has spawned mixed reactions. Some commend the Boston Red Sox left-hander's competitiveness while others scoff at his admittedly childish antics.
Regardless of the wide-ranging opinions on the matter, the truth is these meltdowns happen often behind closed doors. Unfortunately for Sale, this incident was caught on video and viewed more than 3.5 million times on social media.
Tomase: Sale's latest outburst a reminder that Red Sox can't trust him
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As a fellow pitcher, former Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester can empathize with Sale. He shared his thoughts on Sale's outburst in a conversation with NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran on Early Edition.
"I know the feeling," Lester told Curran from the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, as seen in the video player above. "You pitch long enough and you'll have instances like that where things don't go the way you want them to or expect to. I know he's probably really itching to get back. He's had some setbacks and stuff like that. I know Chris is working his butt off and he's just such a competitor.
"I'm sure it was frustrating for him that -- I didn't see the line score, I didn't see the video or anything like that, but if it didn't go the way he wanted then I understand that frustration and I understand kind of where he's coming from. I've torn up a few trash cans in my day as well. So, I mean, it is what it is and sometimes you gotta do it just to get some aggression out."
Lester didn't hesitate to confirm he's seen his fair share of similar incidents during his time in the pros. One fellow ex-Red Sox pitcher stands out as someone he didn't want to be around after a poor performance.
"Oh yeah. I mean, I played with John Lackey for like seven years, so that was one that if it didn't go well you definitely wanted to steer clear of," Lester said. "I'm sure people said that about me when things don't go well. So yeah, I think it's just the nature of the game. I think like I said, sometimes you have to blow up. You have to kind of let it out. If you don't, it kind of just eats at you and it becomes even a bigger issue.
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"Those trash cans are there for a reason. As long as you're beating up something that can give a little bit, you don't take it out on a wall or break your hand or anything like that, I don't see anything wrong with it."
Sale thankfully avoided injury and should be ready to return to the big-league club as soon as next week. Manager Alex Cora, who laughed off Sale's outburst, said the 33-year-old is likely to start Tuesday for Boston in Tampa Bay.