Bernfield: Easy to blame Ventura, but not necessarily right
The season started with so much promise.
The White Sox jumped out to a 23-10 start and held a six-game lead in the AL Central on May 9th. Memories of last year's disappointment quickly faded, and fans dreamed of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Just three weeks later, things spiraled out of control. The White Sox lost their division lead following 15 losses in 19 games.
Naturally, fans were angry. They suffered through an atrocious weekend against a division rival and needed someone to blame. So they reverted back to a familiar refrain.
"Fire Robin!"
Fans tweeted, texted and called The Score to voice their displeasure about the White Sox's manager. They expected more after the team's hot start. The Sox responded with a dismal month of May, including losses in 8 of 10 critical division matchups against Cleveland and Kansas City. Ventura, they argued, was the problem.
The final weekend in May was one of the most excruciating series in recent memory. The Royals swept the White Sox after the bullpen blew late leads in all three games. The team's bullpen surrendered more runs that weekend (14), than it had in the entire month of April (13).
It's always easy to blame the manager when a team plays poorly. Firing the manager is much easier than firing all of the players.
But firing Ventura now accomplishes nothing.
Some argue it will spark the team. They believe that firing the manager midseason sends a message through the clubhouse that the team's play was unacceptable. They argue that a new voice is necessary to get the team back on track.
But there's no guarantee that firing Ventura would have any effect at all. Furthermore, given chairman Jerry Reinsdorf's loyalty to his employees, it's highly unlikely he would make this move. He hasn't fired a manager midseason since cutting ties with Gene Lamont after an 11-20 start in 1995.
And Ventura's contract expires at season's end. They can naturally replace him next year without having to pay him not to work.
If they did fire Ventura, the White Sox don't have a better manager to replace him.
Unless the Sox have someone in mind outside the organization, bench coach Rick Renteria isn't the difference between a postseason berth and another disappointing finish. Renteria received positive reviews as the Cubs' skipper during a rebuilding year in 2014, but they still finished 73-89. He is regarded as a good communicator, but lacks the experience necessary to be thrust into a difficult position with pressure to reach the playoffs.
Whether or not Ventura is a good manager, bad manager, or something in between is for another column. He is the White Sox's current manager, and deserves credit for the team's hot start as much as he deserves criticism for their recent slide. Firing him for the team's failures earlier in his tenure doesn't help the team right now.
Despite an 11-17 record in May, the White Sox finished Sunday just 3 games out of first place in the AL Central and one game above .500. Their current record is commensurate with the talent level on the roster.
Robin Ventura has steered the White Sox right where they should be, even if they took a strange path to get there.
• Jordan Bernfield is an anchor and co-host of "Inside The Clubhouse" on WSCR 670-AM The Score. He also works as a play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN. Follow him on Twitter@JordanBernfield.