3 ways the Chicago White Sox were embarrassing on Monday
The first base coach could not be found to start the bottom of the eighth. The Sox are not putting Eloy Jimenez on the IL and they re-signed Mike Clevinger.
Even Mother Nature did not want to watch the Chicago White Sox continue to play baseball on Monday.
The Sox got crushed by the Atlanta Braves 9-0 in the first game of a three-game set. The Braves only needed eight innings to pick up the easy victory. After that, even the weather said that was enough as the game was called after eight innings because of rain.
It was as if the moment Austin Riley's eighth-inning three-run blast landed, God had seen enough and spared the paid attendance and the home-viewing audience from watching any more of this destruction.
Losing 9-0 to a far superior team was not even the worst look for the White Sox on Monday. If there is an organization that will keep finding new ways to top hitting rock bottom just after you think they already have, it is your Chicago White Sox.
The Sox found three ways to become an embarrassment on Monday...
1) The first base coach caused a delay after the game resumed play in the eighth inning.
The game was paused for 44 minutes in the eighth inning after the rain came down pretty heavily. You could tell the umpires were trying to get this full game in, but it started to pour.
After play resumed, the game had to have another delay. Only this time it was because the White Sox could not locate their first base coach to start the bottom of the eighth. Now Jason Bourgeois might have needed to use the bathroom or get a drink of water before the bottom frame started.
The look was still not good that the game had to be delayed because the first base coach was not around. The Braves' broadcast crew sure had fun with it.
The White Sox have started the season 0-4.
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) April 1, 2024
And it looks like their first base coach didn't show up to start the 8th 💀
📽️: @TalkinBaseball_ | #MLB pic.twitter.com/M6XMnHcFfw
2) The White Sox are going to play shorthanded with Eloy Jimenez being day-to-day.
Death, taxes, and Eloy getting injured are three things you can be certain about in life. He left Sunday's game with a strained adductor muscle.
Manager Pedro Grifol provided an update on Jimenez' injury after the game. Since Eloy is day-to-day, the team will play with a 25-man roster until he feels better.
Pedro Grifol said Eloy Jiménez is day to day. They’ll play a man short for now.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) April 1, 2024
If you feel like the Sox have done this before, well, it is because they have. Last year, they constantly played a few games down a man with an injury because of the day-to-day status. Usually day-to-day meant a week. It is a 10-day IL now along with it being early in the season. It makes no sense to play go without even the maximum number of pinch hitters available.
What would have made sense is putting Eloy on the injured list to heal up 100% and call up someone to at least provide some cover on the bench.
Now, it is not the end of the world since most games are not going deep into extra innings. Still, the look is not good as Jimenez is usually always hurt. It is better to not rush him back so early in the season since there is a high likelihood he will get injured again.
3) The White Sox re-signed Mike Clevinger.
The Sox are bringing back their most reliable starting pitcher from 2023. It is not a terrible idea since if he can stay healthy, he can eat up some innings this season.
The problem with his re-signing is first, it means rookie Nick Nastrini, who earned a rotation spot with a good spring training, is probably not going to be the full-time fifth starter. This is a rebuilding season, so it makes sense to give the team's 8th-best, and closest to being big-league-ready pitching prospect a shot to see what he can do.
The second problem is the Sox are bringing back a player that nobody else wants.
29 teams refused to beat this deal after he had a pretty good season. This should give you some idea of what the trade interest in this person is going to be, even if he continues to pitch well.
— Patrick Nolan (@SoxMach_pnoles) April 2, 2024
Plenty of people who aren't this unlikeable can throw "innings" https://t.co/MNUZDNItDS
Clevinger was put on waivers last August and no one claimed him despite his strong 2023 season. Part of the reason was no team wanted to claim his remaining salary and buyout that came with his mutual option. The other part could be he has been known to be a clubhouse problem. He also had domestic violence allegations last offseason. MLB investigated this and chose not to suspend him.
Clevinger declined his part of a $12 million mutual option for this season and again, no other team signed him.
From today’s show, @Ecnerwal23 & @Sean_W_Anderson react to the report that the Chicago White Sox will be signing Mike Clevinger. pic.twitter.com/8jWfMn7PUN
— CHGO White Sox (@CHGO_WhiteSox) April 1, 2024
The Sox seem to be the only team that values Mike Clevinger. It is strange since the focus of the new front office regime is to make sure the clubhouse chemistry is good. Now there were no reported issues of Clevinger being one of the toxic players in last year's mess of a clubhouse and Grifol wanted him back.
It is just the look is not good as general manager Chris Getz emphasized character this offseason and then brought back a pitcher with a checkered past.
Hey, when it comes to how things are perceived, the White Sox have never cared. That is a big reason why they continue to be an embarrassment.
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