One among MLB’s greatest issues, and it spreads to different leagues as properly, is the quantity of buck-passing that appears to happen when there’s a severe subject. At any time when there’s somebody like Mike Clevinger being investigated for home abuse or one thing else terrible, a group is ready for the league to behave, and the league usually leaves it to the group. And nothing occurs. We noticed it initially with Trevor Bauer, which ought to have been simple for everybody. Bauer was nonetheless an lively member of the group and Dave Roberts was going to ship him out to pitch even after information of his alleged misconduct broke — [Editor’s be aware: Bauer has denied the allegations] earlier than MLB stepped in, in a uncommon occasion of the league coming to its senses. However rather more usually everybody simply stares at one another and followers are left to cope with the participant being omnipresent.

Clevinger remains to be beneath investigation by MLB for violating the league’s home abuse coverage, which has gone on for some seven months. Clevinger has denied any wrongdoing and has requested that everybody “wait earlier than they rush to judgment.” MLB dragging its ft to the diploma of lighting their sneakers on fireplace left the White Sox to do something, which they declined as a result of they assumed MLB would? It wasn’t clear. GM Rick Hahn addressed the media upon Clevinger’s arrival, and he definitely didn’t assist a lot.

As reported in The Athletic:

“We’ve talked about methods to enhance our background interviews,” stated Hahn, who detailed an inventory {of professional} contacts the Sox usually converse to of their vetting course of. “Some questions that maybe would lead down different paths that weren’t requested. However once more, I feel it must be clear beneath the phrases of this coverage, there was no method for us to have recognized this details about an open investigation relationship again to the center of final season.”

In an ESPN article on Clevinger, White Sox GM Rick Hahn stated the group’s “solely choice” was to permit the pitcher to come back to camp whereas ready for MLB to conclude its inquiry.

“It’s solely the discretion of the commissioner to self-discipline a participant on the conclusion of an investigation,” Hahn stated. “[The] confidentiality ingredient of the investigation is crucial to the success and energy of the coverage and one we’ll proceed to respect.”

It might appear to most that if you happen to’re involved about “maturity points” for a participant who’s 32, and one that everybody is aware of was the jackwagon that violated COVID protocols two years in the past and had his Cleveland teammates fortunately toss him beneath no matter bus they might discover, you may in all probability simply stamp a “PASS” on his portfolio and transfer on to another person to fill out the underside of your rotation. Hahn was caught between claiming to not know in regards to the investigation whereas additionally admitting that he knew Clevinger was a dolt, neither of which accomplishes no matter he got down to in his presser.

This all comes on the heels of when the Sox employed Tony La Russa two years in the past to be the supervisor though they knew, however we didn’t, that he had been arrested for a DUI for the second time earlier than his hiring. (La Russa pled out to a decreased cost of reckless driving.) This time the Sox determined to pivot to simply being silly as an alternative of deliberately ignorant, cussed, and evil.

It undoubtedly felt that the Sox by no means thought MLB would enable Clevinger to report back to camp, and had been left holding the bag when he did. They’re in all probability proper in that whereas he’s beneath investigation the league shouldn’t have let him be anyplace the place anybody can see him. However that doesn’t imply the Sox couldn’t, even when it meant a battle with the union. They may at the least have had some form of plan. Somebody needed to act, and nobody did. Which gave Clevinger a bullhorn of his personal, which he ought to by no means have.

So who wins out of this? The Sox don’t, as a result of their followers have this piece of shit in spring coaching. The league doesn’t, as a result of they appear balloon-handed. The followers definitely don’t, as a result of they’ve Clevinger on their group. Solely Clevinger, who’s the one man who shouldn’t be successful, wins.

The Sox didn’t have a plan, as a result of they didn’t suppose they wanted one. Both they didn’t do their homework, or they did and thought nobody would discover, or they had been caught chilly by MLB first by not realizing in regards to the investigation after which by the league’s lack of motion. Possibly you may excuse the primary, however you may’t excuse the second. Being dumb isn’t an excuse for doing the mistaken factor.