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.

White Sox clain Ryan LaMarre off waivers; Avisail Garcia back to the disabled list

Ryan LaMarre

The White Sox on Monday claimed outfielder Ryan LaMarre off waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

I took this move as an ominous sign, after Avisail Garcia left Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros with right hamstring tightness.

Sure enough, Garcia was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. It is the second time this season the hamstring problem has sent him to the sidelines.

It's too bad, too, because Garcia was in the midst of one of the most torrid stretches of his career. He was hitting .333 with a 1.130 OPS in 72 plate appearances since returning to the lineup June 22.

The move is retroactive to Sunday, and with off-days Monday and Thursday and the four-day All-Star break coming up next week, it's possible Garcia only will miss five games. But, since this is the second time this injury has popped up this season, I wouldn't be optimistic about Garcia returning after the minimum 10 days.

Enter LaMarre, 29, who was hitting .263 with five doubles and eight RBIs in 43 games with the Twins this season. He was added to the 25-man roster and immediately activated. He isn't much of a hitter -- a .206 career average in 72 big-league games -- but he can competently handle any of the three outfield positions.

I'm sure the hope is LaMarre can be a better stopgap outfielder than Trayce Thompson was during Garcia's previous DL stint. It's not a high bar to clear, given that Thompson batted .116 in 48 games with the Sox.

The Sox (30-60) are on a five-game losing streak after losing eight out of 10 on a road trip to Texas, Cincinnati and Houston. They open a five-game homestand leading into the All-Star break Tuesday night. The St. Louis Cardinals are in town for a two-game set Tuesday and Wednesday. The Kansas City Royals are here Friday to Sunday for a three-game series.

Jose Abreu elected to start All-Star Game despite horrible slump

Jose Abreu

First baseman Jose Abreu will become the first White Sox position player to start for the American League All-Star team since Frank Thomas in 1996.

(The Sox have had three pitchers -- Esteban Loaiza, Mark Buehrle and Chris Sale -- start the midsummer classic in years since.)

I would be more excited for Abreu if he weren't in the midst of the worst slump of his normally consistent and admirable career. In fact, if we were having this conversation about Abreu on June 1, I would have wholeheartedly endorsed his candidacy to be the starting American League first baseman.

Through May, Abreu had posted a slash line of .298/.360/.522 with nine home runs and 19 doubles. Those figures basically are right on par with his career totals of .296/.353/.515.

However, you can't ignore his subpar June and horrible start to July.

Abreu is hitting only .175/.232/.289 over his past 30 games with just two home runs. At one point in time, he was on pace to set a new club record for doubles in a season, but as I type here July 9, Abreu has been stuck on 27 doubles since June 20. Over that same span, he only has two extra-base hits -- a home run on June 27 and a triple on July 1.

This prolonged slump has dragged his season slash line down to a very un-Abreu-like .259/.315/.448.

There have been a couple years in the past where perhaps Abreu should have gotten an All-Star start but did not, so maybe this is a bit of a makeup call, or a reward for career achievement.

And there's no question Abreu is benefiting from a weak crop of AL first basemen this year. Future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is out for the year. Eric Hosmer signed with the San Diego Padres last offseason and doesn't play in the American League anymore.

Who among AL first basemen really deserves the honor? Oakland's Matt Olson? Toronto's Justin Smoak? Both those men have good power numbers, but they are both .240 hitters. Boston's Mitch Moreland? I guess he's having a decent year, but does anyone really think he's a better player than Abreu?

I wouldn't say that any of these people are slam-dunk All-Stars, but somebody had to be chosen. Turns out Abreu got elected the starter, and Moreland was chosen as a reserve.

Hopefully, Abreu will find his swing sometime in the next week's worth of games. It would be nice to see him have a good showing July 17 in Washington.

White Sox pitchers keep on walking people

Joakim Soria

The White Sox walked the leadoff hitter with a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday night and got away with it.

Undeterred, they walked the leadoff hitter with a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, too, and that time the Houston Astros made them pay, rallying for a 4-3 victory.

It capped a night full of walks by Sox pitchers. Carlos Rodon walked six over six innings, and somehow he managed to allow only two runs. Reliever Juan Minaya issued the aforementioned leadoff walk in the eighth, and closer Joakim Soria (0-3) walked two in the ninth and ended up taking the loss.

Walking opposing hitters has become a big part of the Sox's identity, and it's gotten beyond the point of frustration.

Sox pitchers lead the American League with 371 walks as a staff this season, and it's not close. Baltimore ranks a distant second with 308 walks.

This isn't a new problem either: The Sox led the American League with 632 walks issued during the 2017 season -- once again easily outdistancing the Orioles, who issued 579 walks.

Even in 2016, with Chris Sale and Jose Quintana anchoring the top of the rotation, the Sox's walk rate was too high. They were third in the league with 521 walks.

Handing out free baserunners to the opposition is not a recipe for success, especially because the Sox will never be confused with having a good defensive team. Between the walks and errors, self-inflicted wounds have contributed to most of the Sox's 57 losses this season (entering Friday's play).

I'm told that Don Cooper is one of the best pitching coaches in the game. I'm not sure I believe that bit of propaganda at this point, but if Cooper is so great, I call upon him to get the Sox pitching staff back in the strike zone with more frequency.

At the very least, the Sox need to make the opposition earn it more often.

White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey has turned back into a pumpkin

Remember that brief stretch of glory when people thought White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey was turning the corner as a major league pitcher?

In a period of five starts from May 23 to June 13, Covey went 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He beat Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox, 1-0, on June 8 at Fenway Park. He backed that up with a 3-2 victory over Trevor Bauer and the Cleveland Indians on June 13 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

There was a glimmer of hope, but it looks as though those days are gone.

Covey has gotten shelled over his past four starts. He's 0-3 with a 13.20 ERA. He's allowed 23 runs (22 earned) on 21 hits over 15 innings. He's walked 13 men and struck out only four over that ugly stretch.

The latest Covey implosion occurred Wednesday night. He retired the first nine men he faced against the Cincinnati Reds and took a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning. But, it all went astray the second time through the batting order, as seven of the first eight Reds hitters reached base in the fourth inning.

By the time all was said and done, Covey was removed from the game without finishing the inning, and the Sox trailed, 6-3. They went out to lose, 7-4, and dropped two out of three against the NL Central-worst Reds.

Under normal circumstances, Covey's spot in the starting rotation would be in jeopardy after a horrible stretch such as this. However, with no obvious choice to replace him, chances are he remains in the mix for now.

In the meantime, let's get the notion out of our heads that Covey is going to be some sort of long-term fixture as a starting pitcher. I started to hear that from some Sox fans when Covey was pitching well, and I never bought it.

We need to call Covey what he is: roster filler. He's here until the Sox minor league system produces somebody better. Nothing more, nothing less.

Avisail Garcia swinging the bat well on current White Sox road trip

Avisail Garcia

We can't say Avisail Garcia wasn't one of the players to blame for the White Sox's miserable start to the 2018 season.

Garcia went on the disabled list April 24 with a hamstring strain, and the Sox were 5-14 at that point. During those first 19 games, Garcia hit .233/.250/.315 with only one home run and four RBIs. Not good.

The former All-Star right fielder returned to the lineup June 22 and didn't produce much his first few games back. However, since June 26, we're seeing a different hitter.

Over his past eight games, Garcia is 16 for 39 (.410 batting average) with six home runs, two triples, two doubles, 11 runs scored and eight RBIs. He even drew his first walk of the season in 129 plate appearances Tuesday in the 12th inning of a 12-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

It was a victory Garcia played a major role in -- he homered twice, the second of which tied the game in the top of the ninth inning against Cincinnati closer Raisel Iglesias. Throughout his career, Garcia has struggled to drive good major league fastballs to his pull side, but he had no such trouble against Iglesias, blistering a 96 mph fastball into the second deck in left field.

In Monday's game, a 5-3 loss to the Reds, Garcia homered to right field. It's a promising development to see him using the whole field, and if he can continue to swing the bat well, perhaps he will revive the debate over whether he is the right fielder of the future, in addition to the right fielder of the present.

Grinder Bash 2018 at Guaranteed Rate Field -- let's visit the home clubhouse

Grinder Bash, the White Sox's annual party for season-ticket holders, was sparsely attended Saturday, perhaps because this rebuilding team doesn't have many season-ticket holders anymore.

That's fine. More room for us, and for the first time (at least in the years I've attended this event), fans had access to the home clubhouse.

You can see Yoan Moncada's locker right behind me, near the front of the clubhouse. Not surprisingly, Moncada's locker is between those of Hector Santiago and Jose Abreu, whose locker is just out of frame to the right. The Sox obviously want Moncada hanging around a couple of the veteran Latino players who have been there and done that. Let's hope for the sake of the Sox's rebuild that young Yoan gets it going soon. His batting average is down to .221 entering Monday's play; his on-base percentage is down to .289.

Danny Farquhar's locker remain full and intact, even though he hasn't been around the team as much since suffering a life-threatening brain aneurysm during a game April 20 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Notably, Farquhar has a signed Frank Thomas jersey hanging in his locker. That's a pretty cool piece of memorabilia to have. I think the entire baseball community, not just the White Sox organization and its fans, wishes Farquhar well as he continues to recover from one of the scariest situations I've seen happen at a major league ballpark.

I probably found this funnier than it really is, but I got a kick out of seeing a suitcase in Juan Minaya's locker. This guy has been up and down between the Sox and Triple-A Charlotte all season, and I can't help but wonder if that suitcase is there just in case he gets another tap on the shoulder and another plane ticket to North Carolina. Well, actually, with the way Bruce Rondon has been pitching lately, perhaps Minaya's roster spot is safer than it's been at other points during the season.

Off in the corner, here is James Shields' locker. He has nobody to his left, and nobody to his right. Has he really earned all that personal space? Yeah, he's a veteran and all, but his record is 3-9. In the past, perhaps this roomy part of the clubhouse might have belonged to an accomplished Sox player such as, say, Paul Konerko. It seems as though Shields is the guy who currently gets the royal treatment, deserving or not. Or, perhaps they just make him sit in the corner for not being very good at pitching at this stage of his career.

Here's the view from behind home plate. If you ever want to feel small, go down on the field at a major league stadium on a non-game day when the ballpark is empty. You never realize just how big a place it is until you're down at field level.

One other interesting little note: On the wall in the Sox bullpen, the relief corps keeps track of the number of calls received from the dugout. During the 2017 season, there were 888 calls made to the bullpen during the 81 home games. It looks as though the Sox are on pace to exceed that total this season. So far, 502 calls have been made to the bullpen through 43 home games. That's an average of about 11.6 a game. That puts the Sox on pace for 945.6 calls over an 81-game period. Yes, these are rough days. By way of comparison, the calls during the 2013 season only numbered in the 400s. The 2013 Sox were a bad club -- 99 losses -- but starting pitching was the strength: Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Jake Peavy, the pre-injury Santiago, etc. These days, starting pitching is a weakness, and the bullpen is busy.

The other great thing about Grinder Bash: Free food and drinks, including beer, for those who choose to partake. As I said, the season-ticket base for the Sox is fewer in number than it has ever been, and those of us who have chosen to stick it out through this rebuild have earned a perk such as this.

When all is said and done, it might be one of the more enjoyable days at the ballpark in 2018. After all, we weren't walking back to our cars after a White Sox loss, which has so often been the case during this most trying of seasons.