Chicago White Sox: Robin Ventura's Place Among AL Managers

Right now, Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura is the best at what he does in the American League.

Some may argue that the honor should go to Ron Washington, manager for the Texas Rangers.  The Rangers do have the second-best record in the AL, but thanks to Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz and the rest of their lineup, they also have the most prolific offense in baseball.  Texas has already scored 322 runs and is batting .282 as a team right now.  Wow.

How much does a manager have to do when his team can score at their leisure?

Others would say that Joe Maddon in Tampa Bay deserves the honor.  After all, the Rays have had 10 players go to the disabled list already this year, most notably is the loss of star third baseman Evan Longoria who has been out since the end of April, yet sit tied with Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees for third-best winning percentage (.583) in MLB and the most wins in the AL (35).

The Rays were supposed to win regardless and are built around pitching and defense. Outside of a three game sweep at the hands of the White Sox, they own a 19-8 record at the cave know as Tropicana Field.  Talk about home field advantage.

Right now however, Ventura edges each of them.

Here is a quick look at a few of Ventura’s highlights.

• He did not allow the Hector Santiago as closer experiment go on too long.  Ventura put Addison Reed in the closer role after Santiago recorded his second blown save.  Reed is seven for seven and has yet to be scored on in save opportunities since the promotion.
• He put the perennially struggling Gordon Beckham in the two hole before the series against the Chicago Cubs.  Beckham responded to the move, raising his batting average from .197 to .236 and has helped ignite an offense that is among the best in baseball since the beginning of May.
• Likewise, Robin put Alex Rios in the fifth spot in the batting order.  He is also taking advantage of more fastballs, driving the ball to the opposite field and setting up A.J. Pierzynski with RBI opportunities.
• Beginning in spring training, Ventura placed an emphasis on pitch delivery and the catchers' release technique, dramatically improving the Sox’s stolen base percentage against from the fourth worst (.785) in 2011 to the fifth best (.641) so far this year.

Conservatively, Ventura has already won four to six games with these four moves alone.  That is pretty remarkable for a first year manager.

Most importantly, Ventura has created an atmosphere that is conducive to winning for Paul Konerko and the rest of the team. 

The Ozzie Guillen sideshow had run its course and the difference in styles is tangible.  To a man, White Sox players comment on how the more professional environment has translated into more focused baseball.

Also impossible to overstate is how the choices Ventura made with his coaching staff have impacted the team.

Bench coach Mark Parent, hitting coach Jeff Manto and third base coach Joe McEwing have infused toughness, aggressive coaching and respect into the coaching staff.  Nothing personal against Joey Cora, Greg Walker and Jeff Cox, but they lacked the edge that the current coaching staff has.

All this is said with the knowledge that there is quite a bit of baseball yet to be played, and if the Sox do not make the playoffs, the conversation is moot.  The Sox must keep winning for Ventura to garner serious consideration in Manager of the Year voting.

If the White Sox are the most pleasant surprise of the young season in the American League, then we must credit Ventura for the way they are playing right now.