Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…
- During an appearance on WSCR Radio’s “Inside The Clubhouse” show (hat tip to CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine), White Sox GM Rick Hahn said that discussions with manager Robin Ventura and the coaching staff about their futures with the team will wait until the end of the season. While the Sox have had another underachieving season, the lack of talk isn’t necessarily a sign that Ventura and company could be in trouble, as “we had the same conversations a couple of years back, when he was in the last year of his deal that time,” Hahn said. “Even as a player, [Ventura] played out the last year of his contract, and focused on the end of that particular season. He let the contractual stuff go until the end of the season, and that is our plan at this point.” Ventura quietly signed a two-year extension during the 2013-14 offseason, prior to his last season under his previous contract as Chicago’s skipper.
- Could the qualifying offer keep Mike Napoli in an Indians uniform? Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer floats the idea that the Tribe could extend the one-year QO (rumored to be worth $16.7MM) to Napoli as an attempt at keeping the slugger in the fold without making too lengthy a commitment to a player with a checkered injury history and who is entering his age-35 season. Napoli has enjoyed an outstanding season (.253/.339/.515 with 28 homers in 442 PA) and could certainly be in line for a multi-year deal this winter. If Napoli feels the draft pick compensation attached to the qualifying offer could dampen his market, however, he could also accept the QO and remain on a contender he enjoys playing for, while still taking home a nice payday. It’s certainly one of the more interesting possible QO scenarios in play this winter, assuming of course that the qualifying offer still exists in its current form if the new collective bargaining agreement is finalized before the offseason begins.
- The Royals have disappointed this season, and rival executives tell Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star that the Royals could face a tough time reloading for another quick return to prominence. A lack of quality pitching in the system is one issue, not to mention rule changes to the draft and international spending that have made it harder for smaller-market teams like K.C. to stockpile talent. Dodd’s piece is well worth a full read for a look at what plagued the Royals this season and the challenges they’ll face in the future.
The White Sox would be best served finally cutting ties with Ventura.
Absolutely !
Sox should give Ventura a three year extension based on the Good 4 months he had 3 or 4 years ago
Man I hope that is sarcasm.. Ventura is a nightmare and I think after 4 sub-par seasons people should see it is no where competent enough to manage a MLB club. This year alone he should have been fired about 2 months ago. Then combine these horrible losses, Eaton batting third and abreu batting second in games, having Cabrera bunt with two on and less than 2 out, horrible positioning of players on the field, lack of accountability when players are not producing, Having a 12 yr old being the ‘leader’ of the clubhouse, and this latest Sale hissy fit in which Sale seemed to implicate Ventura as the reason why he did what he did.. Yeah, bye Robin.. Should have been gone 2 seasons ago (and yeah I said it then too)
The White Sox underperform every year. It wouldn’t matter if Jesus Christ himself was their manager.
I don’t think baseball was around during the time of Jesus Christ.
joke
jōk/
noun
1.
a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline.
“she was in a mood to tell jokes”
synonyms: funny story, jest, witticism, quip
That is my biggest bone to pick in regards to Ventura. Remember, teams reflect the style of their manager. No accountability, and a ho hum attitude allows for mediocre effort if you know you will be put right back out there to keep being mediocre. Im not sure there is enough space to point out many of the miscues by Ventura in his tenure with the Sox, in addition to apparently having NO backbone when it comes to speaking up. For example, WHY was Avi Garcia up with the big league club batting about .240 with no homers? He had an option to go to the minors to get more consistent at bats and playing time (heck turn his lumbering keister into a 1B), but they did not.. The Robin’s and the Sox FO excuse? Well he will learn more up at the big league club.. Huh what? He’ll really learn more and how to be a better hitter by sitting on the bench most games (because Eaton has done really well in RF)? Yeah, bright move. That is just one example.
Hmmm….the Royals need starting pitching in their system. If they decide to sell off pieces by next years deadline the Braves might need to look at Moose.
KC will probably look to part with veteran players like Moose and plenty others (i.e. Hosmer, Cain) according to various articles.Dayton Moore has ties to Atlanta so u would think his relationship with Schuerhultz along with others, could help future trade talks.
Moose would be a great addition to the Braves and still in the prime of his career.
It seems reasonable to trade Moustakis considering how Cuthbert has played and with Hunter Dozier putting himself back on the prospect radar (.308 avg, 21 HR, .927 OPS between 2 levels in 403 AB). The 2013 1st round pick turns 25 this month. They should call him up soon to see what they’ve got against big league pitching.
I say this as a Cubs fan….Everyone knows Reinsdorf awards and protects his cronies, at all costs. He doesn’t care about winning or the Sox fans. Hell, he probably just uses the Sox as a tax right off. He runs the Bulls the same way. I’m sure Ventura will be the manager for he next 3-5 years. In that time, the team will continue to be mediocre, as Kenny “I sign anyone who used to be good” Williams continues to sign washed up players at inflated contracts and hopes they all perform. Ventura will then be promoted to another position off the field. Mark my words.
Now that the Cubs are FINALLY winning, all their fans become experts all of a sudden.
Did I say I was an expert? It’s pretty much common sense. Enjoy that mediocre team.
You’re an idiot. Jerry actually gives a damn about the sox. He doesn’t about the Bulls
You don’t’ need to have a winning baseball team to see what Reinsdorf has done with the bulls. CF2489 beat me to it, but he does (or at least did) seem to care about the sox.
No doubt Ventura leaves some things to be desired as a manager, but that’s not gonna fix that team. They have some very good players and a bunch of holes. Without spending 200m/yr, it’s hard to fill out an MLB team like that without any internal, cost controlled options. Their recent inability to bring up position player prospects that can make solid contributions have really hurt that team.
Personally think they should blow it up. But I think they may be wise to get rid of KW before doing so. I think Hahn is actually a pretty smart gm and would show it if given more of a chance for decision making.
Others changes for sure (I agree with KW being gone too, but I think the only way that occurs is if JR is no longer the owner), but at the root of most issues on the field with this club is Ventura. He has cost the Sox at least 10 wins a season since he has been here, and I’m being nice as that number is likely higher. This guy has no clue how to handle a bullpen, no idea when to take pitchers out of games, awards incompetence by keeping players in positions to fail time and time again. Refuses to hold anyone accountable for ‘checking out’ in games and during the season altogether.. And this has been going on since he has been here.Just bad bad bad. Get a decent manager in here before the Sox blow it up. I want to see a proven guy get in to the club and see what they could do.. Heck Ill take Renteria over Ventura.
You’re right, but don’t tell that to Cubsfan. He thinks Jerry cares about the Sox. LOL. Yea, Jerry cares……about money.
Yea, he cares about the Sox, that’s why he continues to award mediocre cronies and put them above winning and the fans. Nothing say “caring” quite like that. You’re an A1 moron, Hellen Keller.
Where’s frequent White Sox commenter strauss? Questions about Ventura’s job security are right in strauss’s wheelhouse!!
Inflated contracts signed by Kenny Williams are news to me.
Now, if you said addicted to dead-weight deals (just a few per year though), you’d be more on course.
IMO, there isn’t a whole lot of doubt Vetura and the White Sox will come to a mutual agreement for him to “step away” from managing. The real question is will they simply hire from within or pick another guy with Sox ties to manage (i.e.. Sandy Alomar Jr)? Or do they finally decide to change the complacent culture and overhaul/fire the major league staff (including Don Cooper) and rebuild? My guess is they hire Alomar or if he says no, they promote Renteria make a few fringe trades, tinker around the edges, try to compete and end up in the same place next season. There isn’t much hope for White Sox fans unless the FO commits to a complete tear down and rebuild of the players and culture.
That in and of itself is annoying to be honest, he should have been fired to show some accountability to the entire org that losing and being mediocre is not tolerated. Ventura should have been fired at least 30 days ago to give Renteria a look see and if the same results then a medium fire sale should have occurred. I like Hahn but the fact is he did not trade off a bunch of guys that could have returned something more, and there is no guarantee that the offseason will generate more for many of these guys.. He did it last season with Samardzija, and now this year with Shields. Both pitched well in late July so I guess Hahn thought he had two great players…Well he did not and now they are saddled with Shields after two horrible starts. I would not sell Sale or Q yet though. No way, as they are just not going to get back what they are worth as no team is going to empty their cupboard for either, which is what they are worth right now. Get a real manager in place who can win games with their decisions unlike Ventura who has cost the Sox dearly in situations over his tenure.
As long as Cooper is there, there’s always going to be a bit of jealousy and animosity towards the head coach. Hell, he wanted that job even before Ozzie Guillen was picked, and he spent a long time talking crap and sabotaging him. Not sure how him and Ventura get along, but you know he wants that job, and if he doesn’t get it, there’s going to be deep down resentment once again. They all need to go. The ENTIRE staff. Hire a PROVEN coach from the outside and let him bring his guys and change the culture of the clubhouse. I think Cooper has been a quiet cancer for a very long time. The next coach needs a big set if you know what and will need to make it very clear that he doesn’t care how good you are, if you cut up jerseys, you won’t see the field until a year before your retirement party.
Let’s give Robin a nice extension based on the sizzling play of his charges over his managerial tenure. Long may he reign!!!
As the majority of White Sox fans, I am disappointed at the “mediocrity” the Sox have been in since 2013 and even more disappointed in the Front Office which was poorly handled under Williams. I do think some Sox fans have been unfair to Robin. He has to work with what he has (thank you Kenny) But White Sox fans are not ones who want to wait for another season; if something goes wrong, they want blood, and soon. However, new blood is needed once in a while and this is the reason why I doubt Robin will extend his time as the Sox’s head coach. I also do not think Rick Hanh is going to give him that option. Let us be honest, Rick has been an aggressive s.o.b as of late, more so than his predecessor. Since he became GM, he placed a new person in charge of scouting. If you want to argue that scouting has suck, by all means go right ahead; however, most of the farm system was not signed by the new head of scout. A new person is in charge of intentional signing and Rick has been aggressive in getting international players, especially from Latin America and this is a reason Renteria was brought in the coaching staff. He traded pitchers to acquire players necessary for the team, like Adam Eaton and Matt Davison. It might have been late but he traded Adam Dunn. This year alone he DOF a handful of players and he even admitted the team is mediocore. This is more than what Kenny would have done. Wit this track record, I doubt Robin will return.
Yeah, glad KW got ‘promoted’ to ‘fix’ the minor league system as he put it in ’12.. After four seasons I see no improvement. Toronto fans should be kissing JRs backside that he wanted Williams around still, otherwise the Blue Jays could look like the Sox do now. The only reason I see that Robin is still around is KW refuses to admit his mistake with hiring Robin in the first place. I wish KW would just go away and maybe ‘retire’ (so he can save face) so Hahn can do his job without one hand tied behind his back (though my confidence in Hahn is wavering after that mediocrity speech and then nothing happening before the deadline). Sadly though Williams is likely here until JR is no longer the owner of the Sox.
Ventura should have been fired about 30 days ago with Renteria put in to see what he could do with this bunch ( as I believe Robin has cost the Sox at least 10 games each season he has been ‘manager’)
Hahn is good, but he’s a controlled puppet. It’s the same song and dance with all of Jerry Reinsdorf’s teams (Chicago Bulls). He hires a GM, falls in love with him, lets him run things to an extent, GM becomes part of Jerry’s “untouchables club,” GM gets “promoted” (that usually means he either did a great job in Jerry’s eyes or that the heat was too strong from the fans), GM moves up to executive and still quietly runs team, new executive hires another GM to serve as his puppet and take the heat. Same setup on the Bulls. Although Gar Foreman is an @$$hat. “GM” on Jerry’s teams really means that you can propose some moves, but the Executive VP must approve all proposals. They don’t have any real power.
Agreed, I think it is no coincidence that the two worst orgs in the City right now are both run by JR.
if Robin gets extended again the front office will lose the faith of the players, never mind earning the ire of fans. I think Sale’s outbursts this season speak to how inept Robin is as a manager, and KW is as a GM. Lets face it, the Sox have wasted the last 4 seasons of Sale and Quintana’s careers with this mediocre managing style of Ventura and KWs refusals to admit his mistake and get a real manager in here. I think the most telling example of ineptitude is talking about windows to win and having Robin as the manager, a guy who had NO experience in managing, being brought in to be the manager of this club that has to ‘win now’.
If the Sox do ‘let Robin go’ (he should have been FIRED to show accountability, but gone is gone) I see either Gardenrhire, Dave Martinez (Maddon’s bench coach on the north side), or Renteria getting looks.. No more guessing though folks, get a guy in that knows what they are doing. I really think as constructed this team could at least go for a WC, but you need a competent manager to be running this club.
I’m not seeing a wild card contending team. Ventura is subpar, but the White Sox appear to be the classic stars and scrubs team. They just don’t have many players that provide value. Abreu appears to have gotten very old, very quick…his play has been devastating to that team this season. After years and years of waiting to jettison Danks and his k, when they finally do…what do they do next? Commit to $27M of Shields for the next 2 years. The Sox have gaping holes nearly everywhere. The White Sox are trying to build a single team year after year. They should be trying to build an organization, sustainable winning teams will follow.
Ventura has cost the Sox A LOT games with his inept managing style this season alone. The wild card with this team is not out of the realm of possibility as a good manager knows how to maximize his players, even the so-so ones. People cannot seriously sit there and say Robin was responsible for their quick start but not for their slide afterwards… Good managers find ways to help the team get out of its struggles, Robin does not do this. I have seen WAY too many team wide slumps during his tenure. If the Sox had a guy who would at least hold players accountable and know how to use them better then the Sox would be a better club for at least 5-10 games (which I believe would put them into a better position to win a wild card)
WHY NOW THAT THE SEASON IS OVER FOR THEM LET HIS DUMBASS STILL BE THE MANAGER SO THEY CAN GET ATLEAST ANOTHER TOP DRAFT PICK SINCE THEY LOVE IT SO MUCH !!!