Chicago White Sox And Robin Ventura Set To Part Ways: Rick Renteria To Replace Him?

Expect Robin Ventura to have managed his last MLB game with the Chicago White Sox by the end of the day. The White Sox and Ventura are reportedly going to part ways after today.

It was a necessary move after a week of speculation into Robin Ventura’s managerial status with the White Sox. The Chicago White Sox skipper has had several struggles throughout his five-year tenure.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Robin Ventura will not return to the White Sox as their manager for a sixth season. He will be replaced by White Sox bench coach Rick Renteria. Both the White Sox and Robin Ventura appear to have come to a conclusion that moving on was best, although no one outside of the White Sox organization will know what truly went on behind closed doors.

After Saturday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins, Ventura would not make much about the reports of his ouster. He chose to talk about the White Sox 6-0 loss instead.

“We’ve been over this. I’ll talk at the end of the year. We’ll talk about tonight. I’ve been pretty consistent with that. There can be whatever out there. For right now, just talking about tonight.”

“No, I haven’t talked to them about anything. We’re still playing. All the conversations I have with them are about playing. Chris pitching tomorrow, guys are playing. Nothing has changed with that.”

Because of how the White Sox management operates their franchise, which is run as if it is a family business, there is a possibility of Ventura taking on a different role within the organization. The Chicago Sun-Times story did not confirm anything except for the fact that Robin Ventura is out and Rick Renteria is in.

One should assume that the White Sox did extend a hand to Ventura in an effort to keep him in the fold. Robin Ventura arguably ranks as one of the top-10 players in the pantheon of greatest White Sox players all-time. The White Sox, under the direction of team owner Jerry Reinsdorf, always take care of their former players, so expect Ventura to be part of the White Sox in some capacity.

There were some conflicting, albeit confusing reports that came out this week regarding Robin Ventura’s status with the White Sox.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale initially reported that the White Sox were willing to go forward with Robin Ventura as the team skipper for a sixth year.

Nightengale had a source from inside the White Sox organization give him the information on Ventura’s status. This is where the big questions come in.

In the White Sox attempt to portray loyalty, the Robin Ventura news leak has done far more harm than good. Column. https://t.co/5aOryJJRt1

— M@ (@MattSpiegel670) September 29, 2016

Did the White Sox offer Robin Ventura another crack at managing the team again, only for the embattled skipper to decline?

Was Robin Ventura fired by the White Sox, who allowed him to save face with the story by Bob Nightengale?

The answer is somewhere in between. It is the belief by some that members of the White Sox organization knew they had to move on from Robin Ventura. Their respect for Ventura as a person would not allow the White Sox to outright dismiss him the way other MLB franchises would.

The #WhiteSox have one more meeting scheduled tonight with manager Robin Ventura, and unless Ventura changes his mind, he intends to resign.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 2, 2016

It is a somewhat bittersweet day for White Sox fans. Whatever allegiance and good feelings people have for Robin Ventura have become clouded due to his time as the White Sox manager.

White Sox fans have become apathetic about the team. Many of them see what is happening with the north side rival Chicago Cubs and wonder aloud what their team is doing. The onus is on Rick Renteria to try to build rapport with a frustrated White Sox fan base. It will be an upward climb for Renteria, who was the former manager of the Cubs. What the White Sox do this offseason could lessen his load some.

Change is apparently coming for the Chicago White Sox. They are reportedly going to move on from skipper Robin Ventura. Many White Sox fans will wonder about how the decision came to fruition, but they could be relieved to know that there would be a new voice in the White Sox clubhouse.

[Featured Image by David Banks/Getty Images]