Was Ventura’s ejection perfect timing for Sox?
Robin Ventura, the White Sox manager, was booted from Sunday’s game against Toronto. He was tossed out on a ball/strike call in the top of the ninth inning.
I think his timing was perfect.
His White Sox had a great first half, but maybe he was sending an early signal to the rest of the American League.
Even though we have a three-game lead going into the all-star break, we are not going to be taking advantage of.
Although it was his second ejection of the season, it seems to me Ventura is so quiet, efficient and unassuming that no one is talking that much about him or the team.
Ventura is one of the major surprises for the White Sox, who were picked to finish third or fall forth by many so-called experts.
After taking over the reins from one of the more entertaining and polarizing individuals, Ozzie Guillen, I thought Ventura would have plenty more issues this season.
Answer this for me: if you didn’t know better, isn’t Ventura managing like he’s been in the dugout for 10 years?
I’m sure he will make some adjustments along the way, like maybe not having Adam Dunn batting third against left-handed pitching.
He seems to have the respect of his players, and a knack for putting them in a position to succeed.
That could be the winning recipe for a playoff run.
Tennis, anyone?I haven#146;t watched that much tennis in years, but Roger Federer and Andy Murray put on a show Sunday at Wimbledon.The ESPN telecast, however, fell short in my book. Chris Fowler announced the match and seemed ill-prepared, making me really miss Dick Enberg. I also was surprised at the lack of graphics and the overall quality of the coverage. That said, I must add that John McEnroe is one of the best analysts in any sport and worth the price of tuning in.His brother Patrick ain#146;t bad either, and for at least one day tennis was king. Federer is a class act, and at 31 years of age he wins No. 7 at the big event. Murray tried his best, but came in second place. I think he has the respect of his people in England and Scotland, but if Murray had won the title he would have been knighted.There certainly is no shame in losing to Federer, who played lights-out tennis.The last few years, Federer has not had a good backhand, but he does now.And I couldn#146;t be happier for perhaps the classiest man in sports.Roger that:My question last week was: Should Roger Clemens be in the Hall of Fame? The response from my emailers was clear and resounding: NO!!!Final thought:Our condolences to the family of Ernest Borgnine. I received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor award in May 2004 with Mr. Borgnine and many others. Go to Northtonorth.com to see a photo of us together.Ÿ Mike North#146;s column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.