Robin Ventura is a popular guy who everyone seems to like (with the possible exception of Nolan Ryan .) He played 16 major league seasons, was a stud third baseman and an excellent hitter. especially in the clutch.  Few may remember that while at Oklahoma State, he had a 58 game hitting streak.  He's played for Bobby Valentine and Joe Torre.  He's a decorated baseball veteran.

 He's also never coached or managed a game at any level.  Some are concerned, and liken it to the disastrous hiring of A.J. Hinch by the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Hinch, a former major league player, was named manager of the D-Backs a couple of years ago and totally screwed the pooch.  The upside is, his replacement, Kirk Gibson, has piloted the team to a playoff birth this year. I believe that Ventura is going to do better than Hinch.

Is Robin Ventura the baseball equivalent of Vinny Del Negro?  Vinny was a front office guy who had never coached before, yet was given the keys to the Bulls after Scott Skyles molded them into a pretty good team.  The problem was that Skyles was terse and abrasive, and it finally wore the players out.  Thus, the kinder, gentler Del Negro was brought in. Ozzie Guillen had worn out his welcome with the White Sox front office and possibly the players and some members of his coaching staff.  Yet, instead of replacing him with an experienced manager or coach, Kenny Williams, like John Paxson. not only went outside the box, he went outside the storeroom. Perhaps Kenny should have skipped ahead to the Tom Thibodeau stage.

I agree with the thoughts of the premiere Sox blogger, Jim, from South Side Sox. Like me, Jim was pulling for Davey Martinez. The reason, Jim says, is because Martinez, a former Sox player, would bring some outside thinking to an organization desperately in need of it. While still "saluting the Sox flag", Martinez has spent three years at the elbow of one of baseball's best managers, Joe Maddon and has worked in an organization, that while cash strapped, has done a nice job of building a competitive team (as evidenced by them coming back from the dead and passing the Red Sox at the end of the season). 

Kenny Williams downfall will be his arrogance and belief that there is something called "a White Sox way" and some kind of non-existent long sustaining tradition of excellence. Unfortunately, history shows that the White Sox, more often than not, have been a second or third place team (except for the early seventies and mid eighties when they really stunk.) Perhaps, the battle plan needs to be updated with some new, creative thinking.  While Ventura is a blank slate, Martinez is a finely polished stone that could have taught Ventura while he served his apprenticeship as a coach.  Alas, we'll never know.

I don't know how this is going to work out.  Kenny Williams could be a mad genius or so desperate at this point that he'll throw anything against the wall to see if it will stick. If he fails this time, maybe Nolan Ryan will give Kenny a noogie.