The White Sox may want us to — but we are not whitewashing Mike Clevinger
If the club we cover won’t make the call, we will
So, as we now begin a third season of having to grapple with coverage of the worst person in professional baseball, our staff offers up a general disclaimer about our 2025 White Sox coverage, which remains consistent and firm: We are not dignifying this horrible teammate and monstrous human with coverage.
As much as Chris Getz wants to distinguish himself from the previous regime (which he was a core part of, by the way) in a POSITIVE sense (l mean, Ken and Rick never lost 121), he continues to step on the same rakes as Hahn. The easiest possible route around the horribleness of the first White Sox rebuild was right there for him, and for two straight seasons Getz has driven straight into that brick wall. Most assuredly, there is no Era of Good Feeling on the South Side that has any chance of sticking, with decisions like these.
What follows is our initial explanation, from 2023.
We’ve had a daylong discussion internally at South Side Sox about how we proceed with coverage of Mike Clevinger. Dignifying an alleged child abuser and proven spouse abandoner, terrible teammate and manchild with as much as a photo going forward is inappropriate.
Today’s horrifying blooper reel of a Spring Training camp opening featured GM Rick Hahn shit-spinning domestic and child abuse as well as his own office’s sense of decorum and diligence. And then, because of course it had to get worse, Clevinger himself took to the microphone in a PR disaster screaming to happen.
Yes, on the first day of Spring Training, the White Sox asked/required/allowed alleged domestic and child abuser Mike Clevinger to speak to the fan base.
With Hahn’s see-no-evil shoulder shrugging bordering on victim-blaming (the “truth” is nowhere near Clevinger’s victim’s report, of course) and utter inefficacy (the White Sox have their HANDS TIED by MLB and the MLBPA over this matter, you see), it appears that we are in store for a summer full of Clevinger.
And we are not going along with that.
We want to both be very transparent with our readers, and open to feedback, about how to proceed with coverage of Clevinger.
It goes without saying there will be no Clevinger updating (the “best shape of his life,” Katz’ll fix him) this Spring Training. But beyond that, into the schedule, we are not going to provide our usual White Sox coverage for Clevinger games.
The White Sox may want us to — but we are not going to whitewash Mike Clevinger.
What will that mean?
It means that compared to our regular daily coverage, you’ll be seeing less of South Side Sox on Clevinger days:
Gamethread, of course.
Colorful recap? No. (Postgame results? Yes.)
Podcasts? Beyond a run of expletives, no.
There is still time for the White Sox to do something about the cancer that is already eating away at their 2023 season. But our initial response is to hold our ground and stay true to what is right: Not giving Clevinger any time in the sun.