Will Venable earned loads of deserved praise for his work directing the Chicago White Sox this season, and regardless of how the postseason plays out there's a strong chance he could be named American League Manager of the Year.
Managing in the pressure cooker of the playoffs is a different animal than the regular season, though, and as with any skipper, some of Venable's decisions have come under scrutiny when they haven't worked out. One such move came in Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Thursday. Venable's call led directly to a huge inning for the Cleveland Guardians, who went on to win the game 9-5 and force a decisive Game 5.
The Guardians had rallied to take a one-run lead in the top of the sixth inning on a one-out single by Patrick Bailey. With the bases loaded and contact wizard Jose Ramirez at the plate, Venable played the infield in. The White Sox skipper obviously was banking on a hard ground ball by Ramirez and wanted to halt any additional scoring. His decision backfired tremendously.
Ramirez indeed hit a sharp ground ball, but second baseman Chase Meidroth wasn't able to field it cleanly from the infield grass, leading to another Cleveland run. Had Meidroth been at normal depth, it might have been a double play for Chicago to escape the inning. At worst, it would have traded a run for an out, which should have been an exchange the White Sox were willing to make with nine more times at bat left in the game.
Instead, it remained one out and the Chicago infield remained in. The very next batter, Chase Delauter, lined a ball just over the glove of a leaping Meidroth playing shallow, plating another run for Cleveland. A two-run Joe Adell single later gave the Guardians a five-run cushion.
Many White Sox fans were understandably incredulous by Venable's decision.
"No one is talking about the worst decision (Thursday) and that was playing the infield in," White Sox fan William Toomey noted on X. "White Sox are out of the 6th inning if they play normal depth."
"White Sox why are going infield in in the 6th???," decried Mitch M on X. "Trade an out for a run all day and get double play ball up middle? Idk I don’t like that play… could have been out of the inning only down 1."
"I’ve gotta ask- why are the White Sox playing infield in with 1 out and bases loaded??" X user Newkin protested. "It seems like they could’ve been out of this down 6-4 I they weren’t playing in…"
Even fans who agreed with the move admitted it was a deciding factor in the Guardians' rally.
"Playing the infield in was the right play but it has absolutely murdered the White Sox in this inning," White Sox fan Adam Spolane commented on X.
All tactical choices aside, the biggest reason the Guardians have evened up the series is that their best players have woken up after sleepy starts to the series and for much of the regular season as well. Leadoff hitter Steven Kwan reached base three times and scored two runs on Thursday, and Ramirez continued his assault on the baseball with a three-RBI night. The Guardians will need more of that -- as well as a potentially legendary performance from Gavin Williams on short rest -- if they hope to complete their comeback and advance to the AL Championship Series.