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3 reasons White Sox will regret retaining Robin Ventura

By Brad Berreman

Aug 7, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura (23) speaks with reporters prior to a game against the Baltimore Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura (23) speaks with reporters prior to a game against the Baltimore Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 10, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura (23) comes to the mound for a pitcher change. starting pitcher Jose Quintana (62) leaves the game in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 10, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura (23) comes to the mound for a pitcher change. starting pitcher Jose Quintana (62) leaves the game in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Even as another disappointing season winds down, the Chicago White Sox want to keep manager Robin Ventura. Here are three reasons they will regret doing it.

The Chicago White Sox have won five games in a row entering Thursday’s action, but their record still sits at 77-81 and they’ve long been out of playoff contention. Four remaining games against the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins (all at home) gives the Pal Hose a chance at finishing .500, but 2016 will absolutely go down as a disappointing season.

Manager Robin Ventura’s contract is set to expire after the season. He has been on the hot seat off and on as the White Sox have underachieved, so it seems like a foregone conclusion a change would be made with the convenience of an expiring contract. But not so fast, apparently.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, the White Sox want Ventura back in 2017. Negotiations apparently have not seriously started, but the team reportedly intends to extend Ventura a contract extension. The only possible hold-up seems to be his desire to return, but it’s safe to say Ventura would be open to keeping his job all things considered.

Ventura is not the only one to blame for the White Sox struggles, with a healthy dose of criticism to be put on general manager Rick Hahn. But making any further commitment to Ventura is a bad course for the future, and here are three seasons the White Sox will regret not making a managerial change.

3. A Downward Trend

The White Sox finished 85-77 (second in the American League Central) in 2012, as Ventura finished third in American League Manager of the Year voting in his first season at the helm. But a drop-off came quickly, with a 63-99 mark in 2013 followed by 73-89 in 2014 and 76-86 in 2015. This year will bring his second-best record in five seasons as White Sox manager, even if the team loses out.

A 23-11 start this year looked promising on the surface, but a closer look revealed some cracks and things quickly dissolved into more mediocrity on the south side of Chicago. With a 373-472 record, Ventura has the worst winning percentage (.464) of any White Sox manager that has lasted at least three seasons. That says it all, and Nightengale noted the White Sox have only had six managers last longer than five seasons in their history.

The clamoring of White Sox fans for a managerial change should not tip the scales for management regarding Ventura. But a run of fourth-place finishes in the AL Central, with no real sign of a quick turnaround, is more than enough to avoid any further commitment to mediocrity.

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