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Chris Sale viciously critiques himself after failing to go 10-0

Chris Cwik
·Staff writer

Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale doesn't have much to be upset about this season. His team is in first, and he's currently the leader in the clubhouse for the AL Cy Young award. Coming into Tuesday's start against the Cleveland Indians, Sale was 9-0, with a 1.58 ERA.

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Tuesday's start, however, didn't go so well. Sale was knocked around against Cleveland, giving up six earned runs over 3 1/3 innings. He allowed seven hits and was uncharacteristically wild, walking four. When the dust settled, Cleveland defeated the White Sox 6-2, and saddled Sale with his first loss of the season.

Following the contest, Sale went off on a pretty vicious tirade ... on himself.

That wasn't all. Sale made it clear that he wasn't upset with any of his teammates. He took sole blame for the team's loss.

It's a pretty harsh criticism, especially for a guy who has made four consecutive All-Star games and owns a career 2.82 ERA.

Sale has never really cared about individual accomplishments. So, the fact that he's now 9-1 with a solid 2.26 ERA isn't going to matter to him. Prior to the start of the season, Sale even said he's "never pitched in a meaningful game" throughout his career because he's never made the playoffs.

While that looked promising early, the White Sox have dropped off a bit lately. After going 17-8 in April, the club is just 10-12 in May. After Tuesday's win, Cleveland is just 1.5 games out of first.

[Elsewhere: Matt Harvey may not make his next start with the Mets after another rough outing]

Sale has done everything he can to keep the team afloat during that period, tossing two straight complete-games prior to Tuesday's setback. While he still might be the frontrunner for the Cy Young award, it's clear that's not going to matter to him unless the White Sox are playing in October.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik