Robin Ventura Named White Sox Manager

[bmags]

If they play better, heck even career average seasons, the need to move them lessens. After 2012, Peavy is all but gone, Rios has one more year, and Dunn has two.

 

Maybe, but if this team is going in the direction we all think it is, I don't see the need to have players like that around.

[Greg Hibbard]

Aware. But it's not guaranteed we need to pay off of those contracts. Those portions of that money could be moved. Somehow the blue jays were able to get out of vernon wells and alex rios. IF they play better, and a big market team needs a bat, there will be a sucker. We were the sucker most of the decade.

 

Really, what do you think is the most likely scenario here?

[bmags]

Really, what do you think is the most likely scenario here?

 

Not sure, but I reject that they are sunk costs. Lots of things can change that could make those contracts more movable. I don't believe we'd ever move those whole contracts, but I do believe with luck you can make a move that removes enough to give you a lot more flexibility especially on a rebuilding team.

[Greg Hibbard]

Not sure, but I reject that they are sunk costs. Lots of things can change that could make those contracts more movable. I don't believe we'd ever move those whole contracts, but I do believe with luck you can make a move that removes enough to give you a lot more flexibility especially on a rebuilding team.

 

I agree that they are technically not sunk costs, but they are as close to unmovable as they could possibly get.

[Texsox]

Oh the irony. Message board posters talking about all it takes to manage a team because we are such experts while at the same time saying a guy whi played 2000 games wouldn't know how to deal with such issues.

Nicely played sir.

[Milkman delivers]

I exaggerated the numbers, obviously. I could see them paring back to 80 million, couldn't you?

 

Something like that is plausible.

 

But... what does piss me off is what is happening after that. If you are going to hire a very raw manager - one who apparently has many of the necessary tools, but perhaps not the skills yet - I think that can work pretty well with the right person. The way it would work is for Robin to learn, and learn quickly, from the right people around him. What he desperately needs is a bench coach with loads of MLB experience. What he apparently will get is a guy with NONE. And that does piss me off, because it sets up a guy who might be a very good manager, to fail.

 

Ditto.

[southsider2k5]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writ...ml?eref=writers

 

• The White Sox didn't seriously consider any other candidates when all their higher-ups decided Robin Ventura was the guy to manage a couple weeks ago. The White Sox didn't have to conduct a search because they hired someone in-house, and also because their track record for hiring minorities is the best in baseball. They viewed Ventura as the "anti-Ozzie.'' GM Ken Williams and Guillen battled worse than folks even knew, and Williams has to feel relieved Guillen is gone to Florida with a $10 million, four-year deal.

 

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writ...l#ixzz1amqlcCqi

[greg775]

The only thing that could save the Sox if they go down to 80 million roster is the s*** division they are in.

That is assuming Ventura can change the mentality of being everybody's whipping boy in the division.

If Detroit has gotten its act together and is a real team again, forget it. We'll be out of it in May cause we will be a .500 team AT BEST with that payroll.

[CanOfCorn]

The only thing that could save the Sox if they go down to 80 million roster is the s*** division they are in.

That is assuming Ventura can change the mentality of being everybody's whipping boy in the division.

If Detroit has gotten its act together and is a real team again, forget it. We'll be out of it in May cause we will be a .500 team AT BEST with that payroll.

 

 

The 2005 White Sox say hello. (and before you tell me that's 2005 dollars, check out the table)

 

2005 Baseball Payrolls

[gatnom]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writ...ml?eref=writers

 

I understand if you have Ventura as your frontrunner, but not even interviewing any other candidates is really really stupid. This organization just keeps finding ways to piss me off, and I didn't even mind the Ventura hire.

[Balta1701]

The 2005 White Sox say hello. (and before you tell me that's 2005 dollars, check out the table)

 

2005 Baseball Payrolls

Have you ever heard the phrase "inflation-adjusted"?

[sunofgold]

They didn't want to wait and at least see what LaRussa was going to do with St. Louis. I know...most likely going back ..but he doesn't have a deal with them yet. Who know what St. Louis wants to do? There were some rumors that he would be back in 2012 and that is why the White Sox didn't just trade Jackson to St. Louis for Colby Rasmus and not involve Toronto.

 

It is not like somebody was going to swoop up Ventura and steal him from us as a manager. And if LaRussa was our new manager then he could have taken Ventura aboard as a coach. Maybe LaRussa would have to bring Duncan as pitching coach. If that was the case, I would say move Cooper over to bench coach.

 

Just sayin'. lol! LaRussa would cost a lot more especially after the run that he is on this year.

 

 

 

[greg775]

They didn't want to wait and at least see what LaRussa was going to do with St. Louis. I know...most likely going back ..but he doesn't have a deal with them yet. Who know what St. Louis wants to do? There were some rumors that he would be back in 2012 and that is why the White Sox didn't just trade Jackson to St. Louis for Colby Rasmus and not involve Toronto.

 

It is not like somebody was going to swoop up Ventura and steal him from us as a manager. And if LaRussa was our new manager then he could have taken Ventura aboard as a coach. Maybe LaRussa would have to bring Duncan as pitching coach. If that was the case, I would say move Cooper over to bench coach.

 

Just sayin'. lol! LaRussa would cost a lot more especially after the run that he is on this year.

 

Talk of LaRussa coming back is almost like an urban myth thing.

I was surprised even the media wrote about it like it could happen.

You don't go from St. Looie to the White Sox. You just don't.

 

[fathom]

Talk of LaRussa coming back is almost like an urban myth thing.

I was surprised even the media wrote about it like it could happen.

You don't go from St. Looie to the White Sox. You just don't.

 

Kind of like how you'd be nuts to want to go from the White Sox to the Marlins.

[Cali]

They didn't interview ANYONE, and only about 1/2 interviewed Robin from the sounds of it... Way to do your due diligence. Very professional.

 

I will go on record a week after the hiring that I have no problem with Robin as a person, but there were better candidates and the White Sox didn't even kick on the tires on any of them. It's a slap in the face to the fans. It's like "Hey, idiot, remember Robin Ventura, well guess what he's the new manager deal with it." It's quite insulting.

[Wanne]

Kind of like how you'd be nuts to want to go from the White Sox to the Marlins.

 

oh I don't know...close ties. Nice weather for the most part...NO STATE INCOME TAX.

[fathom]

oh I don't know...close ties. Nice weather for the most part...NO STATE INCOME TAX.

 

And going from the most loyal owner in sports to a terrible owner

[Wanne]

And going from the most loyal owner in sports to a terrible owner

 

so it goes to show ya what Ozzie'$ about...

[southsider2k5]

And going from the most loyal owner in sports to a terrible owner

 

Yeah, a guy who fires people on a whim, instead of ignoring ignorant and racist statements.

[sunofgold]

They didn't interview ANYONE, and only about 1/2 interviewed Robin from the sounds of it... Way to do your due diligence. Very professional.

 

I will go on record a week after the hiring that I have no problem with Robin as a person, but there were better candidates and the White Sox didn't even kick on the tires on any of them. It's a slap in the face to the fans. It's like "Hey, idiot, remember Robin Ventura, well guess what he's the new manager deal with it." It's quite insulting.

I agree with this. Robin might work out, but why not interview as many people as possible and then make a choice. Didn't sound like they interviewed Alomar Jr, Martinez...heck why not interview Francona. You might get some interesting information at least from them. Like what they thought that this team/organization needed.

 

Ventura never expressed interest in the position. I would at least be respectfully for the guys who are looking for a managerial position and interview them. Could help them just to be interviewed and could get some useful information from guys who are outside the organization.

 

And LaRussa currently doesn't have a contract for 2012. To me, LaRussa would be in play unless he totally was 100% against considering the position.

[Cali]

Checking back in.... and, yep, this still happened. Ugh.

[Balta1701]

Gonzo's Mailbag.

By Mark Gonzales, Tribune reporter

 

8:25 p.m. CDT, October 18, 2011

Robin Ventura? I guess this means "All in" is now "Everybody out of the Pool!" The only way this works is if Ventura gets to grow as they let the kids play as KW was quoted as saying recently. Otherwise, if they get a bench coach with managerial experience to teach Ventura how to manage -- as they should -- it's going to be drama central if Ventura flounders, and they get out of the box slow. So how deep is this going to go, and how well do you think GM Ken Williams can get out from underneath the bad contracts of Alex Rios, Adam Dunn and Jake Peavy? -- Al Bloom

 

I think it's generally agreed that you need strong players to win. Detroit will be a perennial contender as long as Justin Verlander and Doug Fister are healthy. If Cleveland's bullpen can at least duplicate what it did in 2011, then the Indians have a chance. And if Kansas City can add two pitchers to eat up some innings, they'll be in the mix.

 

Robin received a three-year contract, so there is expected to be a learning period. But I think there's enough responsibility to go around -- from KW to Robin to the coaching staff to the players -- for everyone to try to rebound from last season's malaise.

 

If the team struggles out of the gate again, the heat will be on the GM. The contracts harness much of their flexibility for 2012, although I do expect the Sox to be one of the most aggressive teams this winter.

 

Processing the game pitch-to-pitch seems to make catchers more successful as MLB managers, and since the White Sox seem to prefer hiring their own, wouldn't Sandy Alomar, Jr. instead of Ventura have been a more logical choice for manager? To illustrate my points, here's my short list of catchers who've become successful MLB managers: Gene Lamont, Bruce Bochy, Joe Torre, Bob Brenly, Mike Scioscia, Eric Wedge, Jeff Torborg, Johnny Oates, Yogi Berra and Connie Mack. This decision seems to have a Jerry Reinsdorf label on it -- do you think that Reinsdorf is setting Williams up with a mandate? Do you think that Ventura is being used by Reinsdorf, Williams or both? -- Randell Monaco

 

Randell, I think you left out the late Wes Westrum, who managed an offensively-challenged and underfunded San Francisco Giants team to an 80-81 record in 1975.

 

OK, I'm exaggerating a tad but I like what Westrum did that year. I get your point, and there are many who subscribe to the theory that catchers make good managers because everything is in front of them and they have plenty to digest. Bochy mentioned this when I called him about Mark Parent as the Sox's new bench coach.

 

This was KW's idea to hire Robin, but there's no doubt the chairman endorsed this after having a night to digest it. It's a major career change for Robin, but I think the chairman and KW know what's at stake for the franchise and their legacies, especially after a third consecutive season without a playoff appearance and dwindling home attendance.

 

Win or lose, Robin is going to be fine after his managerial reign here ends.

 

How's Ventura's Spanish? In today's world of baseball, it seems an important part of the skill set for any manager or coach. Can any of the new staff speak Spanish well? -- Felipe Marks; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

Robin speaks baseball very well. Don Cooper can speak Spanish, and Jackson Miranda, the Sox's director of cultural development, assists Spanish-speaking players who may need some translational assistance.

 

This would be a bigger issue if a foreign player was making the jump from his native country to the majors without any previous experience in the United States.

[Dick Allen]

I might get in trouble for bumping this thread, but a few people owe Robin an apology.

[greg775]

I might get in trouble for bumping this thread, but a few people owe Robin an apology.

 

Who? I don't remember that much outrage. Most people wanted somebody with experience, but I sure didn't want some of the coaches whose names were tossed out there like martinez and Alomar. If Sox weren't going to go with a guy like Francona, Robin was as good as anybody. It did seem like Robin was going to be a Jacque Vaughn type hire, though. A guy to manage the team through rebuilding. The Sox didn't go that way fortunately, instead keeping most of the main players. Of course nobody wanted Dunn, Rios or Peavy in trades.

[Cali]

Haha man I was pissed....

 

I still stand by the fact that I think they should have interviewed more people before deciding on Ventura. He's worked out amazingly, but still a horrible hiring process that confused and angered the fanbase.