Mattingly’s impact on the Dodgers
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Oct 08, 2008 
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Good story in the L.A. Times from Hall of Fame writer Ross Newhan on Don Mattingly and his impact on the Dodgers.
It’s funny how things work sometimes. Mattingly didn’t get the Yankees job a year ago and was disappointed. But that proved to be a good thing for him because of family problems that came to a boiling point shortly after.
After missing the first part of the season, he returned to Joe Torre’s staff and as this story details, he has played a significant role with the team.
It will be interesting to see when – and where – Mattingly does become a manager.
Hey, I know it’s off topic, but RAB is reporting that a closing ceremony has been cancelled. Is there any truth to this o am I still suffering from a lack of sleep?
Rebecca: No closing ceremony in November.
http://www.amny.com/sports/bas.....7163.story
Rebecca: an unspecified “charity event” planned for November has been cancelled. There will not be another closing ceremony.
This is too bad, IMO. It would have been a great opportunity to put the “disrespecting Torre” story to bed.
I loved Mattingly as hitting coach. The guy knew how to hit and that’s all there is.
Nothing against guys like Long but I sometimes see an issue with the players taking instruction from a guy who didn’t really hit MLB pitching.
Go Dodgers!
How about nowish with the Yankees.
How about no?
SA and Jeremy: Thanks. That’s a little disappointing, the idea of McCartney playing the Stadium sounded really cool, but there’s something appropriate about finishing it with a baseball game.
Just feel bad for everyone that had planned to go to the Stadium one last time.
I want to believe that Mattingly will one day be the manager of the Yankees. I am glad that he isn’t right now, and would like to see him manage somewhere else first before coming back to us.
Rebecca, I think people can still take Stadium tours if they want to see the ballpark again, although spots are probably hard to come by!
My dad wasn’t always around when I was a kid, so Don Mattingly was essentially my biggest male role model. I looked up to him & loved him. Now, I think he’s a whiner and a baby and LA can have him.
Funny how people move from the Yankees and they go to the disheveled look.
Mattingly looks like he was on a long weekend bender in that picture.
I think Mattingly might have had some growing pains in the managing position, but I tend to doubt that he would have had the players not digging it like Girardi has.
I also think Mattingly would have worked at keeping Bowa around.
I would have preferred Donnie personally. I think Girardi is a guy who is very set in his ways and is hesitant to take advice from others. While that could be a good thing, sometimes it only works out if you really know what you are doing. I don’t see it as a good attribute for a guy with as little experience as he has. Donnie seems like a guy that would really lean on others around him. I could be totally wrong it’s just what my gut is telling me.
I certainly like what Mattingly has to say about making pitchers work – an approach the Yankees certainly seemed to lack this season, especially when they faced young, wild pitchers.
A concern raised in the last mailbag was that Girardi advocated that batters swing earlier in the count. If true, that would be a huge story, because it would be an abandonment of a strategy that worked extremely well for the Yankees during the Torre years.
Pete correctly observed that the Yankees often seemed to give away outs like they wanted to go home. He attributed this futility at the plate to the players’ dissatisfaction with Girardi’s personal style. However, what if the real cause were Girardi’s advocating a swing-away mentality? If that’s the case, Girardi should worry less about his personality and more about strategy.
Also, is it just me or does Mattingly look like he has been reanimated from the dead in that picture.
Here’s the thing about Donnie.
I think he would have been the right choice for manager, but if he had gotten it, it would have been the wrong timing.
Donnie was going through all the divorce nonsense in the off season and the spring with incidents with his wife and taking over for Torre on top of that would have been disastrous.
I think Girardi is out by the All Star break, if not sooner, and I think there will be an interim type (Pena?) and then they’ll offer the keys to Donnie.
I loved Mattingly as a player even in his decline, but I don’t think of him as a manager. I like guys who are a little unorthodox and fiery. Donnie comes off to me as someone who is more by the book and laid back.
I don’t care about his impact with the Dodgers – let’s see what it’s like a couple of years from now. Why didn’t he have an impact on the Yankees? I used to idolize Donnie Baseball – he was my baseball god – but now? He’s just another in the increasing multitude who have jumped on the “I hate the Yankees – they did Joe Torre wrong” song. I’ve had enough of him. I hope he has a good life in LA, but that’s the extent of it. Enough with the 20/20 hindsight, if that’s what you can even call it. Who is to say that Mattingly would have been a good manager? Most people thought that Girardi was a better choice, so anyone saying otherwise now based on a few good months in LA is a hypocrite.
FWIW, Tony Pena was certainly the right man for the job. But he was passed over because he wasn’t a Yankee in his playing days.
As a kid growing up in NY during the late 80′s and early 90′s, Donnie Baseball was always my favorite player. I still remember staying up late to see him tie the record for most consecutive games with a homer.
As great as it was to win the first WS of my lifetime in 1996, it was a little heartbreaking to know that Mattingly couldn’t be a part of it. I’ve lived in LA since 1992, but I’ve never rooted for the Dodgers until this October. Since the Yanks can’t win it this year, I’m rooting for the Cap to finally get a ring.
After Girardi gets fired next year, the Yankees job will be available.
Well, if Joey G. flames out, it’s nice to know there’s an excellent Plan B.
I wonder if Cashman’s decision had something to do with his off field issues and Girardi’s lack of them. I’m definitely sure the nasty divorce he went through would’ve played a part if he managed the Yankees this year. It might be better for both that he didn’t get the job, but that doesn’t mean he could never come back especially if Girardi doesn’t work out. Girardi comes off a bit uptight sometimes.
the yanks karma changed when they chose the humorless, self righteous, rude girardi over the hardworking, classy legend in mattingly. what a shame. yanks sold out because baseball thought so much of girardi. i have a feeling donnie may be a better manager someday than girardi.
Peter, thanx for the article for all to see….
“It’s like night and day,” Mattingly said of where the hitters are now compared to what he saw from a distance in the first half, “but I don’t take the credit or worry about where I fit in. It’s satisfying to see the progress, but they hear it from all sides. Joe preaches it, Manny preaches it. They’ve grown into it.”
Joe, Manny and Donnie Baseball in lockstep,!!!! Not simply as to Manny in the box but advising, coaching, teaching….”how about that”!!!!! And a big q is whether “Manny can get along with Girardi?” If a deal is otherwise desireable and do-able, Girardi will fall into “lockstep” if he wants to remain in the dugout, however short his tenure might be.