Pregame notes: Cleveland’s last stand

Sean Newcomb is opening for the White Sox, and from that point on, who knows.

During the regular season, there wasn't a point in playing coy about the bulk pitcher because it typically lined up with a start day, and given how much the White Sox relied on their bullpen over the course of the season, there wasn't a point in pretending it could be anybody else.

Here, with Davis Martin, Erick Fedde and David Sandlin all rested, Venable wouldn't tip his hand pregame.

No, I mean, not really," Venable said when asked before the game if he could share the bulk plans before. "I just think that we're going to read and react similar to what we've done. We will have these guys out there throwing, and we'll get inventory on how some of these guys are going. There's a different calculus here, obviously, with a game potentially tomorrow, with no more off days, with what we've used of guys.

"So there's a lot of different inputs on this one. Obviously, I wouldn't tell you the exact plan anyway, but truthfully, we're going to be kind of reading and reacting on this one."

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The lineup Venable constructed is similarly ready for anything, because Stephen Vogt is running with righty Daniel Espino as an opener, and after that, who knows. Just like the Sox, they have the rest of their rotation available, with lefties Joey Cantillo and Foster Griffin able to flip handedness after Espino if they so choose.

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Join Josh for the Sox Machine Live pregame show at the Ramova Theatre starting at 2 p.m. CT, and me somewhere 20 minutes in.

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First Pitch: White Sox vs. Guardians

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