Ventura: 'Get one win, one day'

MINNEAPOLIS -- The White Sox aren't worried about their sub-.500 record or their fourth-place standing in the American League Central.

Before fans get up in arms over this opening comment, take the statement with a little bit of context and mix in the date: May 2.

This veteran team wants to be playing better, wants to be hitting the ball consistently and wants to be closer to the Royals atop the division. It truly believes those hopes will play out sooner than later. But in order to get things right, the White Sox can't worry about trying to fix a month's worth of struggles in one day or even one weekend.

"As far as playing the game, it's back to just playing daily. It's not about trying to get five wins in one day," manager Robin Ventura said. "You are trying to get one win, one day and win an inning. You go from there. When you win innings, you end up winning the game.

"That's the simple part -- being able to get back to that instead of thinking of all the macro things. You kind of trim it down to things you can control at that moment, and that's at-bat to at-bat and pitch to pitch.

"It's stuff we've all heard, but it becomes very truthful when you go through a stretch like this. They have to make it simple by going pitch to pitch and inning to inning and not worry too far out in the future. You can't do anything about tomorrow or the next day. You can have an impactful moment right now."

With a 2-9 record on the road and a .204 average, with no homers and 14 runs scored in the last six games entering Saturday, those impactful moments have not been very prevalent. But this is a team with proven, experienced players. When these players say fortunes will improve, it's more than just eyewash. They've seen slumps turn into hot streaks throughout their careers.

Avoiding statistics or a team's record is almost impossible at this point. They are plastered all over giant scoreboards at each ballpark. It's about putting those woes aside and focusing on what can happen to change things in that given moment, per the White Sox way of thinking.

"Just baseball, really. Baseball, sadly enough, is a game of streaks, and some good, some bad. Mostly average," hitting coach Todd Steverson said. "I classify us between average and a tick below average. A lot of teams through the year you say, 'Oooh, they're hot.' Then they lose five in a row.

"I'd rather get it out of the way now and get everybody rolling toward the middle [and] end of the year rather than conk out toward the end. That said, you still want to get something going for the long run. With the history and talent of our players -- we didn't acquire them because they couldn't play Major League Baseball -- they'll come around. They know it's about them, and they'll rectify it."