Why?

Mike Clevinger made his season debut last night against the Rays, though for the life of me I don’t know why. Manager Mickey Mouse saying that Clevinger is a pitcher “who wants the ball” doesn’t exactly help. [White Sox story in today’s Tribune] By definition, a pitcher has to want the ball in order to be a pitcher, yes? I mean, why not lose behind Nick Nastrini and Jonathan Cannon, both now back in Triple A? Clevinger is 33, so it’s not as if he’s going to be around for the long haul. Basically, he wants to put up good numbers so he can go to a contender at the trade deadline. Those numbers weren’t too good last night—two innings, six hits, four runs (three earned), four walks in an 8-2 Sox loss. But, hey, it’s early, and nothing matters with these Sox, except, of course, securing public funding for a new stadium.