ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- He may be gone for three games but Robin Ventura is still deeply involved in running the White Sox, interim manager Mark Parent said Friday.
This is Parent’s second time making the decisions in Ventura’s stead as the fourth-year manager is in California to attend the college graduation of his daughter, Madison.
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Parent -- who is in his fourth season as the team’s bench coach -- also handled the managerial duties on June 6, 2013 when Ventura attended his daughter Rachel’s graduation. The two spoke early Friday to discuss the team’s lineup and any potential matchups. But as the club’s bench coach, Parent plays a big role in the decisions Ventura makes. As such, he doesn’t see the additional duties as a significant change.
“I just try to be as respectful to the way Robin does things,” Parent said. “We continue doing things the way he likes to have them done like the lineup, called him before the game to go over things and what he’d like to see done. I’m probably going to run the game as we do it anyway. But if I want to play a certain guy, he’s still the manager of this team.
“We make those decisions anyways, so not much changes.”
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Parent spent 13 seasons in the majors as a catcher. He also managed for three minor league seasons, including from 2010-11 in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system. At his request, Parent will be assisted by White Sox minor league hitting coordinator Vance Law.
“The only difference now is, I give Robin during the course of a game a number of options,” Parent said. “Some options I think he’d like that I wouldn’t like that I know he would. I just have to get those options that I don’t like out of my head so I don’t waste too much time thinking about those options. It’s not a knock on him. There’s a lot of things I suggest that he wouldn’t do and I don’t do, but you still suggest them. But being the guy who decides, you just have a feeling and do the things that you think should happen.”