The Chicago White Sox are not getting any less creepy or gross

Those labels would be applicable to whatever’s going on on the field for the Chicago White Sox, and most fans would prefer it were restricted to that. They’ve started 6-9, half their lineup is rotating stints on the IL just like last season (along with Joe Kelly who hurt himself sprinting toward whatever camera he deemed closest), they have two starters who can get anyone out, and maybe not one reliever who can either.

But just being a mediocre-to-bad baseball team isn’t enough for the White Sox, and it never really has been. So they provided the world with this on Friday night:

And of course Mike Clevinger, apparently forming an exploratory committee to seek nomination for biggest asshat in the world, had a pithy response when the Tribune’s Paul Sullivan asked him about it after the game.

Given what we know about Clevinger, it’s not a huge shock that he would try and come up with some form of a middle finger to everyone on his first home start, because he hasn’t exactly smacked of the type to take responsibility for anything or show any kind of couth. His picking “Gold Digger” is on brand.

What’s revolting is that there have to be at least a couple layers of ok’s given from above him, where someone, anyone could have told Clevinger, and the gameday operations crew that this might not be the best look for this player, who Sox fans would like to see left out on the curb anyway, to make his home debut. You’d also think that some media training might have gotten through the cinder block that is Clevinger’s head that he might want to do anything to avoid further alienating fans thanks to he himself making a good number of fans feel pretty sheepish about watching him and the Sox. But then, pretty much everything about the Sox’s signing of Clevinger and everything that’s come after it has made the club look like the ham-handed second-class outfit they apparently, desperately want to be.

It’s apparently no less weird and unsightly within the Sox clubhouse either:

Colas only made his MLB debut this season, and perhaps no one on the Sox PR, or HR team has run him through some social media training yet. Or maybe it’s just a light into what Clevinger’s teammates already think about him. Or maybe it’s exactly as it appears. Whatever it is, it definitely makes you want to shower after seeing it.

Another summer of fun on the Southside.