Whit Merrifield Said a Braves Pitcher Does a Shot Before His Starts and Internet Sleuths Believe It's Chris Sale

There is allegedly a Braves starting pitcher who likes to get a little more than just his arm loose before taking the mound, according to former Atlanta infielder Whit Merrifield.

Merrifield said he wasn't going to reveal the pitcher who does shots before his starts, but he did give a pretty unique detail about doing it once with Usher. So if it's safe to deduce the starting pitcher on Usher Night last September was the one who does this on a regular basis, it turns out that would be none other than 2024 Cy Young winner Chris Sale.

I did not necessarily have Sale pegged as the guy who would do this, but if he's able to go out there and pitch the way he has in his two seasons with the Braves after downing a shot, then maybe everybody needs to be doing it. That night against the Dodgers, Sale went out and gave up one run in six innings with six strikeouts. He has a 2.43 ERA in 44 starts as a Brave.

It sounds like there was a group doing these shots last season, but the whole team needs to be doing whatever Sale does because now everything has gone to shit. Have them get hammered at this point, just do something.