Robin Ventura is not going to manage the White Sox in 2017.
Some may say good riddance. Others may still question the organization which put Ventura, who never managed at any level, in charge of a major league team.
Under Ventura’s leadership, the White Sox went 375-434 (.463) which
included a second-place finish in 2012 followed by a fifth-place finish
and three fourth-place finishes. The White Sox have now gone eight
seasons without making the postseason.
Ricky Renteria, the current bench coach, is presumed to be promoted to manager. He was the short term Cub manager until the Cubs swooped in on Joe Maddon.
Renteria had been a coach in the Padres’ organization since 2003 and
was promoted to bench coach in 2011. He left after the 2013 season.
Renteria has one year of managing under his belt, leading the Cubs to a
73-89 fifth-place finish in 2014.
The first issue with the Renteria promotion is that it does not change the White Sox culture or structure. Renteria is like Ventura, not a guy will a dynamic personality. The coaching staff will remain pretty much the same - - - which may not motivate the players to play better.
The second issue is that the management of the Sox does not change. There is a conflict between chairman Reinsdorf's desires, President Kenny Williams retooling philosophy and GM Rick Hahn want to rebuild. Ownership wants to win now. The press thought the White Sox "won" the last two off-seasons with their roster moves, but the players woefully underperformed.
Until the management gets on the same page, the team will continue to struggle.
The third issue is why not have a full managerial search? Renteria may be a nice buy, speaks Spanish to Latin players, and a baseball lifer. But is he the right person for this job? In San Diego, his forte was helping develop young players. The White Sox roster is besieged with veterans.
The White Sox strength is that the minor league system is filled with quality pitchers. The weakness of the White Sox is that the minor league system is devoid of hitting talent and positional players. This leads to a muddy middle of the road team in a weak division.
Showing posts with label Ventura. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ventura. Show all posts
October 3, 2016
June 6, 2016
RAISE SHIELDS
UPDATE: (6/9/16): The White Sox have been looking to replace John Danks. Little did they know that James Shields is the right handed version of Danks.
Shields White Sox debut against the Nationals was a boo-fest. He gave up three home runs, 7 earned runs in only 2 + innings of work. Of his 84 pitches, only 44 were for strikes. This came after a 10-run disaster in a Padre uniform.
In the pregame, Steve Stone only said that Shields had to throw quality starts and eat up innings to save the bullpen. He said Shields has had quality starts in 8 of his 11 previous outings. In his career, he averages 31 starts and 200 IP. He is durable. He is a professional.
But he is suddenly really bad. Down 4-0 in the top of the first against the Nationals ace pitcher was an early death knell for the Sox.
The problem with Shields start was that he was low. His change and slider were coming up short to the plate. Now, it was reported that his velocity was down from last year. If he was shorting his pitches to the plate, there may be more than just a mechanical issue wrong with him. Considering that the White Sox did not give up much for Shields in the trade, there will be suspicions based on his Sox debut.
On the flip side, the Nats did not go fishing for any pitches in the dirt. They waited on a fastball in the zone to crush it.
The bad start still does not erase the real problem with the Sox: offense. The drought continues to put more stress on the White Sox starters to pitch nearly perfect games.
The White Sox may have a had a concern about the #4 and #5 starters in the rotation, but the real problem for the team during this long losing streak where the team is now only 1 game over .500 from its first place perch of 12 games over is offense, hitting.
So the trade for Padres pitcher James Shields was not expected as a priority. It is more a defensive move to keep the critics at bay with a "big" trade while the Sox try to figure out their offensive woes.
Consider that Shields is 34 years old and on the decline of his career bell curve. Reports a few weeks ago indicated that he wanted to stay and pitch for the losing Padres. Some consider that a selfish move by a player who does not want to be on a competing team in a pennant race. Maybe he likes the San Diego laid-back beach culture. Now, he travels to Chicago to board a sinking ship.
But he was publicly called out by the Padre owner who was frustrated by the horrible play of his team. This has started the fire sale by the Padres.
Shields, pitching in the friendly home ball park, is 2-7, 4.28 ERA and 1.426 WHIP. He is the midst of his worst season. He is the first year of a big contract ($65 million with a 2016 opt out). The White Sox traded starter Erik Johnson, who had his chance at the rotation but failed, and a young shortstop prospect in Fernando Tatis, Jr. The Sox only pick up $27 million of Shield's deal so it was an affordable trade.
If the White Sox wanted to pick up the whole nut, the Padres reportedly would have added Jon Jay to the deal. Jay is the ex-Cardinal outfielder who in 55 games (238 AB) is hitting .299, 2 HT, 18 RBI with an oWAR 1.4. He is a left handed bat that the Sox are seeking to fill out the line up. He is in the last season of a contract at $6.85 million.
Using the LaRoche money savings, the Sox still have $8 million to find a bat to help the offense. But time is running out on the White Sox and manager Robin Ventura.
Giving Ventura Shields to bolster the rotation is fine, but it does not solve the lack of run support. When pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana start going back to the mean and giving up three runs in starts, the White Sox struggle to over come it. Ventura's managerial record is poor and his decision making has been questioned by local media. But ownership is loyal to its people so Ventura will ride out the season, for good or ill.
But it would be a huge black mark for the organization which had "won" the last two off-seasons with its roster moves. The White Sox did not give up much for Shields. It kept its best pitching and position prospects.
The 26-year-old Johnson, who’s the more established player the Padres got for Shields, could figure into their rotation at some point. Johnson has posted a 4.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 across 98 major league innings. In a 523 2/3-frame minor league sample size, Johnson’s strikeout rate (7.8) hasn’t looked much different, though he has walked fewer batters (3.1) with a 3.23 ERA.
Tatis, meanwhile, signed with the White Sox for $700K as a 16-year-old last summer. The Dominican native is the son of former big leaguer Fernando Tatis, and Baseball America wrote at the time of his signing that the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder pairs power potential on offense with a good arm on defense. Tatis, therefore, could potentially serve as a third baseman or outfielder in the majors.
Shields White Sox debut against the Nationals was a boo-fest. He gave up three home runs, 7 earned runs in only 2 + innings of work. Of his 84 pitches, only 44 were for strikes. This came after a 10-run disaster in a Padre uniform.
In the pregame, Steve Stone only said that Shields had to throw quality starts and eat up innings to save the bullpen. He said Shields has had quality starts in 8 of his 11 previous outings. In his career, he averages 31 starts and 200 IP. He is durable. He is a professional.
But he is suddenly really bad. Down 4-0 in the top of the first against the Nationals ace pitcher was an early death knell for the Sox.
The problem with Shields start was that he was low. His change and slider were coming up short to the plate. Now, it was reported that his velocity was down from last year. If he was shorting his pitches to the plate, there may be more than just a mechanical issue wrong with him. Considering that the White Sox did not give up much for Shields in the trade, there will be suspicions based on his Sox debut.
On the flip side, the Nats did not go fishing for any pitches in the dirt. They waited on a fastball in the zone to crush it.
The bad start still does not erase the real problem with the Sox: offense. The drought continues to put more stress on the White Sox starters to pitch nearly perfect games.
The White Sox may have a had a concern about the #4 and #5 starters in the rotation, but the real problem for the team during this long losing streak where the team is now only 1 game over .500 from its first place perch of 12 games over is offense, hitting.
So the trade for Padres pitcher James Shields was not expected as a priority. It is more a defensive move to keep the critics at bay with a "big" trade while the Sox try to figure out their offensive woes.
Consider that Shields is 34 years old and on the decline of his career bell curve. Reports a few weeks ago indicated that he wanted to stay and pitch for the losing Padres. Some consider that a selfish move by a player who does not want to be on a competing team in a pennant race. Maybe he likes the San Diego laid-back beach culture. Now, he travels to Chicago to board a sinking ship.
But he was publicly called out by the Padre owner who was frustrated by the horrible play of his team. This has started the fire sale by the Padres.
Shields, pitching in the friendly home ball park, is 2-7, 4.28 ERA and 1.426 WHIP. He is the midst of his worst season. He is the first year of a big contract ($65 million with a 2016 opt out). The White Sox traded starter Erik Johnson, who had his chance at the rotation but failed, and a young shortstop prospect in Fernando Tatis, Jr. The Sox only pick up $27 million of Shield's deal so it was an affordable trade.
If the White Sox wanted to pick up the whole nut, the Padres reportedly would have added Jon Jay to the deal. Jay is the ex-Cardinal outfielder who in 55 games (238 AB) is hitting .299, 2 HT, 18 RBI with an oWAR 1.4. He is a left handed bat that the Sox are seeking to fill out the line up. He is in the last season of a contract at $6.85 million.
Using the LaRoche money savings, the Sox still have $8 million to find a bat to help the offense. But time is running out on the White Sox and manager Robin Ventura.
Giving Ventura Shields to bolster the rotation is fine, but it does not solve the lack of run support. When pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana start going back to the mean and giving up three runs in starts, the White Sox struggle to over come it. Ventura's managerial record is poor and his decision making has been questioned by local media. But ownership is loyal to its people so Ventura will ride out the season, for good or ill.
But it would be a huge black mark for the organization which had "won" the last two off-seasons with its roster moves. The White Sox did not give up much for Shields. It kept its best pitching and position prospects.
The 26-year-old Johnson, who’s the more established player the Padres got for Shields, could figure into their rotation at some point. Johnson has posted a 4.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 across 98 major league innings. In a 523 2/3-frame minor league sample size, Johnson’s strikeout rate (7.8) hasn’t looked much different, though he has walked fewer batters (3.1) with a 3.23 ERA.
Tatis, meanwhile, signed with the White Sox for $700K as a 16-year-old last summer. The Dominican native is the son of former big leaguer Fernando Tatis, and Baseball America wrote at the time of his signing that the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder pairs power potential on offense with a good arm on defense. Tatis, therefore, could potentially serve as a third baseman or outfielder in the majors.
May 31, 2016
THE SLIDE
But for the grace of the baseball gods, go thee Cub fans when one looks at the White Sox tailspin.
The jump the season moment was probably when manager Robin Ventura had his best consistent hitter, Melky Cabrera, bunt with two runners on in a scoreless game. Moving the runners up one base for Todd Frazier would be fine but Frazier, like the rest of the Sox, have been struggling at the plate. In the post game, Frazier took the bullet saying it was up to him to drive in the runners.
It is Ventura that continues to have a large target on his back. He got a great vote of confidence from his players after the Adam LaRouche nonsense. But the team has underperformed badly in the last two seasons.
The White Sox got off to a great start with excellent starting pitching. But in the span of a week, the White Sox went from first in the AL Central to third. Jose Quintana pitched extremely well but the Mets sent the White Sox to their seventh straight loss with a 1-0 defeat. Quintana lost for the fifth time in 10 decisions despite limiting New York to a run and six hits in seven innings. Quintana has a 2.13 ERA but is a .500 pitcher. Previously, the White Sox season was crushed when the Royals came back from a 7-1 deficit in the 9th inning humble the South Siders. The White Sox have lost 15 of 19 and are now only sit two games above .500.And the "bad" losses continue to pile up.
The offense has been the key to the slide. It has been feast or famine at the plate. The Sox seem to only look for the long ball to score runs. They don't seem to have the plate discipline to take walks or drive the ball to the opposite field to sustain long innings. In 52 games, the Sox have scored 4 runs/game and pitching has given up 3.69 runs/game. The best batting average is .284 by Adam Eaton.
As some commentators mentioned, the team needs a "spark" to stop this losing streak. But this is a veteran ball club that should be able to make their own sparks. Management continues to be in "win now" mode (with rumors that the team is interested in trading for Padres expensive starter James Shields) but does the roster really have the talent to win now? Or are the Sox "wasting" the prime years of Chris Sale?
The Sox really don't need pitching help. It needs one or two bats in the middle of line up. Tim Anderson, the #1 prospect, has not lit up AAA this year. He is the shortstop of the future. But the window of winning is now. The team could use a left handed power hitter to play a corner outfield spot. But most teams are not thinking trade at the end of May.
Some preseason writers think this is the true Sox team: a .500 scuffling club. But the rare quick start had raised expectations for Sox fans. The next two weeks will be critical for the Sox long term success.
The jump the season moment was probably when manager Robin Ventura had his best consistent hitter, Melky Cabrera, bunt with two runners on in a scoreless game. Moving the runners up one base for Todd Frazier would be fine but Frazier, like the rest of the Sox, have been struggling at the plate. In the post game, Frazier took the bullet saying it was up to him to drive in the runners.
It is Ventura that continues to have a large target on his back. He got a great vote of confidence from his players after the Adam LaRouche nonsense. But the team has underperformed badly in the last two seasons.
The White Sox got off to a great start with excellent starting pitching. But in the span of a week, the White Sox went from first in the AL Central to third. Jose Quintana pitched extremely well but the Mets sent the White Sox to their seventh straight loss with a 1-0 defeat. Quintana lost for the fifth time in 10 decisions despite limiting New York to a run and six hits in seven innings. Quintana has a 2.13 ERA but is a .500 pitcher. Previously, the White Sox season was crushed when the Royals came back from a 7-1 deficit in the 9th inning humble the South Siders. The White Sox have lost 15 of 19 and are now only sit two games above .500.And the "bad" losses continue to pile up.
The offense has been the key to the slide. It has been feast or famine at the plate. The Sox seem to only look for the long ball to score runs. They don't seem to have the plate discipline to take walks or drive the ball to the opposite field to sustain long innings. In 52 games, the Sox have scored 4 runs/game and pitching has given up 3.69 runs/game. The best batting average is .284 by Adam Eaton.
As some commentators mentioned, the team needs a "spark" to stop this losing streak. But this is a veteran ball club that should be able to make their own sparks. Management continues to be in "win now" mode (with rumors that the team is interested in trading for Padres expensive starter James Shields) but does the roster really have the talent to win now? Or are the Sox "wasting" the prime years of Chris Sale?
The Sox really don't need pitching help. It needs one or two bats in the middle of line up. Tim Anderson, the #1 prospect, has not lit up AAA this year. He is the shortstop of the future. But the window of winning is now. The team could use a left handed power hitter to play a corner outfield spot. But most teams are not thinking trade at the end of May.
Some preseason writers think this is the true Sox team: a .500 scuffling club. But the rare quick start had raised expectations for Sox fans. The next two weeks will be critical for the Sox long term success.
February 20, 2016
REMAINING HOLES IN SOX
For the past two years, the White Sox have been aggressively going into the market to fill holes in the lineup. For the most part, people were happy (on paper) of the work done by GM Hahn. This off season is no exception.
But despite all the moves and quality drafts of pitching, the White Sox still have several glaring holes and questions going into the 2016 season:
1. DH. After Dunn and LaRoche, the designated hitter slot is turning into the new dark hole that the third base position was after Joe Crede. The trade for D'back prospect Matt Davidson seems like a bust. Bringing in Mike Olt at the end of last year was a Hail Mail Pass after the game was over. This is still a continually issue for the Sox.
2. SS. Alexi Ramirez had faded and his time was up. Tyler Saladino is back at his natural position, but he did not show any bat potential last season. His competition, Carlos Sanchez, did not shine at the plate either. You can "hide" a great glove, no hit player in an AL line-up, IF you have a solid DH and good overall offense. We may see top prospect Tim Anderson arrive in the majors earlier than expected if the Sox need to win now.
3. RF. Avi Garcia is working his way out of town like Carlos Quinten did. He had not blossomed like Sox management had hoped.He his .257, 13 HR, 59 RBI but had a negative 0.3 WAR. The Sox were rumored in play for some of the vaulted OF free agents, but apparently upper management would not commit to anything more than three year FA deals. J.B. Shuck does not seem to add any pressure for improvement in Garcia in RF.
But if you ask die hard Sox fans the Number 1 issue on their team, a good number would say manager Robin Ventura. Ownership is very loyal to Ventura. Initially, he did not want to be a field manager. He was looking to work up the executive ranks. But after the Ozzie nonsense, the team wanted to get a professional, easy going, good media guy. But Ventura has not worked out well as a manager. The team continually gets off to horrible starts, and he does not seem to have the players pushing to be their best. Ventura is in the last year of his current contract. Some think Ventura may be holding back the team and costing them victories. But in the end, last season's roster underperformed and had an a lower than average baseball IQ that cost them many games.
But despite all the moves and quality drafts of pitching, the White Sox still have several glaring holes and questions going into the 2016 season:
1. DH. After Dunn and LaRoche, the designated hitter slot is turning into the new dark hole that the third base position was after Joe Crede. The trade for D'back prospect Matt Davidson seems like a bust. Bringing in Mike Olt at the end of last year was a Hail Mail Pass after the game was over. This is still a continually issue for the Sox.
2. SS. Alexi Ramirez had faded and his time was up. Tyler Saladino is back at his natural position, but he did not show any bat potential last season. His competition, Carlos Sanchez, did not shine at the plate either. You can "hide" a great glove, no hit player in an AL line-up, IF you have a solid DH and good overall offense. We may see top prospect Tim Anderson arrive in the majors earlier than expected if the Sox need to win now.
3. RF. Avi Garcia is working his way out of town like Carlos Quinten did. He had not blossomed like Sox management had hoped.He his .257, 13 HR, 59 RBI but had a negative 0.3 WAR. The Sox were rumored in play for some of the vaulted OF free agents, but apparently upper management would not commit to anything more than three year FA deals. J.B. Shuck does not seem to add any pressure for improvement in Garcia in RF.
But if you ask die hard Sox fans the Number 1 issue on their team, a good number would say manager Robin Ventura. Ownership is very loyal to Ventura. Initially, he did not want to be a field manager. He was looking to work up the executive ranks. But after the Ozzie nonsense, the team wanted to get a professional, easy going, good media guy. But Ventura has not worked out well as a manager. The team continually gets off to horrible starts, and he does not seem to have the players pushing to be their best. Ventura is in the last year of his current contract. Some think Ventura may be holding back the team and costing them victories. But in the end, last season's roster underperformed and had an a lower than average baseball IQ that cost them many games.
June 18, 2015
WHO GOES?
The White Sox are mired in another long losing streak.
The underperforming team has lost six in a row. In the last 10 games, the team is 3-7 despite several quality starts. The Sox are currently in last place in the AL Central with a 28-36 record (.438), 10 games behind.
The vast majority of people believed that the White Sox had a very good off-season, acquiring good talent to fill major holes including DH, LF and the bullpen.
But nothing seems to be going right. The White Sox have a negative 68 run differential which shows that the team cannot generate any offense. They lost last night to the Pirates, 3 to 2.
The hue and cry is what can be done to right this sinking ship.
Who do you fire to fire up the team?
Probably no one.
Manager Robin Ventura is an obvious choice. In his four years, the team has never really contended to a divisional title. His laid back attitude (even though he got thrown out in last night's game) does not seem to generate passion on the field. It is not to say that a firebrand like Ozzie Guillen could get more production from this roster.
You could fire the hitting coach but no one knows his name or cares.
You could fire the general manager for over-rating the talent he acquired, but Rick Hahn has only been on the job for a short time. Some media members question whether Hahn actually has full authority to run the show, with former GM Kenny Williams lurking in the background. As has been pointed out, except for pitchers, Williams tenure as GM was a failure in drafting and developing position players. The Sox have been in a trade for and sign free agent mode to fill holes for almost a decade.
So by firing Ventura, would that make any difference since you still have the same ball players on the roster? If the players liked Ventura, they would play harder for him. But it is not like the team has quit on Ventura or the season. There is a malaise factor that at times the team is going through the motions, perhaps because they cannot sustain an inning like the young Cubs seem to do on a regular basis (especially last night with several batting through the order innings in a 17-0 blowout of the Indians.)
The White Sox dug themselves a rut that has grown into a sink hole. Firing anyone at this point does not seem to fix the fundamental problems on this team: offense and defense.
The underperforming team has lost six in a row. In the last 10 games, the team is 3-7 despite several quality starts. The Sox are currently in last place in the AL Central with a 28-36 record (.438), 10 games behind.
The vast majority of people believed that the White Sox had a very good off-season, acquiring good talent to fill major holes including DH, LF and the bullpen.
But nothing seems to be going right. The White Sox have a negative 68 run differential which shows that the team cannot generate any offense. They lost last night to the Pirates, 3 to 2.
The hue and cry is what can be done to right this sinking ship.
Who do you fire to fire up the team?
Probably no one.
Manager Robin Ventura is an obvious choice. In his four years, the team has never really contended to a divisional title. His laid back attitude (even though he got thrown out in last night's game) does not seem to generate passion on the field. It is not to say that a firebrand like Ozzie Guillen could get more production from this roster.
You could fire the hitting coach but no one knows his name or cares.
You could fire the general manager for over-rating the talent he acquired, but Rick Hahn has only been on the job for a short time. Some media members question whether Hahn actually has full authority to run the show, with former GM Kenny Williams lurking in the background. As has been pointed out, except for pitchers, Williams tenure as GM was a failure in drafting and developing position players. The Sox have been in a trade for and sign free agent mode to fill holes for almost a decade.
So by firing Ventura, would that make any difference since you still have the same ball players on the roster? If the players liked Ventura, they would play harder for him. But it is not like the team has quit on Ventura or the season. There is a malaise factor that at times the team is going through the motions, perhaps because they cannot sustain an inning like the young Cubs seem to do on a regular basis (especially last night with several batting through the order innings in a 17-0 blowout of the Indians.)
The White Sox dug themselves a rut that has grown into a sink hole. Firing anyone at this point does not seem to fix the fundamental problems on this team: offense and defense.
April 24, 2015
RIDING EMOTIONS
You can beat fun at the old ball park by beating up each other.
Things started in the bottom of the seventh inning of Thursday night's White Sox-Royals contest. With two outs, White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton hit a comebacker to Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura. As Eaton was running to first, Ventura appeared to yell a not so friendly phrase at him. Ventura, yelled back at Eaton running down the line, prior to throwing the ball to first.
The first base umpire immediately got in front of Eaton, while the home plate ump came out in front of Ventura.
At that moment, both benches cleared. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, but no punches were thrown. As these tea kettle situations usually lose steam quickly, everyone had stopped their sumo stances and were just about ready to go back to their dugouts.
But then new White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija went after Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain, causing a scrum on the field. As Samardzija charged at Cain, another Royals player, (another ex-NL Central rival, the later ejected) Edinson Volquez, took a swing at Samardzija.
Samardzija was eventually separated from the fray. He was held back by Geovany Soto, his teammate with both the Cubs and Athletics. After the game, Cain told reporters Samardzija had been chirping at him during the game - - - probably a hold over from Oakland's post game series. Earlier in the year, Samardzija hit Cain with a pitch that Cain thought was intentional (a carry over from last season).
Once the fight was over, the umpires gathered to figure out which players needed to be ejected from the contest. For the White Sox, that wound up being Samardzija and starting pitcher Chris Sale. Sale was still in the game at that point, though had thrown 99 pitches, so it was unclear whether he would have returned for the next inning.
The Royals lost Ventura, Cain and pitcher Volquez for the rest of the contest. For Ventura, this is the second straight game in which he has been ejected. Ventura was ejected in his last start against Oakland after hitting Brett Lawrie on the elbow with a pitch. This was an alleged retaliation for a hard slide Lawrie made in breaking up a double play. But that entire Royals-A’s series was mired with hit batters and scrums.
Given his recent history, it would be surprising if Ventura escapes this one without missing some time. Samardzija is also probably in line for a suspension. It's unclear whether Sale or Cain will be punished once Major League Baseball is able to review the entire brawl. Also, if Volquez was the player who threw the punch at Samardzija, it's likely he'll miss a start or two.
Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said the Royals might be playing with too much emotion at the moment, and stressed that fights are never a great way to handle this type of situation.
The Royals are playing with a chip on their shoulder despite last season’s success. Some people thought the Royals just lucked out after decades of small market futility. But a very quick start to 10 wins gave the Royals some swagger which has turned into a macho Bad Boy Mentality.
It is the manager’s job to keep his team’s emotions in check, and channeled to productive aspects of the game. Losing three players in a fight is not a productive use of talent.
The new commissioner has a big decision on his hands. He will need to punish Ventura for his repeat behavior. It is a question whether he can corral the tempers to avoid baseball becoming a poor man’s hockey game.
Things started in the bottom of the seventh inning of Thursday night's White Sox-Royals contest. With two outs, White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton hit a comebacker to Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura. As Eaton was running to first, Ventura appeared to yell a not so friendly phrase at him. Ventura, yelled back at Eaton running down the line, prior to throwing the ball to first.
The first base umpire immediately got in front of Eaton, while the home plate ump came out in front of Ventura.
At that moment, both benches cleared. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, but no punches were thrown. As these tea kettle situations usually lose steam quickly, everyone had stopped their sumo stances and were just about ready to go back to their dugouts.
But then new White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija went after Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain, causing a scrum on the field. As Samardzija charged at Cain, another Royals player, (another ex-NL Central rival, the later ejected) Edinson Volquez, took a swing at Samardzija.
Samardzija was eventually separated from the fray. He was held back by Geovany Soto, his teammate with both the Cubs and Athletics. After the game, Cain told reporters Samardzija had been chirping at him during the game - - - probably a hold over from Oakland's post game series. Earlier in the year, Samardzija hit Cain with a pitch that Cain thought was intentional (a carry over from last season).
Once the fight was over, the umpires gathered to figure out which players needed to be ejected from the contest. For the White Sox, that wound up being Samardzija and starting pitcher Chris Sale. Sale was still in the game at that point, though had thrown 99 pitches, so it was unclear whether he would have returned for the next inning.
The Royals lost Ventura, Cain and pitcher Volquez for the rest of the contest. For Ventura, this is the second straight game in which he has been ejected. Ventura was ejected in his last start against Oakland after hitting Brett Lawrie on the elbow with a pitch. This was an alleged retaliation for a hard slide Lawrie made in breaking up a double play. But that entire Royals-A’s series was mired with hit batters and scrums.
Given his recent history, it would be surprising if Ventura escapes this one without missing some time. Samardzija is also probably in line for a suspension. It's unclear whether Sale or Cain will be punished once Major League Baseball is able to review the entire brawl. Also, if Volquez was the player who threw the punch at Samardzija, it's likely he'll miss a start or two.
Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said the Royals might be playing with too much emotion at the moment, and stressed that fights are never a great way to handle this type of situation.
The Royals are playing with a chip on their shoulder despite last season’s success. Some people thought the Royals just lucked out after decades of small market futility. But a very quick start to 10 wins gave the Royals some swagger which has turned into a macho Bad Boy Mentality.
It is the manager’s job to keep his team’s emotions in check, and channeled to productive aspects of the game. Losing three players in a fight is not a productive use of talent.
The new commissioner has a big decision on his hands. He will need to punish Ventura for his repeat behavior. It is a question whether he can corral the tempers to avoid baseball becoming a poor man’s hockey game.
March 27, 2014
SOX ROTATION
White Sox manager Robin Ventura explained that he wanted to break up his lefty starters in the 2014 rotation. There are a few reasons for this move.
Typically, teams order their rotation from their best pitcher ("the staff ace") down in quality to the fifth starter position.
Since the leagues are primarily right handed dominate in pitching and hitting, the left handed starter is an unusual occurrence during a series. But the White Sox are primarily a left handed starting rotation against primarily right handed teams.
Managers believe that you want to keep your opponent off balance during a game or series. That is why pitching coaches like the idea of staggering types of pitchers throughout the rotation so another team does not get comfortable against, say fastball pitcher, fastball pitcher, fastball pitcher.
The same is true on the offensive side. Managers do not want pitchers to face a primarily one sided line up because the pitcher and umpire can get into a strike zone groove against one type of batter. By changing from a righty hitter to a lefty hitter makes the pitcher and catcher throw to a different strike zone, which in theory, evens out the pitching and hitting strategies.
So the White Sox rotation will be LHP Sale, RHP Paulino, LHP Quintana, RHP E. Johnson and LHP Danks. If you order the strength of the starters, it would run: #1, #4, #2, #5 and #3.
In high school chess tournaments, teams are supposed to rank their players by their chess ratings so equal level players would face off with each other. However, there were times when freshman or new team players would not have a high rating but would be above their level of competition. A captain could take advantage of that difference and keep stronger under the radar players at the low end of the tournament bracket, making sure for some easy wins. The same could be said for the White Sox rotation.
Danks may be the strongest #5 starter in the American League. Quintana is clearly the second best starter on the staff, but he will be throwing mostly against other teams' #3 starters. By moving Paulino to the #2 overslot, it puts higher quality pitchers at the back of the rotation which could equate to a pitching advantage.
Typically, teams order their rotation from their best pitcher ("the staff ace") down in quality to the fifth starter position.
Since the leagues are primarily right handed dominate in pitching and hitting, the left handed starter is an unusual occurrence during a series. But the White Sox are primarily a left handed starting rotation against primarily right handed teams.
Managers believe that you want to keep your opponent off balance during a game or series. That is why pitching coaches like the idea of staggering types of pitchers throughout the rotation so another team does not get comfortable against, say fastball pitcher, fastball pitcher, fastball pitcher.
The same is true on the offensive side. Managers do not want pitchers to face a primarily one sided line up because the pitcher and umpire can get into a strike zone groove against one type of batter. By changing from a righty hitter to a lefty hitter makes the pitcher and catcher throw to a different strike zone, which in theory, evens out the pitching and hitting strategies.
So the White Sox rotation will be LHP Sale, RHP Paulino, LHP Quintana, RHP E. Johnson and LHP Danks. If you order the strength of the starters, it would run: #1, #4, #2, #5 and #3.
In high school chess tournaments, teams are supposed to rank their players by their chess ratings so equal level players would face off with each other. However, there were times when freshman or new team players would not have a high rating but would be above their level of competition. A captain could take advantage of that difference and keep stronger under the radar players at the low end of the tournament bracket, making sure for some easy wins. The same could be said for the White Sox rotation.
Danks may be the strongest #5 starter in the American League. Quintana is clearly the second best starter on the staff, but he will be throwing mostly against other teams' #3 starters. By moving Paulino to the #2 overslot, it puts higher quality pitchers at the back of the rotation which could equate to a pitching advantage.
October 23, 2012
THE NEW MANAGER PROFILE
When Mike Matheny was announced to replace Tony LaRussa as the St. Louis Cardinals manager, some eyebrows were raised. Matheny had no managerial experience at any level. He was the opposite of LaRussa, who micromanaged games and rosters, to the point of a "genius" label by some pundits.
When Robin Ventura was announced to replace Ozzie Guillen as the Chicago White Sox manager, some eyebrows were raised. Ventura had no managerial experience at any level. He was the opposite of the temperamental Guillen, who had clashes with GM Kenny Williams. But Guillen had gotten the White Sox a championship, but had worn out his welcome. Ventura was supposed to put a calm face on the White Sox.
So when the Colorado Rockies beat writers tell that current player Jason Giambi is a "real" candidate to become the next Rox manager, some eyebrows will be raised. Giambi admitted using steroids and PEDs. However, since he came clean early and was apologetic, he normally gets a pass from the fans and the league. The other issue is that Giambi has no managerial experience at any level. He played on the team that underperformed in a small market situation. The question is can he turn from player and teammate to manager - tough guy when the going gets rough.
But there is a clear pattern emerging in major league baseball circles.
It is now acceptable to hire managers without any managerial experience.
It seems to be a contradiction. In the normal business world, you don't hire a green horn kid and
give him the keys to the factory and expect any kind of results. The one thing former players have in common is the MLB experience. But just playing the game does not mean one is good at leading a team.
Matheny and Ventura exceeded expectations in their first years as managers. Those results will probably trigger more non-experience hires. It provides the front office with two critical positives: lower salary for an inexperienced manager and control. General managers will have more influence over a green first year manager than an experienced old school general. And management control is becoming more prevalent in all sports. Baseball has just taken it to another level.
When Robin Ventura was announced to replace Ozzie Guillen as the Chicago White Sox manager, some eyebrows were raised. Ventura had no managerial experience at any level. He was the opposite of the temperamental Guillen, who had clashes with GM Kenny Williams. But Guillen had gotten the White Sox a championship, but had worn out his welcome. Ventura was supposed to put a calm face on the White Sox.
So when the Colorado Rockies beat writers tell that current player Jason Giambi is a "real" candidate to become the next Rox manager, some eyebrows will be raised. Giambi admitted using steroids and PEDs. However, since he came clean early and was apologetic, he normally gets a pass from the fans and the league. The other issue is that Giambi has no managerial experience at any level. He played on the team that underperformed in a small market situation. The question is can he turn from player and teammate to manager - tough guy when the going gets rough.
But there is a clear pattern emerging in major league baseball circles.
It is now acceptable to hire managers without any managerial experience.
It seems to be a contradiction. In the normal business world, you don't hire a green horn kid and
give him the keys to the factory and expect any kind of results. The one thing former players have in common is the MLB experience. But just playing the game does not mean one is good at leading a team.
Matheny and Ventura exceeded expectations in their first years as managers. Those results will probably trigger more non-experience hires. It provides the front office with two critical positives: lower salary for an inexperienced manager and control. General managers will have more influence over a green first year manager than an experienced old school general. And management control is becoming more prevalent in all sports. Baseball has just taken it to another level.
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