We don’t touch on the Chicago White Sox much here at Chicago Style Sports. This isn’t because we purposely ignore the White Sox, we all tend to pay attention to all Southside news, we all just cheer for that other team in Chicago. That said, if you are a big fan of the White Sox, and either have written in the past, or always wanted to write about sports, reach out as I would love to add a White Sox voice to the team.
But that’s not why you called…
After the Chicago White Sox looked like a potential World Series team through April (17-8), both May (11-17) and June (3-7) have not been kind to the Southside hitmen. On May 1st they had a stranglehold on the American League Central, and today they are in fourth place and spiralling, fast.
This patch has forced GM Rick Hahn to go out and make some moves – trading for James Shields, cutting Jimmy Rollins and Matt Latos, calling up Tim Anderson, and taking a waiver on former MVP Justin Morneau.
With so much change happening, the final change could very well be in the manager’s office.
There are many suggesting that Robin Ventura will not last until the weekend as White Sox manager, something that we spoke about during the offseason following the news of the Rick Renteria hiring. While the talk after the 2015 season was there is no way Robin makes it to the 2016 season as manager, he was left in charge (probably due to Jerry Reinsdorf), started out great, but has fallen off hard of late. While there is something to be said about sticking behind your guys, Robin has shown that he just cannot get the most out of his team.
Robin, as a player, was one of the most clutch hitters I ever saw. Making a name for himself in the College World Series, then smashing 18 career grand slams (6th on the all-time list). All that experience and success just hasn’t translated into winning baseball, as he had a .461 winning percentage.
Robin was a great player in this league, and you couldn’t find a better guy to represent the game – he just isn’t cut out to be a manager in this league, at least not yet – and that’s ok. But keeping him in charge is not ok, and a change needs to be made sooner, rather than later.
This really only leaves one thing in question – when do they do it?
The smart money will be on Thursday. The White Sox have an off day Thursday, after a three game set against the Detroit Tigers at home. I would guess that anything less than a three game sweep, which the entire ballclub is firing on all cylinders, results in a Robin Ventura firing on either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. This would allow for the interim manager (probably Renteria) to start the series, away, against the first place Cleveland Indians, in Cleveland.
Rick wouldn’t be your regular interim manager either. With a year’s experience on the Northside of town, which he was given rave reviews for getting a lot more than expected out of a young and less talented team, Renteria very well could have the “interim” tag removed by the end of the season assuming he is successful. Of course this is hearsay at the moment, but if Hahn really wants what is best for the team, this is the right path.
What do you think White Sox fans? Should Robin be fired? Let us know!
