WHAT?!

I think the title sums up around 90% of people's reaction to the news today that the Chicago White Sox have named Robin Ventura their 39th manager in franchise history. "WHAT!?" The rest of the 10% of people are the baseball retards that said "Ain't that there that sum-bitch that done got his ass beat by Nolan Ryan?"

This is utterly confusing, surprising, and most importantly creates more questions than it does answers. The reaction is pretty universal no matter what side people take : "Robin Ventura was a very good to great player, but he has no experience managing or coaching at any level of baseball. Why would he be the right fit?"

In terms of how good of a player Robin was, there's no real debate in my opinion. Robin was as solid as it gets as a player. While he wasn't Mike Schmidt at the dish, he could still hit with any of the contemporary third baseman of his day, and his defense was constantly superb. Even the Saber-Nerds recognize and appreciate Ventura's career as he qualifies for their Hall Of Fame Standards with an above 60 career WAR (61.5).

What should also be pointed out with regard to Ventura the player, is that many of his teammates had him pegged to eventually become a manager in the big leagues. Ventura has always been a student of the game according to many of his peers, and I don't doubt his ability to understand and master baseball strategy as a manager.

The big issue for me however, is that managing in MLB is not simply implementing strategy, but it's also dealing with 25 different ego's and personalities in that locker room, not to mention dealing with a combative and sometimes blood-thirsty media and fan base. Can Ventura handle those types of pressure and expectations, in addition to making big time managerial moves during games? We'll have to wait and see on that one.

Has something like this been successfully done before? The good news is yes it has. Larry Dierker was the color commentator for the Houston Astros from 1979-1996, when he suddenly found himself managing the Astros in 1997, with zero coaching experience prior. In 1998, Dierker was named National League Manager Of The Year. So there is some precedent for something so random as this being successful.

Ultimately though, Ventura - like every manager in the big leagues - will only be as good as his roster allows him to be. If the Big 3 Disasters of Rios, Dunn, and Beckham have seasons like they did in 2011, it will make life very difficult for Robin as a manager. On the other hand, if just one of those Big 3 rebound to a normal season, life will be easier for Robin.

Either way though, the White Sox certainly got people's attention today. They still managed to shock people outside of their fan base, while sticking to their trademark pattern of hiring a first-year manager.

Will it work like it did the last time with Ozzie Guillen? Hope springs eternal...