Dodgers' Don Mattingly's margin for error just got smaller The Dodgers manager's decisions -- especially in the seventh -- draw lingering questions after a Game 2 loss to Atlanta in the NLDS By Bill Plaschke | Los Angeles Times -- October 4, 2013 Mattingly's late-game strategy against the Braves Friday may have been the deciding factor behind the 4-3 loss. ATLANTA — He stared sullenly from the dugout as thousands of red-foam tomahawks were shaking above him. He quietly shook his head at the field as ominous chanting echoed around him. Later, in a cramped and still interview room, he spoke slowly about a sweaty Southern night during which the burden and blame of a frazzled defeat fell directly upon him. Don Mattingly became Donnie Postseason Baseball on Friday, and it wasn't pretty. "Yeah, you always look back at everything, you could have did this, you could have did that," said Mattingly with pained frankness. "So I think you look at it and you look at this honestly and see what you think." Honestly, the overwhelming thought is that Mattingly blew it during his Dodgers' 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the now-knotted National League division series at Turner Field. The thought is that Mattingly's decision in the seventh inning to walk Reed Johnson and pitch to Jason Heyward — a strange move that was first-guessed by many — was the main reason the Dodgers lost a game they should have won. Heyward's two-run single up the middle against Paco Rodriguez gave the Braves a 4-1 lead that rendered moot a later two-run homer by Hanley Ramirez and forced a futile comeback attempt against nearly untouchable Braves reliever Craig Kimbrel. "It's really crazy," said Mark Ellis, the calmest of sorts, in describing a game whose craziness flowed directly from a manager who doesn't need this right now. Mattingly is a beloved figure in the clubhouse, yet his late-game strategy is often questioned, and he was nearly fired earlier this season when the team was struggling. He is still working without a guaranteed deal for next year and, while the Dodgers hold an option, it is widely believed the team needs to play well in the postseason — and he needs to manage well under the October microscope — to ensure that option is picked up. During an intense seventh inning Friday, Mattingly did not leave a good first postseason impression. With the Braves leading just 2-1 and Dodgers reliever Chris Withrow pitching, the Braves' Brian McCann led off with a walk, then Chris Johnson grounded a single into left field, moving pinch-runner B.J. Upton to second. After Andrelton Simmons moved the runners up with a bunt, Elliot Johnson struck out for a second out, bringing up the pitcher's spot in the batting order. Up stepped left-handed pinch hitter Jose Constanza, so Mattingly played the numbers and went to left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez, which may have been his first mistake. "You always want to stay in there, that's not my call, they probably had numbers on him," said Withrow. One number is that Constanza was hitless in eight at-bats against lefties this season. But the other number is that the weary Rodriguez had a 5.68 earned-run average in September and Withrow had seemingly found his focus. The Braves immediately and understandably batted right-hander Reed Johnson for Constanza. Standing on deck was Heyward, a much more powerful hitter who bats left-handed. Mattingly immediately ordered Rodriguez to walk Johnson and face Heyward to get the valued lefty-lefty matchup. First problem. A reliever is rarely brought into a game and immediately asked to throw four balls out of the strike zone. It messes with the rhythm he had just developed in the bullpen. It's especially dangerous when the intentional walk loads the bases in this young reliever's first playoff appearance Second problem. A hitter like Reed Johnson is almost never walked for a hitter like Jason Heyward under any circumstances. Johnson was hitting .244 with 11 runs batted in this season. Heyward has produced more runs than that since the All-Star break, a point after which he become the Braves' catalyst with a .305 average with 17 RBIs. And forget that left-lefty stuff. Heyward's combined on-base and slugging percentage is actually 37 points better (.802) against lefties than righties (.765) this season. It was a stunning move. It was, then, not so stunning that an out-of-sync Rodriguez immediately threw Heyward two balls, then forced a fastball into the strike zone that Heyward knocked into center field to score two runs that eventually proved decisive. Afterward everyone tried to explain the decision, but nobody could really pull it off. "We felt like Paco fits into Reed," said Mattingly slowly, meaning Rodriguez pitches into Johnson's strength. "[Rodriguez] is a guy we think gets Heyward out [he's] been getting those guys out all year long for us." One more number: While Rodriguez has indeed held lefties to a .131 average, he holds righties to a .202 average, so is it that much difference? Said Rodriguez: "No question in that situation I would have liked to face the righty. [But] you have to go by the numbers." Said catcher A.J. Ellis: "I just kind of play the hand that I'm dealt, not my place to make the decision, these guys do a lot of work to find the right matchup, I'll take Paco against any lefty." Like other missteps during Mattingly's tenure, this one will disappear with a couple of wins. But if the Dodgers don't get through this first round, this one could be like the sounds of all those Braves fans whooping into downtown Atlanta Friday night. This one could linger. __
I hope don is fired and is blacklisted from baseball. Because his decisions reach legit retard levels. He can open up a restaurant and lead a great life. But get away from baseball.
That decision was stupid, but the players are supposed to execute every once in awhile. Paco is flamed out.
I have to basically agree...DBB managed this game like an unsure rookie...which, no matter how you spin it, he absolutely is. I do think a huge portion of the loss is his to bear, but there was also ample opportunities for the lineup to score some runs, and it was failure front and center. The DPs were insipid, and I think with this crippled lineup, you've got to be creative to get the most out of it, like maybe a surprise bunt with a man on third with one out or something, rather than have a guy like Skip hitting away and end the inning.
more of the same... Don Mattingly lets Jason Heyward be hero by Mark Wiedmer | Times Free Press -- Today, 10 minutes ago ATLANTA -- Keenly aware of his Atlanta Braves postseason history, the fan held high a sign at Turner Field on Thursday night that proclaimed: "The last government shutdown was [begun in] 1995." Then his favorite team, the one that won it all 18 years ago, went out and performed as ineffectively as Congress, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers to fall behind 1-0 in their best-of-five National League division series. But if L.A. skipper Don Mattingly keeps mistaking Braves reserve Reed Johnson for Babe Ruth, Atlanta just might add enough wins to Friday night's 4-3 victory to keep that World Series talk alive for at least one more week. In some top-secret data base apparently known only to Mattingly, he decided Johnson was apparently a more dangerous hitter than Braves leadoff man Jason Heyward. So with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Mattingly had reliever Paco Rodriguez intentionally walk Johnson to load the bases for Heyward in a game the Dodgers already trailed 2-1. And what Heyward did next against P-Rod will be talked about for years to come if Atlanta eventually wins this division series rather than merely tie it until Sunday's Game 3. With 48,966 on their feet and waving their red foam tomahawks as if it really was 1995 again, Heyward ripped a P-Rod offering back up the middle to drive home two runs and give the Braves a 4-1 lead. Hanley Ramirez smacked a two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole to pull the Dodgers within one in the top of the eighth, but that would be it. "The top," Atlanta native Heyward replied when asked where that game-clinching single ranked in his young career. "At least for now." Said Mattingly in attempting to explain the walk to Johnson in order to get to Heyward: "Paco is a guy who pitches down and fits into Reed. [Paco's] a guy we think gets Heyward out. Been getting those guys out all year." Said Heyward with a shrug: "That's baseball. Lefty on lefty. You're playing the matchup. I'm just glad to get the hit. That's all I can control." Atlanta did all it could to get back some semblance of control over its own destiny by saluting its proud past before the game officially began. Retired manager Bobby Cox -- he of the 14 straight division titles -- threw out the ceremonial first pitch to injured pitcher Tim Hudson. Cox then left the Turner Field playing surface to watch the game with former President Jimmy Carter, who was sitting in a box just to the right of home plate. (Thankfully, the government shutdown still allows for Secret Service protection for ex-presidents.) Yet despite that electric pregame moment, this night also had a touch of melancholy to it long before the Dodgers put the Braves in a 1-0 hole in the opening inning. Catcher Brian McCann, born in Georgia, always a Brave, was asked in the pregame interview room if he'd considered during his drive to the ballpark if this might be his last home game in an Atlanta uniform. "When I think about it, it's definitely there," said the 29-year-old McCann, who's hit at least 20 home runs in seven of his eight full big-league seasons. "But what we're doing here today is way more important than what's going to happen to me after the season." It should be noted that McCann drew a walk at the start of the seventh before being replaced by B.J. Upton, who would come around to score on Heyward's single. But everybody played a big role in this one. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons smoked a double to tie it at 1 after two innings. Chris Johnson sent a grounder between third and short to give the Braves a 2-1 lead in the fourth. Suddenly a sold-out crowd at the Ted had something bigger to cheer about than the presence of Cox and Carter. Finally, with the emotions of a packed crowd hanging on every Craig Kimbrel pitch, Carl Crawford struck out to end the game and knot the series at 1-all heading to Sunday's game in L.A. and another chance to see if the Braves can remember to play like it's 1995 all over again. "It's huge," said Kimbrel, hardly understating the moment. "Nobody wanted to go out to L.A. down two games. Hopefully we can keep that momentum going now." Especially if Mattingly keeps walking lightly used reserves to get to the Braves' bigger bats. __
Constanza is a lame ass hitter And Reed Johnson didn't have a hit since July 28. Walking them to face heyward is hilariously pathetic Like walking jerry Hairston to get to Adrian
like a scene straight out of major league 2... PACO: "I want Parkman."DBB: "Who???"PACO: "My bad. I meant Heyward. I want Heyward."DBB: "Well Heyward's not up, Reed's the hitter, so..."PACO: "I'll walk him."DBB: "What, are you nuts???"PACO: "I want Heyward."DBB: "Okay, go get him Rick... er, Paco."
Like I said. Should be blacklisted from baseball. Open up a diner or something in your free time. Change your name from DBB to Donnie Pancakes or something.
I was pissed beyond words yesterday, and went straight to bed after the game for fear of lashing out at people around me. Now that i'm cooled off, I can still say that was the most idiotic managerial inning I've ever seen in my life, and for it to rear its head in the playoffs (and on the team I root for no less), he deserves to get all the heat he's getting, and should be fired if this ends up coming back to haunt us.
just asinine baseball 101... you do not let a guy like heyward beat you you make a guy like reed beat you
In all honestly, he should be fired anyway. There's no excuse as to why he has gotten worse as a manager instead of learning and getting better.
and we also have to remember the top half of that inning. Skip gets on vs. a lefty, and AJ BUNTS vs. the lefty. You have a favorable matchup right there and you bunt it away... Then you get MYoung on base, runners on 1st and third and now Crawford has to face the lefty in a humongous spot, and you let him go lefty on lefty. So Mattingly was insane about lefty on lefty with pitching but just a half inning before he didn't mind it and took the bat out of AJs hands and let Carl hit.
it just sucks that any close game and we are probably fucked cause of these decisions unless the team can make up for it with some great play, but we are at a disadvantage strategy wise in a tight game.
Dodgers' co-owner Magic Johnson likes how Don Mattingly has managed the team, and the two sides will meet after the playoffs to discuss a new deal. This is Mattingly's last year under contract with L.A., though FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi recently reported that the Dodgers hold a $1.4MM option on Mattingly's services for 2014. ^keep in mind magic said this after game 1 and before game 2...
Magic is beloved and I have no doubt he loves this team but more of a PR puppet when it comes to these things
