Rozner: Not much to remember about Ventura era

As James Shields was getting hit again in Saturday night's White Sox game, some simple words came to mind.

The news of Robin Ventura's departure - he's expected to be replaced quickly by bench coach Rick Renteria - brought back the tranquil thoughts of Robin Williams as he spoke to Matt Damon on a park bench in "Good Will Hunting," recalling what Damon had said to him previously.

"I stayed up half the night thinking about it," Williams said. "Something occurred to me … (and then) I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep and haven't thought about you since."

That is likely to be the reaction of most White Sox fans, who adored Ventura as a player but never thought much of him as a manager.

The truth is Ventura didn't give you much to think about one way or another.

No, the Sox didn't lose any games the last five years because of the way Ventura managed a game.

OK, maybe there were a few, but he certainly wasn't the reason they failed to win a World Series.

If that's going to happen, the Sox will have to change their approach in some way.

Maybe they'll spend a ridiculous amount of money in free agency, which seems unlikely.

Or maybe they're ready to go young, and it just so happens that Renteria is a terrific manager of young players.

So maybe the Sox are finally preparing to go that route, to rebuild by moving out veteran pieces getting them nowhere fast and get quality, young players in return.

They also had one of the best drafts in all of baseball this summer, so they should have a solid crop coming in the next year or three.

Renteria fits that program nicely.

He might also grab control of the asylum that has become the Sox' clubhouse, where clowns dress their sons in full uniform, quit the team or destroy jerseys when they don't get their way, and continually rip as disloyal an ownership that is as devoted, caring and giving as any in sports.

This nonsense has to stop.

Sure, Ken Williams took a beating for the Drake LaRoche saga from jokers like Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, but the very reason Williams had to step in was because there was no leadership from the manager's office.

Ventura's biggest strength was that he wasn't Ozzie Guillen. He had a calming influence on the team during a strong run in 2012, but that was about all you can point to as a positive.

He wasn't particularly good at any part of the job, and - in fact - it was former bench coach Mark Parent who finally benched Eaton when Ventura was out of town for a weekend, hoping to get under control a player who is very good when he's not running into fences or running his mouth.

Managers have to be good at something. Anything.

They can manage the game, manage the lineup or manage the dugout.

They can manage the media, manage the fan base or manage expectations.

They can manage ownership, manage upper management or manage the coaching staff.

No manager is great at all of those things, but someone has to manage the clubhouse or it spirals out of control.

This is exactly what occurred when Paul Konerko ran for the hills - or desert, as it were - two years ago.

That group has been a baseball laughingstock ever since.

Credit Ventura, at least, for walking away with the class and dignity he has always displayed, and for having tried to do a job he never appeared to want in the first place.

So White Sox fans can turn the page on this chapter.

However quietly, and peacefully, it might be.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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