DETROIT – A historically bad White Sox season hasn’t soured manager Robin Ventura’s feelings about his job. Ventura, who is in the second year of a three-year contract, said Friday that he would like to continue managing beyond 2014.
It’s the first time Ventura has publicly expressed a desire to continue beyond his deal. He was offered an extension before this season but turned it down, leading some to believe he wasn’t all that enthused about managing.
That’s not the case.
“I envision doing more,’’ Ventura said before the Sox opened a three-game series against the Tigers. “I would like to do more.’’
When he accepted the offer to manage with no experience before last season, Ventura said Friday that he didn’t envision being a long-term manager.
“Honestly, yeah,’’ he said. “I can’t … take three years and think you’re going to be there for 15. I’d like to fulfill what I’m doing and when we get done with three, [general manager] Rick [Hahn] and I will talk and I’m sure [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] will be in there. If they want me to do this, I would like to do it. Both sides have to be in agreement for that to happen but the way I got the job it’s fair that at the end of three you can look at it again and see if they still think I’m the right guy to do it.’’
The Sox were in first place for 117 days last season, Ventura’s first, before fading miserably at the finish. This season has been miserable from the beginning, with the team needing to win three of its last 10 games to avoid 100 losses.
The adversity hasn’t deterred him.
“You enjoy it,’’ he said. “You don’t enjoy losing but nothing is guaranteed. If you like the job and coming here every day doing what we’re doing, take the winning and losing out of it, I like the job coming in here every day. The losing part does wear on you and it’s not fun but the idea is to change that and to figure out a way to do that. That’s part o the fun, figuring out a way to do that.’’
