The Chicago White Sox have had just one wining season with Robin Ventura as their manager since 2012, and since that first season as skipper not much has went well for Ventura, meaning this season he is “on the hot seat.”
Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball wrote on Thursday that Ventura is on the hot seat:
"“Robin Ventura is coming under fire in Chicago, and some White Sox people are starting to wonder whether a change could be coming, or maybe even warranted. As one White Sox-connected person put it, things are ‘not great’ regarding Ventura’s stats.”"
As much as Ventura seems like a generally good guy, his teams with the White Sox have underperformed throughout the years. Following the 2012 season where the White Sox went 85-77 during Ventura’s rookie year as skipper (missed postseason), the years that have followed have included zero winning seasons and no more than a 76-win season.
In 2013 the White Sox had one of the worst seasons in team history finishing 63-99, followed by records of 73-89 (2014), 76-86 (2015) and this season the White Sox sit at 33-33 after 66 games entering Friday’s series at Cleveland.
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This season the White Sox began very strong with a six-game lead in the division and held first place in the AL Central for 47 consecutive days (including off days), last being in first place on May 27. They’ve trailed in the standings by as many as 4.5 games, and right now they sit in fourth in the Central, down 2.5 games.
Also this season the White Sox have been 13 games over the .500 mark, and even been under .500 as late as this week (one game). The White Sox also have built a six-game winning streak from April 22-27 this season, and lost as many as seven consecutive games from May 23-30.
All of that said just shows what type of year it has been for the White Sox, because as soon as it looks like this team is either in the driver’s seat or falling behind, they continue to move along to the next game and keep hope going.
Now the question is whether Ventura should be on the hot seat this season, even with his team less than three games out of the division lead.
Yes, he should be on the hot seat and the above facts are proof this isn’t just about the 2016 season, but the team has been very inconsistent for the past four seasons. They haven’t had a winning record since 2012, including this season where they sit at .500 after the aforementioned 66 games, and the team hasn’t been to the postseason since 2008.
Bill Baer of Hardball Talk had this to say of Ventura’s situation:
"“Bench coach Rick Renteria is likely to succeed Ventura in the interim if he is indeed fired. As for the thought that the White Sox could bring back former manager Ozzie Guillen, he has apparently ‘burned bridges.'”"
Having the former manager of the Chicago Cubs sitting next to him in the dugout as the possible successor can’t help matters much for the five-year manager of the White Sox. Plus having inconsistent pitching and hitting isn’t much for the cause of keeping Ventura if the average to below average play continues. Then sometimes the decision-making can make a person scratch their head, both in-game and with the front office.
Watching this team for years, it is frustrating to see them continue to struggle year-in and year-out, but the front office hasn’t helped matters either by signing some players who are past their prime or have struggled with the team once they’ve arrived through either trades or free agency.
One of those deals is currently happening with the trade for James Shields, who had a very rough first two starts in Chicago. In just seven innings pitched in those outings combined, Shields has allowed 13 earned runs, four home runs and 17 hits.
It just isn’t the play of Shields that have set the White Sox back, but a combination of poor play, inconsistency all around and three consecutive losing seasons are more than enough to make the White Sox start thinking about their next move if things don’t improve soon. As they should.
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Many managers in the majors have been fired for a lot less losing, and being that Ventura is one of the best players to wear a White Sox uniform as a player he seems to get more leeway than most managers would get. That said, the winning has to start now, and not just start, but keep coming, because the Central is very winnable this season and the White Sox have the players to win it.
After everything that’s occurred this season and past few seasons, the question still remains, Do the White Sox have the right manager to lead them the rest of the way? The answer is simple, only time will tell.