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Robin Ventura is not a good manager. This is generally not just a very common opinion amongst baseball fans within the city of Chicago, or even across the country. It's almost accepted as a fact at this point. Go ahead, ask somebody you know who follows baseball closely if they believe Ventura is a good manager. When it comes to the tangible aspects of being the guy in charge, the things we can see and judge, there aren't many people in Ventura's corner when it comes to his decisions. Maybe he really does light up a room with his presence, and maybe his players adore him, but all that adoration hasn't done enough to keep him from having a record of 324-376 as a manager. So it's no surprise that many White Sox fans would like Robin to go back to being former White Sox great and lose his role of current White Sox manager. I know I feel that way, and if you're reading this, the odds are you agree with me.

On Saturday morning I wrote about Robin Ventura and the way he handles his pitching staff. The very first paragraph of my post said that I wanted Robin fired, but that I wasn't going to go on some long screed about it . Well, then the Sox blew a 7-1 lead against the Royals in the ninth inning on Saturday, and I couldn't keep it in any longer. I blew my top, but I blew it on Twitter. I've decided to post the rant here in its entirety because I need to say it, and I need to share it. Also, if it blows up in my face, I need it somewhere that I can be held accountable. Old tweets get lost too easily. So, without further ado, my rant.

We have our first real trade rumor of the season! According to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune , the White Sox and Padres talking trade, with James Shields being the main target of the deal. Lin writes that it isn't clear whether anything is imminent, but that the talks have "significant momentum." Now, I have a whole lot of conflicted feelings about this idea, and it's hard to really judge a potential James Shields trade without knowing the parameters.

I'm done with Robin Ventura as White Sox manager, but I'm not going to write a screed about why I think he should be fired. Just know that I don't think he's a good manager, and I'd take Rick Renteria or a host of other options over him right now. I don't know how many games good managers can win for a team in any given season, but I know bad managers can help lose quite a few, and Robin has certainly contributed more than his fair share of losses, with last night serving as another example.

Rick Hahn raised some eyebrows on Tuesday afternoon when he told the huddled masses of media members surrounding him and his blue blazer in the Sox dugout that he was ready to make "a big move." "We're prepared to make a big move today," said Hahn. "We're having dialogue right now hoping that something comes together. "Unfortunately, our timing might not line up with the other 29 clubs just yet." It was music to many an ear, including mine, because it's nice to know that the front office realizes, good start to the season or not, this Sox roster is far from a finished product. The White Sox are a like an old Toyota that's still in good enough condition, but just because you're comfortable driving it around town and back-and-forth to work doesn't mean you trust the thing to get you across the country. So when you hear that Rick Hahn is out here looking to get you a brand new car, you get excited.

On Sunday afternoon the entire baseball world came alive when Rougned Odor threw one of the finest punches in baseball history. Odor delivered what was damn near a picture-perfect right hook to the chin of Jose Bautista , and although Bautista did not go down -- seriously, props to Jose, I've seen plenty go down from less -- it was still a beautiful punch. Certainly better than the wild haymakers that are occasionally thrown in baseball "brawls," if they're even thrown. Baseball fights usually consist of nothing more than aggressive hugging.

The White Sox made a huge trade on Thursday, and by huge trade I mean they made a small trade featuring players you may never have heard of, or who may not ultimately matter to the White Sox this season. The Sox got Anthony Ranaudo from Texas in exchange for Matt Ball . Ranaudo was immediately optioned to Charlotte, as was Scott Carroll . So what do you need to know about this epic blockbuster deal that will surely change the face of not only the White Sox season, but baseball as we know it? Let's figure it out together.

On Wednesday night the White Sox announced that the Padres had claimed Hector Sanchez off of waivers. You see, when Alex Avila went on the disabled list, there's a reason the White Sox called up Kevan Smith first. Hector Sanchez didn't have any options left. So Smith came up, and before he ever squatted behind the plate in a Major League game, Smith was placed on the disabled list himself with sacroiliac joint dysfunction, which is a fancy way of saying his hip is fucked up, and it's causing him some back pain. When the happened the Sox were forced to bring up Sanchez, but when Avila came off the disabled list, the Sox had to designate Sanchez for assignment and hope he cleared waivers. He didn't.

John Danks is dead, long live the new John Danks. That seems to be the approach the White Sox are taking at the moment, as they've decided to replace John Danks with a combination of Erik Johnson , Miguel Gonzalez and possibly Jacob Turner or Scott Carroll . On Monday night, Gonzalez will make his second start of the season after being beat up a bit by the Blue Jays, but having the Sox offense bail him out to pick up a win anyway. I'm not complaining about the approach the White Sox are taking when it comes to replacing Danks. In early May your choices are always going to be limited to what you already have available to you, and there have been plenty of teams that reached the postseason having to deal with a black hole at the back of their rotation.

I am not a believer in Avisail Garcia . Before Adam LaRoche retired, I don't believe the White Sox were big believers in Avisail Garcia, either. That's why we heard rumors of the Sox being connected to outfielders such as Alex Gordon , Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton in free agency. That's why they signed Austin Jackson . That's why, even before LaRoche retired, we heard trade rumors about Jay Bruce .

When the White Sox designated John Danks for assignment on Tuesday, they made quite a statement. There's no doubt that the Sox have been trying to build a contender for the last few years, but this season things are actually paying off. So when the team showed its longest-tenured player the door because he just wasn't performing well enough, it was the first real sign we've seen since the season started to indicate the White Sox fully intend to "go for it." And while removing Danks from the rotation and replacing him with a carousel of other starters could possibly improve the situation -- I'm honestly not convinced it will, but that's another post for another time -- this is still an imperfect team, win-loss record be damned. The White Sox offense has picked up the pace in recent weeks, but even with a stronger offense, there are still only five regulars with a wRC+ of 100 or higher (100 is league average). While the Sox aren't likely to lo

John Danks has been shitcanned. I think we all knew it was coming, as I wrote about the possibility just yesterday , but I was still startled by the news when I heard it on Tuesday afternoon. I truly thought Danks would get one more start on Wednesday against the Red Sox, and if he continued to pitch like he had been all season, that would finally be The End. Even then I believed The End would be The Bullpen. It wasn't The End of John Danks, White Sox Pitcher as much as it would be the beginning of John Danks, White Sox Eat These Innings When Needed Pitcher. But they just straight booted him, and it leads to conflicted feelings.

It's been three weeks since our last edition of the White Sox Power Rankings, and things are looking pretty god damn good if I say so myself. It's May 2, and the White Sox have more wins than any other team in baseball, the best record in the American League by 2.5 games over Boston (who happens to be our next opponent), and lead the division by three games over the Tigers. Sure, not everything is perfect, nor will it be while John Danks continues to pitch every fifth day, but when Danks is the only thing we have to complain about, life is good. So let's get to ranking the White Sox based on a highly scientific method I use to determine how much POWER they currently have.