Robin Ventura: not so far removed from his playing days.

In his session with the media before the start of SoxFest Friday at the Palmer House, new White Sox manager Robin Ventura was self-deprecating to a fault, well aware he has big shoes to fill as a media personality in replacing Ozzie Guillen.

“I was just as big a fan as anybody of his press conferences. Mine’s not going to be that way, but that’s just a different personality,” Ventura said. “Personalitywise, for me, this is my least-favorite thing to do. Nothing personal against you,” he added, disarming the reporter who asked the question. “I would rather just do baseball stuff.”