Chicago’s managers — two sacrificial lambs in the dugout

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post is by P. Pemberton, senior writer for the BallHyped Sports News Service and Sports Blog Voting Community. BallHyped offers sports news content like this post to blogs and news sites free of charge. Contact us for more info at BallHyped.net.

When the White Sox announced that they were hiring former third baseman Robin Ventura to be their new manager, most insiders were shocked. After all, the guy’s coaching experience was limited to helping out his local team — Arroyo Grande High School — with batting practice.

The guy had no big league, minor league or college experience as a coach, let alone as the skipper.

But the guy had personality, GM Kenny Williams suggested. He knew baseball.

Here’s a better reason the Sox hired Ventura: Because the Sox management knew they weren’t going to be worth a spit this year. And what’s the point in hiring a top manager — at top price — for a team you know won’t really contend?

For another example of this, the Sox didn’t have to look far. Because their cross-town rivals — just nine miles away — did the same thing when they hired Dale, ah... shoot.

Okay, sure, Dale Sveum does having more coaching experience than Ventura. But, seriously, when Theo Epstein came on board, most Cubs fans were hoping for a Joe Torre-type in the dugout. Heck, maybe even Joe Torre.

But, like the Sox, the Cubs gave up on this season before it even began. And what’s the use in hiring a big-time manager (Did I mention at a big-time salary?) to lead a team of losers?

As proof of their tossing in the towel before Opening Day, both teams gave up top players. The Sox shipped out Mark Buerhle and Carlos Quentin. The Cubs dumped Carlos Pena, Aramis Ramirez and hot-head Carlos Zambrano. Granted, some of those decisions are looking good now — Quentin is hurt (again), while Pena and Ramirez are having lackluster years. But the point is, neither Chicago team got anyone to replace those lost stars.

Because both teams decided that 2012 was a rebuilding year. (And, by the way, why do teams in the third largest market have to rebuild anyway? Do the Yankees ever rebuild?) So neither team needed a star manager. In fact, what they needed was a sacrificial lamb, who could take the brunt of a couple of bad seasons while the front office tries to build for the future.

So Ventura’s first coaching job will likely be his last. That is, unless he one day sets his sights on the Arroyo Grande High coaching gig.

Pembertonian, originally from the Midwest, prefers stalls to urinals, binges on fudgesicles and thinks the most exciting play in football is a blocked punt. A newspaper/magazine/online journalist for too long -- as his bank account demonstrates -- he now lives on the West Coast.