Managing Just Fine

Judging by the responses TigerBlog has received the last two days, he can conclude the following: 

* people who watch WNBA games are also bothered by the number and length of replay reviews and
* the Instagram idea was a good one
* TigerBlog should post more pictures of dogs, cats and Wyatt Madalon

TB will take all that under advisement. 

For today, he asks you this question: Who is the only Princeton athlete ever to reach double figures in career home runs, bat at least .333 for a career and score more than 1,000 career points? 

Clearly, the answer is Will Venable. 

He is not the only player in double figures in home runs for his Princeton career who was a first-team All-Ivy League selection in another sport though. Can you think of another Tiger who did so? 

TB will give you a few paragraphs on that one. 

In the meantime, Venable was a great two-sport star at Princeton before graduating in 2005. He and Chris Young both went from playing basketball and baseball at Princeton to long careers in the Major Leagues, though they just missed out on being teammates at Princeton in either sport, as Young lost his remaining eligibility when he signed a pro baseball contract after his sophomore year of 1999-2000.

As has been the case with Young, TB has always wondered what kind of NBA player Venable would have made. He was a great defender who had decent size for a guard, and he could handle the ball and create his own shot. 

He was also at his best against the best teams, in the toughest spots, most notably at Duke or in the NCAA tournament against Texas. Could he have made it in the NBA? TB isn't sure, but he also knows that it's hard to fault Venable or Young for their decisions to focus on pro baseball. 

Venable hit 81 career home runs, drove in 307 runs and stole 135 bases as a player for the Padres, Rangers and Dodgers. Once he retired, he went into coaching, and he teamed with Young, the Texas general manager, to win the 2023 World Series. 

The other "double figure home runs, first-team All-Ivy selection in another sport" whom TB mentioned? That's Matt Evans, who was a three-time first-team All-Ivy League punter. 

As for Venable, he is now in his first season as the  manager of the Chicago White Sox. It's not an easy spot for your first Major League head man position. 

A year ago, the White Sox went 41-121, which was the fifth worst record in Major League Baseball since 1901. That's a long time ago. 

The 2024 White Sox reached the end of July with 27 wins against 84 losses. Now that it's the end of July a year later, Venable's team has 40 wins against 69 losses. In other words, with no game today, Venable has led the Sox to within one win of last year's total by the end of July. 

Is 40-69 a great record? No, but it's a definite improvement. It's certainly a sign of a young manager who is making an impact.  

The White Sox justed finished hosting the Phillies, which means that it's been manager Venable against play-by-play man Tom McCarthy. This is not their first meeting, since McCarthy was the Princeton men's basketball radio play-by-play man when Venable played. 

TB reached out to McCarthy yesterday to ask him if he'd had a chance to catch up with Venable, and he said yes, he had, and that it had been great to catch up. 

Meanwhile, Venable's task is challenging. TB hopes that the White Sox have patience with him, and he has to imagine they will, especially with the way the team is getting better. 

Step 1 is to show improvement, and that's certainly the case. TB would assume the goal is to avoid 100 losses, which would be an incredible improvement from a year ago. 

To do so, Chicago would need to go 23-30 the rest of the way (if TB's math is correct). That's doable, especially since the White Sox are 7-4 since the All-Star break. And yes, the team did trade away some of its assets to get back prospects, but hey, it's certainly worth keeping an eye on. 

Like so many other former Tigers, Venable is another one who is definitely worth rooting for, as are, now, the White Sox — especially now that the Phillies have left town.