Ventura, Konerko and managing

If these cartoons are any indication, there's considerable skepticism about the selection of Robin Ventura as manager of the Chicago White Sox.

First, from Scott Stantis of the Chicago Tribune:

Then, this from Carl Skanberg of the "Smells Like Mascot" blog, linked to from the sidebar:

I can't help but wonder what the reaction would have been had the Paul Konerko as player-manager brainstorm gone anywhere.

There hasn't been a player-manager since Pete Rose in the mid-1980s. There was time — in the 1930s, during the Depression — when the majority of managers were players as well. It was a cost-savings thing, basically — and that probably was a reason for Kenny Williams to consider Konerko, to save on the salary of a manager.