Dodgers legends like what they see in Robin Ventura

Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura had an impressive opening season on the South side, leading the White Sox to within a few games of a playoff birth and finishing third in AL Manager of the Year voting. Among those who he impressed last season were Los Angeles Dodgers legends Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre, who told CSN Chicago that Ventura will learn from last year.

[Ventura] got eeked out by the Detroit club that struggled all year long. But Robin I thought did a good job with anything that went on. He's going to use what he felt surprised him and use that to his advantage because he's not going to bemoan the fact that this didn't happen. He's going to learn from it."

(via CSN Chicago)

Ventura was counseled by Lasorda prior to the 2012 season, who talked to him about how to handle the up-and-down nature of the baseball season. That's an experience that Ventura is used to now, after leading his club to first place in the AL Central for most of the season before losing it to the Detroit Tigers in September.

For Ventura, his main goal for the season is to not led a division lead like that slip away if the team controls the AL Central next September. Last year, the White Sox lost 11 of 15 games in September, allowing the Tigers to regain control of the division and eventually clinch a playoff birth.