GLENDALE, Ariz. — Managers matter, but only to an extent. Some teams win without the best ones in the seat, others over-achieve because of them.
It was the first day of spring training Wednesday, and nobody knows how good Will Venable, who went to work as the sixth White Sox manager in the last 15 seasons to oversee the show on the back fields of Camelback Ranch, will be. He follows Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura, Rick Renteria, Tony La Russa, Pedro Grifol and a few interim managers including Grady Sizemore, who finished out last season’s 121-loss season after Grifol was fired, in the last 15 years.
To what extent the manager matters to a young Sox team trying to kick start another rebuild into something significant can’t be measured. The impact of a new manager remains to be seen.
“I think it’s a big deal,” starting pitcher Davis Martin said before the first official pitchers and catchers workout Wednesday morning.
“To be honest, I’ll continue to learn that,” Venable, 42, said, wearing a Sox (spring training model) hat for the first time in a working capacity. “For me today, it’s just creating a positive environment for these guys to come to every day, as well as structure and support to help them do the things they need to do individually. We know that there’s going to be a lot going on in the season, but to stay positive and make sure these guys are coming into a place every day where they can feel comfortable and be themselves, that’s a big part of my job.”
He seems to have a way of doing that.
“I like his demeanor,” Martin said. “He’s soft spoken but he speaks with intentions. That goes a long way rather than talking the talk. He speaks with a purpose. We’re ecstatic about it. We’re all excited to play for Will.”
The players clicked with Sizemore after clashing to various degrees with Grifol, although the results were largely the same. The Sox were 28-89 (.239 win percentage) under Grifol, 13-32 (.289) under Sizemore.
“You saw what happened last year when Grady took over,” Martin said. “The day-to-day stuff and executing on the field was obviously on us, but there is a certain leadership aspect to the manager that is easy or not easy to follow, whatever it may be.”
Venable is “a breath of fresh air,” catcher Korey Lee said Wednesday. “We know he’s here to make us better, make us work and be the best players we can be.”
Lee was one of the players who pushed back when Grifol call the Sox “flat” after a 4-1 loss to the Orioles on May 26. Players noted they were no-hit for seven innings by a pitcher, Kyle Bradish, who was fourth in AL Cy Young voting the year before.
Grifol was fired on Aug. 8, two days after the Sox broke a 21-game losing streak, and Sizemore – in his first season as a coach — emerged from a behind-the-scenes profile to replace him for the rest of the season. Sizemore was popular among players, and because he was a major league as Venable was (Grifol did not play above the minor leagues), “it goes a long way in building relationships between players and coaches,” Lee said.
“He has been in our shoes.”
Venable spent much of the offseason making his players feel comfortable in theirs.
“Venable has been in contact with us, he talks about your family, how things are at home and 10, 12 minutes into the conversation you’re finally talking about baseball,” Martin said. “It’s a guy we feel cares about all of us as people, which helps. I’ve heard nothing but great things from people outside of the organization.”
As Venable pointed out, he wasn’t there for the record 121 losses last season and the players “have turned the page.”
“The focus is on today,” he said.
As a group, the talent isn’t much better, if at all. Rebuilds are a bear.
Welcome to the job, Will. Let’s see what you can do.