Don Mattingly's disgrace

[ShaimOnYou]

Unsure if this is relevant; but let's take a look at the Atlanta Braves from 1991 to 2005.

There will likely be a total of FIVE Hall of Famers from those Braves' teams:
Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones, Bobby Cox and John Smoltz.

The Braves went to the playoff 14 times during 1991 - 2005.
The Braves went to the World Series 5 times during those years.
The Braves won only 1 World Series Title during that time.

And, Bobby Cox is a HOF'er .............

chisox1967,

All baseball fans agree, the Atlanta run was incredible, but in the end they underachieved having only won one World Series during the "great run". But they did it with superb pitching. NOt gazillions of dollars with star position players (even though they had their share of great ones, Chipper being a certain HOF).

They also did it without spending the kind of money the Dodgers laid out, and they didn't have the expectations the Dodger ownership do.

This is why I am pouring out my soul as a Dodger fan here. I want to support ownership by letting them know, on a PUBLIC FORUM, that we Dodger fans (yes, I speak for many) just don't believe Mattingly is the man for this job. Sweet GEEZUZ, all one has to do is look at the two-year running play-off debacle he's performed and it doesn't take long to realize all we can expect is more of the same.

At the end of the day, look at your own argument. Yes, you only won ONE championship in all those years.

But you MADE IT to 5 WORLD SERIES. That's an accomplishment in and of itself.

[ShaimOnYou]

OMG,

my heart is racing.

I JUST HEARD that Joe Maddon OPTIONED OUT of his contract with the RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay TUNED DODGER FANS.....we may be getting OUR WISH!!!

Chris

[helf35]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/994686...ct-leaves-rays

[xpress34]

Yes, you only won ONE championship in all those years.

But you MADE IT to 5 WORLD SERIES. That's an accomplishment in and of itself.

Again, you make it hard to take your position seriously.

You say here that the Braves made it to 5 WS and Won 1 in 14 years and that's an accomplishment, but Mattingly has only been at the helm for 4 years and has taken the Dodgers from 3rd to 2nd to consecutive 1st Place finishes and you're ready the destroy him already.

How about giving him 14 years like Cox and THEN talking about who accomplished what.

The more I read your comments, the more you come off as a spoiled child who didn't get their way and when you applaud things like the 14 year totals for Bobby Cox and the Braves while berating Mattingly on a 4 year curve, it sounds more like you truly have a deeper personal issue and dislike for Mattingly as a person.

Attacking him as a Manager is just convenient.

Again, just my .02 based on what you have posted.

[3arod13]

How about giving him 14 years like Cox and THEN talking about who accomplished what.

I agree! It sometimes takes more time and the many pieces to come together, before the magic can happen.

[ShaimOnYou]

Smitty (& 3arod13),

You are mixing together bits and pieces of what I clearly stated as separate points into a nice mincemeat pie to state your disagreement with my disdain for Mattingly as a manager. You are certainly entitled and welcome to speak your minds, but please don't tell me I can't have it "both ways" when you are completely redefining the meaning of what I said by combining pieces to illustrate your points. That's simply not true. I'm not having anything both ways nor do I want to.

Yes, the talent of the Dodgers won their Division, DESPITE Don Mattingly. But look who won the World Series AGAIN! The well-managed San Francisco WILD CARD Giants. Why? Because, it is my position, the Dodgers fell asleep in critical situations in the NLDS when a REAL MANAGER needed to make some tough calls. So they lost. Mattingly doesn't understand what managerial skills are needed in the play-offs, where 162 games won't help to spread out and "mask" mistakes. All the talent in the world doesn't work when your manager can't manage in short do-or-die series. Remember, these "players" aren't robots, they're human. Sometimes they run out of gas and need to be removed from action. Without the right guy performing that task, it's DOOMSVILLE.

Next, comparing Mattingly to Cox is a joke, IMO. Bobby Cox didn't have the SAME PLAYERS for the 14 year period we were all discussing. He won with different rosters. Bobby Cox is a Hall of Fame manager. His consistency in winning was unmatched by anyone in his era.

He only won 1 World Championship because the Atlanta Braves ownership never supplied him with an "open checkbook" to buy players like the Dodgers have with Mattingly. But furthermore, and what's getting lost in this discussion, is that Bobby Cox never made decisions during the heat of battle that grossly caused the Braves to LOSE a game. And FAILING to act as a manager is the same thing as acting but under bad choices. Both can cause a team to FAIL.

Don Mattingly has been given a tremendous team of talent. He has shown he can't "manage" it to win the big one. Not even enough semi big ones! I know, because I have watched him "mismanage" this team of talent on several occasions from the Left Field Pavilion at Dodger Stadium, up close and PERSONAL.

I will state again for the record that the ONLY CHANCE the Dodgers have of winning a World Series here in Los Angeles over the course of the next few years (enter your own amount of years, I don't care. But I am basically referring to the roster of talent they have here and now in my discussion), is to FIRE him and hire someone who actually has electrode activity sparking between the ears. He will not win a World Championship as a manager here in Los Angeles, PERIOD. He doesn't possess the ability to lead, motivate, or make the tough decisions a REAL MANAGER needs to. Any team can have a popular-with-the-players "buddy-buddy" manager with his players. That won't win CHAMPIONSHIPS, however.

And if you guys don't agree with me that the two losses Clayton Kershaw suffered in the post season this year aren't a direct reflection of Mattingly's failure to act, his incompetence as a manager to "handle the urgency and moment", then I certainly won't ever convince you otherwise. We simply see things differently.

I just know that what I saw in the 2014 World Series was two SOLID managers MANAGING the pitching to a TEE. As soon as one pitcher showed ANY sign of lost control, as soon as a pitcher walked ONE batter, there was a trip to the mound, and activity in the bullpen. There was "MANAGING" going on. Great, solid, competent, urgency-filled MANAGING for all to witness. And it was a great World Series that went 7 because of it.

It is my contention those things aren't present with Dandy-Donnie, hovering at the bottom step of the dugout. Just fizzled wires and smoke coming from the collar. And walks of disgust to the mound to remove a pitcher long after he should have, after the damage was done. And the "disgust" I'm referring to is from the Dodger FANS, not Don. He's not conscious enough to understand what just happened.

I'm standing by my prediction, and it's really not hard to do. When a buffoon is driving, a crash is soon to follow. The Dodgers are crashing every year. It's painful for Dodger fans to know before it happens that we're doomed to lose year after year with Don at the helm. Winning the Division because the team is so loaded over the course of 162 games is inevitable. But even THAT is in jeopardy with Don (seeing as it took until the last three games of the year to lock it up). If he steps deeper in it next year and actually loses the Division, then I would expect his immediate firing.

But even if we keep winning our Division, I'm not going to back away from my position. I predict this thread will relive itself year after year, with colorful pictures of Don's pathetic post-game interviews while he tries to explain why the Dodgers lost again. (Remember Donnie's "pout-fest" post season interview while sitting uncomfortably far away with arms crossed from Ned Colletti as they stumbled through Mattingly's unhappiness that he wasn't under contract?) The only chance to fix this if for Dodger brass to acknowledge their HUGE mistake of handing Mattingly an extension after he blew the National League Championship Series in 2013 to the Cardinals , and just FIRE HIM ALREADY. If they hadn't given him that gift after he HANDED away game one, arguably changing the WHOLE atmosphere of the series, we would have been able to sign Joe Maddon. Wow, what could have been. Probably three World Championships over the next 4 years. But now we'll never know.

[Swoboda4]

The curse of the Don.

[sox83cubs84]

I see news items saying that the Dodgers are considering Gabe Kapler for the job. Any Dodger fans have feelings about that, good or bad?

Dave Miedema

[KGoldin]

He was really able to whip those sweathogs into shape, and look at what a star Travolta turned out to be
think Gabe Kapler would be an amazing choice

[metsbats]

He was really able to whip those sweathogs into shape, and look at what a star Travolta turned out to be
think Gabe Kapler would be an amazing choice

I agree!