Ventura named player of month

To no one's surprise, White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura wasnamed American League player of the month for July.

Ventura hit .357 with 12 home runs and 33 RBI. Along the way,Ventura had two game-winning home runs, including a two-out,ninth-inning grand slam Wednesday that beat the Texas Rangers.

"But the nicest thing about the month is that the team did sowell," Ventura said.

Asked if his July was even better than his record 58-gamehitting streak as a sophomore at Oklahoma State, Ventura didn'thesitate.

"This is better," he said. "I had a lot of games where I hadonly one or two hits. It wasn't like I was really hot."

Ventura is the …