Ventura regrets not challenging close play at second
Ramirez ruled to have missed tag on Castellanos' double in ninth inning
DETROIT -- Robin Ventura admitted that "we all missed it" after watching a replay of the play at second leading off the bottom of the ninth inning of Friday's 2-1 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park.
Nick Castellanos opened the frame with a line drive to right off of Zach Duke that Avisail Garcia couldn't quite corral, and then he tested Garcia's arm by trying to stretch his single into a double. Garcia's throw easily beat Castellanos, but second-base umpire Brian O'Nora ruled that shortstop Alexei Ramirez missed the tag.
The White Sox manager did not challenge O'Nora's call, originally getting information from his video crew that Ramirez did in fact miss the tag. But a super slow-motion angle from the Tigers' broadcast showed that Ramirez caught Castellanos' foot.
By the time the White Sox got that angle and Ventura returned to the field, the play had moved on with pinch-runner Andrew Romine entering the game for Castellanos.
"You move on," said Ventura during his Saturday morning news conference. "Everybody in 20-20 hindsight would like to change it, but you know, we left that one out there.
"We didn't get [the deciding angle] at that time. Again, you feel like you miss it. If you felt it was close enough, I would have gone out anyway. Left it out there, that's the way it's coming across right now."
Ventura was criticized throughout social media for not challenging the play, regardless of the video information, with it being close and Castellanos representing the winning run. But Ventura received support from White Sox television announcers Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Steve Stone during his Saturday pregame media session, interjecting their thoughts after a question about Gordon Beckham.
"Let me interrupt," Harrelson said. "I'm the one yesterday that said that he missed it. I told the guys I was the one that said it."
"I didn't hear them," said Ventura, referring to the broadcast. "I didn't hear Hawk."
"But did you know what happened with the cameras?" Stone asked, to which Ventura replied, "No."
"Detroit had the technology in their truck to slow it down," Stone said. "Our truck does not have that technology, so although we had the same angle as Detroit did, when they slowed it down, it showed the tag on the guy's foot before he went out, and all we showed was he missed it."
"There you have it," Ventura said.
Since Ventura has been manager, the focus has been on the day's game at hand. So, dwelling on any mistakes made during the ninth inning Friday won't help the team Saturday, much like a hitter putting aside a 0-for-4 showing.
"Now you have to put that behind you and play today instead of sitting around worrying about yesterday," Ventura said. "You look around and see things that need to be better, but it's better for these guys to focus on today and the things it takes to win a game instead of rehashing not getting a hit or doing anything yesterday."