Carlos Rodon (!) pitches a no-hitter for the White Sox

Carlos Rodon

The White Sox non-tendered Carlos Rodon last offseason -- and rightfully so. He hadn't been healthy since 2016. And he hadn't really pitched well in those five years.

Many Sox fans, including me, assumed he would not be brought back for the 2021 season. And many Sox fans, including me, were skeptical when he returned on a one-year, $3 million prove-it deal.

But Rodon won a job as the No. 5 starter in spring training, beating Reynaldo Lopez out fair and square in an open competition. And now Rodon has put his name in Sox history books, as he pitched the 20th no-hitter in team history Wednesday night, beating the Cleveland Indians, 8-0.

Rodon retired the first 25 men he faced. He had a perfect game through 8.1 innings, and he lost the perfecto in a frustrating way -- he hit Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez on the foot with an 0-2 slider.

However, Rodon rallied to strike out Yu Chang, and then Jordan Luplow grounded out on a hot shot to third baseman Yoan Moncada to end the game.

When all was said and done, Rodon threw 114 pitches -- 75 for strikes -- and he struck out seven. He's 2-0 on the season, and he hasn't given up a run in 14 innings pitched. His fastball velocity is back. Rodon was throwing 99 mph in the ninth inning. Sure, the adrenaline had to be flowing, but we've seen that type of velocity from him in each of his first two games this season.

Could he finally be healthy? Let's hope.

And, oh yeah, the Sox roughed up Cleveland starter Zach Plesac, who has been a nemesis for them in the past. Plesac made three starts against the Sox in 2020, and had a 1.74 ERA over 20.2 innings pitched.

On this night, the Sox scored six runs against him, and knocked him out with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Moncada had an RBI single. Yermin Mercedes hit a three-run homer to start a three-hit night. Leury Garcia added an RBI double, and Nick Madrigal finished the six-run rally with an RBI single.

Rodon was given the luxury of a big lead from the very start, and he took advantage. Even though I've been a Rodon skeptic, it's impossible not to be happy for that guy. He's been through surgeries on his shoulder and elbow, and to get back to a point where he's able to pitch at a high level, that has to be very satisfying for him.

He proved a lot of people wrong, including me.

Shane Bieber is just a little bit better than Lucas Giolito

Shane Bieber

The heavyweight pitching matchup lived up to the hype. Neither Cleveland Indians ace Shane Bieber nor White Sox ace Lucas Giolito gave up a run Tuesday night.

These two high-end pitchers have matched up three times since the start of the 2020 season. All three times, Cleveland has won, and Bieber came away with a 2-0, 10-inning victory in this latest showdown.

Here are the final lines for both pitchers:

Bieber: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 11 Ks, 1 BB, 113 pitches, 85 strikes

Giolito: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8 Ks, 2 BBs, 107 pitches, 75 strikes

Nothing against Giolito, who is a strong pitcher for the Sox, and he was excellent in this game. However, while Giolito is a top-10 pitcher in the American League, Bieber might be the very best.

The Cleveland right-hander was absolutely dominant through eight innings. He allowed only three men to reach base, and not a single Sox base runner reached second until the bottom of the ninth. And, he was efficient with his pitches -- I believe he only had 67 pitches through six innings. That's how you hang around through the ninth.

Bieber was not vulnerable until the ninth. With the score still 0-0, Adam Eaton singled with one out, and Jose Abreu walked with two outs. That put runners on first and second for Yoan Moncada, who had a chance to win the game, but he struck out swinging, flailing helplessly at Bieber's knuckle curve.

That ended Bieber's night, and when Cleveland scored two in the 10th, he got the win.

As for Giolito, he was strong through seven, but with his pitch count elevated, he walked Roberto Perez to lead off the top of the eighth, and his night was over.

Evan Marshall was effective for the second straight night, stranding that inherited runner and retiring all three men he faced in the eighth. Liam Hendriks also did his job for the Sox, working a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

But when extra innings began, the Sox had already used two of their best relievers, because Giolito didn't go as deep in the game as Bieber.

Garrett Crochet (0-2) came out to work the 10th, and with his diminished velocity, he was bad. He couldn't field his position. We all know the man-on-second-to-start-the-inning rule was in effect, and Crochet flubbed a comebacker off the bat of Josh Naylor. Just like that, Cleveland had runners on the corners, and there was real trouble coming.

After Yu Chang flew out to shallow right, Roberto Perez had an RBI infield single, and Amed Rosario added an RBI double to make it 2-0 Cleveland.

It could have been worse. The Indians had runners at second and third with only one out when Matt Foster relieved Crochet. The Sox right-hander stranded those runners to give his team a fighting chance.

Moncada started the inning as the automatic runner at second base, and he would not score. Nick Williams, batting in the fifth spot for some reason, struck out against James Karinchak. Yasmani Grandal grounded out, and Jake Lamb flew out to the wall in right field, narrowly missing a game-tying homer, to end the game.

Tough loss for the Sox, who are 5-6, but have yet to have a starting pitcher suffer a loss. In the 60-game 2020 season, the Sox bullpen took 10 losses. In the first 11 games of 2021, the Sox bullpen has lost six times.

I'm thinking maybe they should use a more veteran guy when they get to extra innings. Crochet has been called on in that situation twice. The rookie has lost twice.

Evan Marshall stabilizes White Sox bullpen by escaping sixth-inning jam

Evan Marshall

The White Sox scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, on Monday night. The run was scored on a throwing error, and the Sox will take it, but the most importance sequence of the game came in the top of the sixth inning.

The Sox were leading, 3-2, when starter Dallas Keuchel fell apart. He walked the No. 9 hitter to start the inning, then gave up a single and a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Worse, Cleveland's best player, Jose Ramirez, was the next batter up. If you're playing the Indians, you want to avoid putting yourself in a situation where Ramirez can hurt you. This was the opposite of that. Keuchel boxed the Sox into a corner where they had no choice but to pitch to Ramirez.

Manager Tony La Russa summoned Evan Marshall from the bullpen. Marshall had struggled in his previous outings this season, but he did a masterful job in this case against the 3-4-5 hitters in the Cleveland batting order.

After falling behind 2-0 on Ramirez, he rallied to strike him out on a fastball up and out of the zone. Franmil Reyes managed a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and then Eddie Rosario -- who had homered earlier off Keuchel -- flied out weakly to left field for the third out.

You could not have asked for better from Marshall in that sequence. Sure, the lead was lost, but given the hitters that were due up, only one inherited runner scoring out of bases-loaded, no-outs situation is excellent work.

Marshall, Aaron Bummer and Codi Heuer kept the Indians off the board the last three innings. Heuer worked 2.1 innings, retiring seven of the eight batters he faced with four strikeouts. He earned the win.

The Sox offense failed to score after loading the bases with no outs in the sixth, after Yermin Mercedes struck out and Yasmani Grandal hit into a 3-6-1 double play.

But, those two players redeemed themselves in the ninth. Mercedes reached on an infield single with one out. Grandal walked, advancing pinch runner Nick Madrigal to second base.

Nick Williams followed with a chopper to Cleveland first baseman Yu Chang, who tried to get Grandal at second for the force. But, his errant throw hit Grandal in the helmet and bounded away. Madrigal raced around third to score the winning run on the play.

The Sox broke a six-game losing streak against the Indians dating back to last season, and evened their season record at 5-5. The Indians are now 5-4.

Should be an interesting game Tuesday night, with Sox ace Lucas Giolito going up against the reigning Cy Young award winner in the American League, Cleveland's Shane Bieber.

Remember when we thought the White Sox bullpen was a strength?

Liam Hendriks

So, the White Sox are 4-5 after nine games. Not good, not terrible, just kind of middling.

And if I'm being honest, mediocrity was my expectation for the season. I had this team going 86-76 -- before the Eloy Jimenez injury -- so now I'm thinking 83-79.

But the shape of this 4-5 start has been interesting. The Sox haven't lost in a normal way yet. It's been a bunch of bullpen meltdowns, and that's the surprising part. You would have thought the bullpen would be a strength, with the investment in Liam Hendriks, the return of a healthy Aaron Bummer, plus Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet.

First off, let's absolve Kopech of any blame. He's been awesome. In Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals, he retired all seven batters he faced. So far this season, Kopech has worked 6.1 innings in three appearances. He hasn't given up a run. In fact, he's only given up one hit. Just terrific.

Too bad everyone else sucks, including Hendriks, who gave up a game-tying home run to Carlos Santana in the ninth Sunday. The Royals scored the winning run in the 10th on a throwing error by Crochet. Not terrific.

All five of those losses have been credited to relievers. We've seen one blown lead in the ninth (Hendriks), two blown leads in the eighth (Bummer, Evan Marshall), a seven-run meltdown in a sixth inning that turned a 4-1 lead into an 8-4 loss (Matt Foster), and a game that was tied in the ninth turn into a three-run loss (Foster).

In each of the Sox's four victories, they took at least a six-run lead into the ninth inning. You can't expect to blow teams out every day. Sooner or later, you have to lock up one- and two-run leads and win these close games.

Those games are the difference between 90 wins and 80 wins, or, say, 86 wins and 76 wins, as the case may be with this group.

The *26* players on the White Sox Opening Day roster look set

I had an old-man moment Monday. On this blog, I said the Sox would carry 13 pitchers and 12 position players. I obviously forgot that 26-man rosters are in effect now, which means it will actually be 13 pitchers and 13 positions players.

So, Jake Lamb and Billy Hamilton are in luck. Both of them are on the team. Here's the roster breakdown:

Catchers (3): Yasmani Grandal, Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes

Infielders (5): Jose Abreu, Nick Madrigal, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Lamb

Outfielders (4): Luis Robert, Adam Eaton, Andrew Vaughn, Hamilton

Utility (1): Leury Garcia

Starting pitchers (5): Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease, Carlos Rodon

Relief pitchers (8): Liam Hendriks, Aaron Bummer, Codi Heuer, Michael Kopech, Garrett Crochet, Evan Marshall, Matt Foster, Jose Ruiz

The eighth spot in the bullpen was a question mark, with Jimmy Cordero out for the season after Tommy John surgery. The job goes to Ruiz.

I think fans are kind of sick of Ruiz, because he's been on the mound for some painful moments during the past couple of seasons. But now that a proven manager is in charge, maybe Ruiz will be used as the 13th man on a 13-man pitching staff, which is precisely what he is.

In the past, we've seen Ruiz on the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning, facing MVP candidates with the AL Central Division title on the line. Predictably, Ruiz failed miserably in that situation, but it's not really his fault that the lame-brained former dugout regime asked him to do a job he couldn't do.

Let's hope that the fringe guys on the roster are less exposed under the new manager.

White Sox roster news: Zack Collins and Yermin Mercedes are in; Jonathan Lucroy is out

Jonathan Lucroy

Veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy will not make the 2021 White Sox roster. The 34-year-old asked for and was granted his release from a minor league contract, according to reports.

It sure seems like catcher Zack Collins is on the roster. First off, Collins has had a good spring, slashing .295/.380/.523 with three home runs and six RBIs. Most importantly, he's cut his strikeout rate. He's only struck out six times while also walking six times in 50 plate appearances.

Secondly, fortune smiled on Collins with left fielder Eloy Jimenez suffering a torn pectoral tendon that will sideline him for five months. Now, Andrew Vaughn, the presumed DH to start the season, is being tried in left field. That opens the door for DH at-bats for Collins, when he's not catching. 

It also sounds like Yermin Mercedes is on the club as a third catcher and DH, according to reports. Mercedes has slashed .283/.340/.348 this spring, and could be the right-handed half of a platoon with the left-handed Collins.

The Sox also are reportedly picking up infielder Jake Lamb, if he clears waivers and pending a physical. Lamb was in spring camp with the Atlanta Braves, but did not make the club. He's a left-handed hitter who can play first or third base.

All right, that's a lot to digest. But first let's talk about Collins. It's now or never for him. He's 26 years old, and he's been in the Sox organization since he was picked 10th overall in the first round of the 2016 draft. He's getting close to that line where he's too old to be considered a prospect anymore.

The Sox have invested a lot in him, and at some point they have to find out whether he can help them. I'm not a big believer in Collins, but at this time, there's no clear data about him one way or the other. What can you tell from 120 sporadic plate appearances at the major league level? There are no clearly superior options in camp for a second catcher -- Lucroy didn't meet that standard -- so it's time to find out once and for all whether Collins can play.

We know the Sox will carry 13 pitchers and 12 position players. The Opening Day roster hasn't been announced yet, but let's hazard a guess:

Starting lineup:

1. Tim Anderson, SS
2. Adam Eaton, RF
   
3. Jose Abreu, 1B
4. Yoan Moncada, 3B
5. Yasmani Grandal, C
   
6. Luis Robert, CF
   
7. Collins, DH
   
8. Vaughn, LF
   
9. Nick Madrigal, 2B

Bench players: Leury Garcia IF/OF, Mercedes, C/DH and ??????.

Will it be Lamb? Infielder Danny Mendick? Maybe outfielder Billy Hamilton? I'll guess Lamb. I don't think they picked him up to send him to the alternate site. And he's likely the left-handed fallback option if Collins fails.

Blogging will resume March 29

Just wanted to drop in and point out that I'm not dead. I'm fine, I'm vaccinated, and I'm traveling to Florida next week for a vacation. 

I know the blog has been on hiatus as I tend to other priorities, but I'll resume Monday, March 29, as we get ready for the new season.

Until then, Go Sox!