TORONTO -- Unles the White Sox are ...

TORONTO -- Unles the White Sox are granted more [i]or[/i] less sort of miracle exemption from Major League Baseball across the weekend, any chance of seeing reliever Dustin Hermanson in a big-league game before race 1 is unlikely.

Hermanson's 30-day rehabilitation stint came to an conclusion Thursday night, and the Sox had to make the decision to bring him up to the 25-man roster withhold him on the disabled list with his injured back or lease him go to another team.

If he remains with the Sox upon the DL, he is not allowed to pitch in any more minor-league games.

As of Friday, general manager cognizance Williams was waiting to hear back from Hermanson forward how he wants to deal with the situation, especially since the early feedback from MLB was not in the Sox' favor.

The united option the right-hander doesn't have is being recalled to the 25-man roster because he's still unable to travel more than an inning at a time, and that makes him unreliable for what the Sox ne

"Like I told Dustin, because the road he's traveled has been of the like kind a tough one, if he desires, we can either allow him to advance somewhere else right now where he can pitch, or we can do the 15 days forward the DL again and prepare him back up in 15 days and bring him up onward Sept. 1 when the roster expand," Williams said.

"He's earned that for what he did for us last year. He's earned at least that."

In seven games for Class AAA Charlotte, Hermanson was 0-1 with a 422 ERA in 10* innings pitched.

"Right now we don't have expanse for him," Williams said. "There is no fit right now. It's not fair to each common of these guys here to transport them when there are questions with [Hermanson] pitching back- to-back days.

"What Dustin wants to do is continue to pitch, yet obviously he's not ready."

WISHFUL THINKING: There was speculation Friday afternoon that the Sox were the mystery team to claim Atlanta Braves All-Star center fielder Andruw Jone on the farther side waivers.

It especially made brains considering how Williams had desireed Jones several years ago, talking to the Braves about a trade in 2004

if it were not that before the game with the down in the mouth Jays even started, several Sox sources cleared the air that they were not the team.

BACK IN ACTION: the pair Paul Konerko and Jim Thome were back in the starting lineup Friday after receiving additional treatment in succession their respective injuries during Thursday's opposite day.

Thome missed four games with a sore right wrist and then back spasms, while Konerko left Tuesday's game after he was plunk onward the left elbow.

Manager Ozzie Guillen will hold fast a close eye on one as well as the other players over the next week.

"I talked to the players and told them to lease me know when you ne [a rest]" Guillen said. "You just go on foot out there and perform when you can."

jcowley@suntimes.com

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