massive Sox rebuild escalated into a clamor demanding that they trade Sale.

However, what a fan in U.S. Cellular Field should do is hold up a sign reading, “Keep Chris Sale … Trade Jerry Reinsdorf!”

And trade Kenny Williams!

And trade Rick Hahn!

And trade Robin Ventura!

There’s no excusing Sale’s behavior, which was dumb, immature and embarrassing for the Sox, baseball and himself.

At least credit Sale for not exercising the hallowed baseball tradition of setting dreaded threads afire on the clubhouse floor.

But don’t lay all this on Sale. They are co-conspirators, the club as much the cause as the player is the effect. If this franchise drives fans mad, imagine what it must do to its franchise player.

Keep in mind that Sale is wacky but still more successful at his job than the other principals in the Sox organization are at theirs. He is a better pitcher than Reinsdorf is a club chairman, Williams is a vice president, Hahn is a GM and Ventura is a field manager.

For someone like Sale, good enough to be the starter in this year’s All-Star Game, it must be frustrating to be bossed by the people who created this team’s bizarre culture.

Speaking of frustration, Sale threw 8 shutout innings of 1-hit ball in his most recent outing before the Sox converted a 3-0 lead into a 4-3 loss.

No wonder he was edgy over the weekend. It wasn’t the first time the Sox squandered a sizable lead for Sale, who nevertheless has a 14-3 record for a sub-. 500 team.

To laugh instead of cry, maybe the Sox’s next move should be to offer all tailors free admission the next time Chris Sale pitches.

You know, like Barnum Bill Veeck might have.

mimrem@dailyherald.com