54 days until Opening Day: Celebrate with classic White Sox jerseys!

Today is Feb. 2. The first game of the 2019 Major League Baseball season is March 28. That means we are only 54 days away. To celebrate, perhaps I should don one of these classic No. 54 White Sox jerseys, found at the garage sale Jan. 25-27 at SoxFest:

Chris Beck, my second least-favorite Sox player of all-time!

Jeanmar Gomez

Deunte Heath

Man, there have been some bad No. 54s in the Sox bullpen through the years. Let's review some of the other gems I uncovered during my weekend at the Chicago Hilton:

Emilio Bonifacio

Scott Downs

Dustin Garneau

Mat Latos

Francisco Liriano

Cory Luebke

Hector Noesi

Mike Pelfrey

Andre Rienzo

Bruce Rondon

Rob Scahill, with photobomb from my friend Brian

Blake Tekotte

Trayce Thompson

Charlie Tilson

Jacob Turner

Chris Volstad

Andy Wilkins

Catching up on some White Sox transactions

Here's a rundown on some of the roster moves the White Sox have made since the World Series ended Sunday:

• Catcher Kevan Smith was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels.
• Outfielder Ryan LaMarre and pitchers Danny Farquhar and Rob Scahill were outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte.
• Pitcher Michael Kopech was activated from the 60-day disabled list and added back to the 40-man roster.
• Pitcher James Shields had his $16 million team option for 2019 declined. The Sox instead opted to give him a $2 million buyout. He has become a free agent.
• Pitcher Nate Jones had his $4.65 million club option picked up for the 2019 season.
• Pitchers Miguel Gonzalez, Hector Santiago and Jeanmar Gomez all have filed for free agency.
• The Sox acquired left-handed pitcher Manny Banuelos from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for minor-league infielder Justin Yurchak.

The Sox's 40-man roster now sits at 35 players.

One more pile of crud: 'Fan Appreciation Night' at Guaranteed Rate Field

The view from my seat about 45 minutes before Wednesday's home finale.

The White Sox concluded the home portion of their schedule Wednesday with a 10-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

The Sox (62-96) were 30-51 at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2018, and in some respects, it's a miracle they won 30. I personally attended 13 of the 81 home games -- including Wednesday's -- and saw the Sox lose 10 times and win three times.

Most of the 10 losses were just like the one Wednesday.

The Sox were never in this game. For some strange reason, it was a "bullpen day," even though Reynaldo Lopez could have started on regular rest. He instead will get the start Friday afternoon in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at Minnesota.

Jace Fry started Wednesday, and gave up a home run to Francisco Lindor on the third pitch of the game.

So, Fry (2-3) gets the loss, even though that was the only run he allowed. The Indians got a run off Aaron Bummer in the third inning, then three in the fourth and two in the fifth off Ryan Burr, and three in the sixth off Jeanmar Gomez.

By the bottom of the sixth inning, Cleveland led, 10-0.

Some Fan Appreciation Night, huh?

In the case of Burr, he's 24 years old, so perhaps the poor outing can be chalked up as a learning experience. The veteran Gomez, however, can take a hike, as we've previously discussed on this blog.

Here's the real unfortunate thing about this game: You had 25,598 people in the stands on a Wednesday night in late September, for a 95-loss team that's been out of the pennant race since the first week of May.

That's a nice crowd under those circumstances, but the Sox basically punted the game before it started with this "bullpen day" baloney. They didn't even try to win this game.

As a fan, that's frustrating. You're driving to the ballpark knowing the Sox are going to get their asses kicked. As most readers of this blog know, I'm a longtime partial season-ticket holder. My message to Sox brass in a lot of the surveys they have sent me has been a simple one: OK, you think you're going to be good in three years. I get it. But I'm spending money on tickets *now*, and the product that's being put on the field does not qualify as Major League Baseball.

The Sox should have thrown Lopez on Wednesday and tried to win their last home game before a decent crowd of fans. They should have saved the tanking bullpen day for one of the road games in Minnesota.

Wednesday's loss represented one more middle finger at the paying customers, who have endured miles upon miles of hell in 2018.

Why are the White Sox using Jeanmar Gomez in high-leverage situations?

Jeanmar Gomez

It doesn't matter much that the White Sox lost, 4-3, to the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. And, it doesn't matter much that they lost in a stupid way, with reliever Jeanmar Gomez making a throwing error on a bunt play in the bottom of the 10th inning that allowed Kansas City to score the winning run.

What bothers me is the fact that Gomez was on the mound in the first place. Why is a 30-year-old veteran who is not part of the Sox's future and barely part of their present being allowed to pitch in a high-leverage situation when there are a host of younger, more interesting options available?

The Sox got seven innings out of Lucas Giolito on Monday, and left-hander Jace Fry was the first man out of the bullpen. That's fine, because Fry is a 25-year-old who is under evaluation for a possible long-term relief role.

Once Fry got four outs with the score tied 3-3, the next guy who came in was Gomez. That is inexplicable in September with expanded rosters.

Several relief pitching prospects have been called up from the minor leagues. Right-handers Ian Hamilton, Ryan Burr and Jose Ruiz all are on the roster. So are left-handers Aaron Bummer and Caleb Frare.

With the Sox on a six-game losing streak and hopelessly behind in the standings, these September games are essentially an early jump on spring training 2019.

The fight for bullpen jobs for next season should be underway, and it should not include Gomez. It should, however, include all of the young pitchers mentioned above.

So, put one of them on the mound in the 10th inning of a 3-3 game and see how that pitcher reacts. Even if the guy loses the game, at least we will have learned something.

All we learned last night is something we already knew: that Gomez is washed up and doesn't belong on the 2019 roster. Stop pitching him in high-leverage spots, please.

Palka ties White Sox record

Outfielder Daniel Palka hit his 22nd home run of the season in Monday's loss. He now shares the Sox's team record for most home runs by a left-handed hitting rookie with Pete Ward, who hit 22 home runs in 1963.

Palka might end up leading the 2018 Sox in homers. He and Jose Abreu are tied for the team lead going into Tuesday's play. There are 18 games left in the season.

Lack of right-handed relief options at issue for White Sox

Rick Renteria

Sometimes I feel as though White Sox manager Rick Renteria trusts mediocre, right-handed relief pitcher Juan Minaya way more than he should.

But, every time I feel that way, I stop myself and say, "Well, if not Minaya, then who?"

In fairness to Minaya, let's first point out that he got his job done in Monday's 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Minaya relieved Carlos Rodon, who pitched another strong game and earned the win, in the eighth inning and retired five of the six hitters he faced.

Minaya threw 16 of his 23 pitches for strikes Monday. He allowed only a harmless single and never made you feel as though the Sox's lead was in jeopardy. Xavier Cedeno ended up getting the last out of the game, in what was a good night for the bullpen and the Sox as a whole.

Fast-forward to Tuesday night in New York. The Sox had the lead, 4-2, going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Minaya, once again, was summoned from the bullpen.

I cringed, knowing that Minaya had a multi-inning outing the night before, and I figured his stuff would not be the same.

It was not.

Minaya faced two batters. He gave up a rope of a single to Giancarlo Stanton and a long home run to Aaron Hicks. Bye-bye lead, 4-4 tie.

The Yankees won, 5-4, on a home run by Neil Walker off Dylan Covey (4-12) in the bottom of the ninth.

I'd like to blame Minaya for this loss, but he is who he is. He's an inconsistent reliever with a 4.18 season ERA. He's dominant at times, but horrible at others, and he shouldn't be considered the best right-handed relief option on a team. Really, he should be pitching in the sixth or seventh inning, not the eighth or ninth.

I'd like to blame Renteria, too, but what other right-handed relief options does he have?

Jeanmar Gomez is a veteran, but his 4.50 ERA and 1.429 WHIP do not inspire confidence. Thyago Vieira and Ryan Burr have a combined 11 big league appearances between them. Are they ready to pitch in a high-leverage situation at Yankee Stadium? Not really. Then there's Covey, who was used Tuesday in a big spot, and he lost the game, so there's that.

It was a tough loss to take Tuesday, because the Sox led, 4-0, as late as the sixth inning. However, their weaknesses in the bullpen showed up while playing a superior team. What can you do? You just have to grin and bear it for 30 more games, hope the good Minaya shows up more than the bad Minaya and hope the front office gives Renteria a deeper stable of relief arms for the 2019 season.

White Sox designate Bruce Rondon for assignment, call up Jeanmar Gomez

Bruce Rondon

The White Sox were losing, 4-2, to the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning Tuesday when starting pitcher Dylan Covey left the mound.

The Sox ended up losing, 14-2. It wasn't all Bruce Rondon's fault, but a lot of it was.

Rondon threw 14 pitches, only two of them for strikes. He walked three batters, and three runs scored on his watch -- one on a bases-loaded walk and two on pitches that went all the way to the screen. It was all part of a seven-run inning for the Cardinals that put the game out of reach.

The final line for Rondon: 0.1 innings, 0 hits, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 Ks, 3 BBs.

It's hard to give up three runs without giving up a single hit, but Rondon managed to do it, after teammate Hector Santiago gave up a grand slam to Dexter Fowler and allowed all of the runners who were Rondon's responsibility to score.

As a result of this mess, Rondon was designated for assignment Wednesday, and right-hander Jeanmar Gomez's contract was purchased from Triple-A Charlotte, according to the Sox's Twitter account.

This move was overdue.

In his past 12 games, Rondon has allowed 19 runs, 18 hits and 15 walks in 7.2 innings. His season ERA is up to 8.49. This sort of incompetence cannot be tolerated even in a rebuilding year.

When Rondon steps on the mound, the game slows to a crawl and strikes thrown become a rarity. He can't even get enough people out to move games along in a losing cause. Remember this game on June 30? The Sox were trailing 6-4 in the eighth inning, but they ended up losing 13-4 after Rondon was charged with five earned runs in a third of an inning.

Frankly, Rondon should have been designated for assignment after that game, but we're talking about the Sox, who are historically slow to address problems. They gave Rondon five more appearances to try to right the ship, but now he's left them no choice but to try someone else.

James Shields gets a moral victory in loss to Philadelphia

James Shields

The Philadelphia Phillies entered Wednesday's game against the White Sox as the only team in baseball with a team on-base percentage (.299) below .300.

Sox right-hander James Shields entered Wednesday's game with a 7.62 ERA over his first 14 starts with Chicago.

Bad pitching vs. bad hitting. The movable object against the resistible force. Who would win this Battle of Titans?

As it turns out, bad hitting prevailed. The Phillies didn't exactly light up Shields the way the rest of the league has this season, but they did enough to beat the Sox, 5-3, and split the brief two-game series.

Shields (5-16) went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out six and walked none, so his peripherals were better, although he once again gave up two home runs. They were both solo shots, one to Cesar Hernandez in the third, the other on a fat, hanging breaking ball to Tommy Joseph on an 0-2 count with two outs in the sixth. Shields also gave up three doubles, for a total of five extra-base hits, so there was no shortage of hard contact.

Still, this was a moral victory for Shields, who had given up six or more earned runs in each of his past four starts. For the first time since Shields beat the Cubs on July 26, he was not a complete disgrace. He was merely kinda bad.

When he walked off the mound for the final time after the top of the sixth inning, the Sox were still in the game, trailing 4-0.

They made in interesting when Dioner Navarro cut the Philadelphia lead in half with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. The Phillies added a run in the eighth to go up 5-2, and held off a Sox rally in the ninth.

Philadelphia closer Jeanmar Gomez gave up an RBI single to Avisail Garcia with two outs in the ninth to make it 5-3. Navarro came to the plate with two men on and a chance to potentially tie the game with an extra-base hit, but this time he grounded out weakly to second to end the proceedings.

Hey, at least the game was watchable, right? Most of the time it is not when Shields takes the mound.