Yet another Jerry Reinsdorf middle finger to the fans
For this, the third time is definitely not the charm. It is just a pile of &$%# that the White Sox are shoving down the throats of their fans, one more chance for Jerry Reinsdorf to show how much he hates Sox fans for not adoring him sufficiently.
Presumably, the choice to offer Mike Clevinger a minor league contract was made by Chris Getz, perhaps in an effort to demonstrate that the seven years of incompetence he proved in player development should not be overlooked merely because of the potential future bounty of the Garrett Crochet trade.
But it’s hard to believe that the re-hiring of Clevinger could have occurred without the blessing of Reinsdorf. And since there is no baseball or sales reason to bring back a 34-year-old has-been jerk with no positive following, we are left with the chairman’s disdain for Sox fans, if not all of Chicago — heck, it could even be paybacks for not jumping up and down at the thrill of handing him billions to put up a new monument to himself in The 78.
Normally, the idea is not to give people a reason to not buy your product. Obviously, that’s not how the White Sox work.
LET US REVIEW — YEAR ONE
The first Sox deal with Clevinger was made by former GM Rick Hahn almost as soon as free agency opened after the 2022 season. There was good reason not to employ the dirtbag even then. He not only broke Covid rules with Cleveland but lied about it, endangering the rest of the team, which included two recovering cancer victims, including manager Terry Francona. Some teammates were so incensed they issued a “he goes or we go” ultimatum, which was a possibility in the 2020 season, and Cleveland shipped him out to the Padres. (It’s the nature of players on any team to rally around a teammate, so the fact the Cleveland players didn’t do so would seem to indicate Clevinger was well-hated even before the incident.)
Of course, there was also the fact Clevinger was Trevor Bauer’s wingman, but who’s counting that?
After his only full season with San Diego — he missed 2021 with TJS — the Padres made no effort to keep him, and in stepped Hahn. It was before the 2023 season started that allegations of domestic abuse became public — but only after the contract had been signed, because Hahn had jumped the market in a hurry to sign him.
MLB investigated charges of physical and mental abuse made by Olivia Finestead, mother of one of Clevinger’s then-three children, but issued no penalties. Incel types immediately proclaimed him innocent, but that’s not the case at all — many, many criminals go free because of provability. Finestead herself (in a radio interview and presumably also to investigators) asked that Clevinger not be suspended because her daughter depended on his income to eat, and that he instead go through anger management therapy and drug rehab. After Finestead went public, she got communications from other women saying Clevinger had abused them in one way or another, but they apparently didn’t follow through with MLB.
As part of not being suspended, Clevinger “volunteered” to get the anger and drug therapies. Either because they’re incompetent or because of fear of losing access and all that type of b.s., no reporter in a position to do so has asked him whether he really had the therapy, with whom, and how — or at least no one has reported anything about it. That’s pathetic, because even if Clevinger just lied to make the question go away, follow-ups would reveal that.
Clevinger, showing just what a class individual he is, then picked Gold Digger as his walk-up music, and loudly threatened the radio station that put Finestead on the air with a lawsuit for daring to let her speak. Perhaps there was a bit of a remorse shortage.
He pitched well in 2023, and the White Sox tried to get something for him at the trade deadline. They failed to do so — perhaps because of reputation, or because of a stupidly-written contract with a $4 million buyout, or both.
YEAR TWO
Despite his 3.3 bWAR 2023, with the abuse allegations out in the open and added to the rest of his sordid history, Clevinger went through the offseason without a contract for 2024. Enter the White Sox in April, after the start of the regular season, the only one of 30 teams willing to take on the stench of employing him.
At least, at the time, while the vehement dislike from the fanbase had become obvious and no doubt costly, and while there was no ethical justification for the signing possible, at least there were baseball reasons. Or seemed to be.
However, tossing him $4 million didn’t pay off, except maybe (we can only hope) for Finestead’s daughter and Clevinger’s other children. He rang up an injury-riddled 16 innings of work, to the tune of a 6.75 ERA. He languished in Triple-A, and his season ended on August 1 with and disc replacement surgery on his neck.
Career over, given age, injuries, and reputation? Almost definitely.
Well, except for the stupid, morality-free White Sox.
YEAR THREE
Once again, 29 other teams had a chance to sign Clevinger and passed, many of them teams that could well use another starting pitcher to get a boost toward playoff contention. Once again, on February 20 and after the start of spring training, enter the White Sox.
This time, not only is there no possible ethical justification for loading your team with this pile of garbage, but there’s no possible baseball reason, either. Quite the contrary.
What use could Clevinger be? Even if he somehow reclaimed the skills that led to his 3.3 bWAR in 2023, or even the glory year of 2018 and its 200 innings of 5.4 WAR, what difference would it make? The Sox only lose 110 games instead of 115?
What could the White Sox be thinking?
Worse yet, every inning the geriatric &^$-hole is on the mound is an inning one of the many young pitchers the Sox brag about is not getting experience he could use. Clevinger is no part of the future, most certainly not a far-off future when the Sox could eventually become competitive again.
If the club felt it absolutely had to have another veteran pitcher, there just happens to be one still on the market who was a major fan favorite when he was with the Sox instead of a detriment. Of course, José Quintana turned down a $5.5 million offer from the Mets, so he’d be much more expensive — but with a current payroll the size of a ma-and-pa diner, the Sox can afford it.
But let the youngsters play, for crying out loud. Let them get the jitters out of their systems and work on adjustments now, when it doesn’t matter, so they’ll be better when it does.
But n-o-o-o-o.
Well, once again, you showed us, Jerry. We see you in that big ornate chair chortling “he-he-he-he-he” and rubbing your hands together in glee, stopping only long enough to raise up a middle finger — make that two middle fingers — toward us fans to clearly demonstrate just what you think of us.