In A.L. Central, It's Old School vs. Older School CHICAGO - One is old by a manager's standards. At 67, he smokes Marlboro Reds before and after games, dispensing nuggets of baseball wisdom collected over a more-than-20-year managerial career as the smoke curls up past his silver mustache and around his thinning hair. The other is just eight years removed from his days as a major league player. He wears black sunglasses beneath his black cap, the picture of California cool. He is in his first season as a manager - at any level, professional or otherwise - and his Chicago White Sox sit atop the American League Central. The older man, Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers, is chasing Robin Ventura, 22 years his junior. A generation may divide them, but their teams were separated by only three games after the White Sox won Monday's opener of a four-game series at U.S. Cellular Field, 6-1, offering a divisional race that pits baseball's most senior manager against its greenest. "I'm jealous because so far, he's made it look easy," Leyland said Monday. Leyland, in his 21st season as a manager, never played in the majors. His first managing job there was in 1986 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he has since reached the playoffs six times with three teams, including winning a World Series title in 1997 with the Florida Marlins. He retired two years later, but returned to take over the Tigers in 2006, leading them to the World Series that season, when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. Last season, the Tigers reached the American League Championship Series, falling to the Texas Rangers. Leyland's genius rests in his ability to blend the persona of a man born in the hardscrabble Ohio rust belt during World War II with an approach that earns the respect of players who were not even born when he first managed in the majors. His three manager of the year awards and 1,661 career wins attest to how well he does it. "He's old school, but with a new-school approach guys can relate to," said Tigers catcher Alex Avila, who was born in 1987, a year after Leyland was hired by Pittsburgh. "First, he knows the game so well and, second, he knows when to holler at a guy or pat him on the butt," added Gene Lamont, the Tigers" third base coach, who also managed Ventura for several seasons with the White Sox. With Robin, I don't know if I thought about him as a manager when he was playing, but you always knew he was a smart player. When White Sox General Manager Ken Williams first broached the idea of Ventura's managing last September, Ventura had said he was more surprised than excited. At the time, he was a part-time high school hitting instructor, but Williams and the team's owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, flew to Ventura's home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., to persuade him that he would be a good fit for Chicago, where he spent 10 years of his career. The hire turned out to be a stroke of genius. After eight years under Ozzie Guillen that included a World Series title, lots of drama and organizational infighting, the White Sox have radiated a sense of calm under Ventura. Picked before the season by many to be a third-place team, the White Sox are in position to reach the postseason for the first time since 2008. "You knew he was going to have a calming effect after a person like Ozzie," Leyland said. Like they say in football, some guys have a nose for the football. Some guys have a nose for managing. I think he does. Ventura, a two-time All-Star during his 16-year career, has preached a return to basics. He has made infield practice before games a staple. "He told us that was the kind of team we were going to be in spring training: professional and fundamental," catcher A. J. Pierzynski said. Still, there have been hiccups. The White Sox were swept two weeks ago in Detroit. Even though the Tigers were playing with a hobbled Miguel Cabrera at third base, the White Sox bunted his way only once in the three games. That prompted Williams to question the intellect of his team. Entering this week's showdown, neither team was playing particularly well. Chicago had lost 9 of 13 and Detroit 8 of 12. On Monday night, the White Sox took advantage of three Detroit errors and hit three home runs to add a game to their lead and cut their division-clinching number to 20. But even with the White Sox ahead of the Tigers at the moment, Lamont remained wary of comparing Ventura and Leyland. "Robin's not in Jim's class," Lamont said. Guys like Tony La Russa are in Jim's class. Ventura seemed to acknowledge as much, while also flashing his dry humor. When asked about matching wits with someone like Leyland, Ventura deadpanned: "He's going to crush me. I don't have a chance.