Mike Clevinger's 2024 debut a brutal one

Two things are true about Mike Clevinger: 1) He's a pariah among White Sox fans. 2) He was the most reliable Sox starting pitcher in 2023.

While pitching for a team that was 40 games below .500 last season, Clevinger compiled a respectable 9-9 record with a 3.77 ERA. Still, questions about his off-field character continue to dog him, and he found no takers in free agency over the winter.

The Sox, who are severely lacking in credible starting pitchers, signed him to a one-year deal after the season had already started, on April 4.

Clevinger completed a monthlong ramp-up in the minor leagues, and with reliever Dominic Leone going on the injured list with back tightness, Clevinger was activated to start Monday's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.

It did not go well.

Clevinger was expected to throw 80-90 pitches. Instead, he threw only 54. He lasted two-plus innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits. He struck out nobody, getting only one swing-and-miss during the outing, and walked four.

The Sox lost, 8-2.

This was pretty brutal. Clevinger's purpose is to be a starting pitcher who can get the game into the sixth or seventh inning. The Sox's overtaxed bullpen sorely needs that. 

The pitcher we saw Monday night looked like someone who isn't ready to pitch in the majors. Clevinger will need to be much better his next time out.

The Sox are 8-27. There are 127 more games of this crud.

Only 12 runs in 6 games: That's not going to cut it

The Kansas City Royals scored eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday night, throttling the White Sox, 10-1, in the first game of a four-game series.

But hey, at least the Sox scored one run! Moral victories, I guess, but they should have scored more. The South Siders grounded into double plays in each of the first three innings, had a runner thrown out at home plate on a shallow fly ball in the sixth and finished 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

If my math is correct, the Sox are now 4 for 32 with runners in scoring position through the first six games of the season. They have scored only 12 runs total, and six of those came in one game.

Michael Soroka (0-1) took the loss Thursday night, even though it wasn't his fault. He posted a quality start -- six innings pitched, with two runs allowed on six hits. He struck out two and walked nobody. You'll take that.

The problem was the seventh inning, when Deivi Garcia and Dominic Leone imploded. They combined to issue three walks and allow four hits. Andrew Vaughn dropped a pop fly in foul territory, and shortstop Braden Shewmake booted a routine grounder. The wildness by the pitchers and the poor defense fueled the Kansas City rally.

But the offense continues to be the biggest sore point. Eloy Jimenez was out of the lineup for the third straight game with abductor strain, but we can't blame the DH spot for Thursday's woes. Gavin Sheets went 2 for 2 with a double, a single and two walks.

Alas, Luis Robert Jr. was 0 for 4, and Dominic Fletcher is off to a 1-for-15 start to the season after another 0-for-4.

Something else to keep an eye on as this weekend series progresses: Andrew Benintendi in the leadoff spot. The veteran is batting .125 to start the season, and the four years left on his contract are starting to look really bad. What exactly does Benintendi do for this team? It's time start asking.

The Sox are 1-5. They are 156 more games of this crap.

I'll blog next after this series is over, and we'll see if it's gotten any better.