DODGERS The MATTINGLY Thread

Discussion in 'Los Angeles DODGERS' started by SC_Ed, Oct 14, 2013.

  1. SC_Ed

    SC_Ed DSP Legend Damned

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    Love it! Long live Donnie Baseball!
     
  2. CapnTreee

    CapnTreee Guest

    Is Michael Young even still a Dodger?

    Didn't we release his jinxed ass?
     
  3. back2back x 2 + 1

    back2back x 2 + 1 DSP Legend Damned

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    3 year deal and a short leash behind the scenes without the players knowing...that's how i want it. we better be in the WS this year and we better start playing tougher baseball...meaning if Hanley Ramirez gets hit in the ribs in Game 1 i better not hear 1 excuse about why it wasn't on purpose...what i better hear is the baseball cracking the opposition's #3 hitter. i don't give a shit about " not wanting to get a guy tossed ". war is war. if you're depending on 1 arm, you're done anyway. get it together, Donnie. i wanna root for you. i wanna be wrong.
     
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  4. CapnTreee

    CapnTreee Guest

    yeah that 'no call' on the Hanley beaning was limp wristed...

    I might of even had to bean two of their guys cuz no single hitter is as good as Hanley.

    can't do that shit or people just assume it's OK to walk all over you
     
  5. MZA

    MZA MODERATOR Staff Member

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    Just cut down on the dumb mistakes and this could be a great move.
     
  6. back2back x 2 + 1

    back2back x 2 + 1 DSP Legend Damned

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    and that's exactly what they did. they walked all over the Dodgers and even told them how to celebrate later in the series. they just owned the Dodgers period in that series. pissed me off to no end...especially after they fought back against the DBacks...i really thought they'd take no shit after that. but i guess the Cardinals hold the Dodgers' nuts in the palm of their hands...or at least Mattingly's nuts.
     
  7. N.Z

    N.Z DSP Legend

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    Ahh well. At least we'll have plenty of things to post about.
     
  8. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has officially announced Don Mattingly's extension to reporters, including Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
    :yawn:
     
  9. harkeyed

    harkeyed DSP Legend

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    :laff:
     
  10. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    Well, congrats to DBB, extended until 2088, which will be the one hundreth anniversary of our last WS victory.
    Now the crushing albatross /yolk around our necks which would weigh so heavily on the team's psyche during the season (we are told) is taken care of, and our hitters can freely go up to the plate unencumbered by that horrible uncertainty of 'no Donnie' looming? Unconscienceable!
    While possibily, the greatest pitching talent argueably since Sandy Koufax, is looking and sounding more and more that he will likely get on his horse and head somewhere else.
     
  11. CapnTreee

    CapnTreee Guest

    Clayton Kershaw is NOT going anywhere.

    You're just wringing your hands about it.

    GG and Kasten MUST wait out the whole Tanaka affair just to make sure that 'whatever' deal is given to Tanaka, by themselves OR someone else, needs to be a lesser deal than what is given to Clayton. And Clayton knows it. Going last is always a good thing when you're bringing two Cy Young's to the table.

    We're all good with waiting for CK but there is no reason not to handle Hanley already
     
  12. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    :rolleyes:

    [​IMG]
    Don Mattingly Needs Big April to Avoid Getting Fired
    Was Close to Being Fired Last Year, and 2014 Brings Greater Expectations
    By Greg Zakwin | Yahoo Contributor Network – 42 minutes ago​

    [​IMG]

    COMMENTARY | Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly needs his talented and highly paid club to get off to a hot start to help secure his job status moving forward in 2014 and beyond.

    That may seem like an odd statement, considering he just got a three-year contract extension after a tumultuous offseason of "will he return or will he be fired?" But when a team is expected to win, win big, and win often, failure is often met with extreme consequences.

    I'm not the biggest Mattingly fan -- I wrote last year that he should be fired, and I still firmly believe the club could have found a better manager -- but Donnie Baseball does run a great clubhouse, and the club's health has much more to do with its success than does its skipper.

    It is well-documented that the club was willing to fire him early last season when wins were anything but plentiful, and while his then-lame duck status made that an easier call and sell, there are HUGE expectations heading into 2014, which are expected to be met immediately with a club as talented as this one.

    Add in a deep-pocket ownership group willing to bring in whomever is deemed necessary for success, and April as well as May will be vital in determining Don Mattingly's future in Los Angeles.

    Health Will Be The Key Factor

    While a manager can control his fate to an extent, there are some things simply out of his control that could lead to the team faltering and thus place Donnie in need of a new job. When the team struggled early on in 2013, there were talks that a high-priced collection of mercenaries, so to speak, couldn't be successful.

    What was really dragging the club down, however, was the litany of injuries to key cogs in the Blue Crew machine. Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, Zack Greinke, Chad Billingsley, Adrian Gonzalez, AJ Ellis, Josh Beckett, Mark Ellis, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, and Scott Elbert all dealt with various ailments that affected their play and the team's performance in a major way.

    A mostly if not fully healthy squad this season would do wonders in keeping Mattingly's job secure, as a team this talented will win plenty of games and contend for the World Series. Kemp's health, in particular, will play a large role in how well the offense performs and how well the team performs overall.

    Ownership Could Eat Mattingly's Contract If Deemed Necessary

    While it wouldn't be the best move from a strictly business perspective to pay two managers at once, if ownership feels Mattingly is not getting the job done and wants to make a move, they have enough money to cover Don and whomever would replace him.

    It goes without saying that there would be no shortage of candidates who would be interested in managing the Dodgers. A club that is this talented and also happens to have an ownership group sitting on more money than the GDP of most small countries would attract the best available managers. Whether it would be an experienced manager or the most sought-after rising first-time skipper, Mattingly's shoes could quite easily and quickly be filled should a different direction be deemed appropriate and necessary.

    Mattingly's poor in-game strategy, which I discussed following the end of the last campaign and which plagued the Dodgers as recently as the 2013 postseason, places additional pressure on a hot start.

    Better Overall Strategy Would Go A Long Way

    Don Mattingly likes to bunt -- a lot. I've referred to it as a fetish in the past, and Dodgers fans can attest that that term is the most apt description of his propensity to lay down a bunt no matter the circumstance or run-scoring expectancy of the situation at-hand.

    His bullpen management, like that of his predecessor and mentor Joe Torre, is quite suspect. While he does run an excellent clubhouse, his ability to properly judge the in-game situation matters far more to me. With a new bench coach in Tim Wallach, perhaps we'll see some much-needed change in Donnie's mindset.

    Final Thoughts That Could Run Through Mattingly's Head

    Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez need to be healthy for the vast majority of the season with games missed being maintenance days rather than DL days. The bullpen question marks (Chris Perez, Paco Rodriguez rebounding from late-season struggles, depth arms) need to perform whether they're put in a position to do so or not.

    Ned Colletti needs to build a competent bench that has actual power present (hello, Scott Van Slyke!) and can spell injuries as they inevitably crop up. Yasiel Puig needs to avoid a sophomore slump and must be a consistent and instrumental presence in all phases of the game.

    The chances of Don Mattingly getting fired barring a catastrophic collapse by the squad early in 2014 are very low, but the Dodgers could certainly afford to make a move if they felt it was needed, and if someone's going to go should the team struggle, it'll be Donnie Baseball before any of the players are sent packing.

    Greg Zakwin is the founder of Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle, a Dodgers' and sports card blog. He writes with an analytical tilt about The Blue Crew at ChadMoriyama.com. You can find and follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke. A graduate of UCLA in 2011 with a Bachelor's in History, he's been a follower of the Dodgers since birth and still mourns the loss of both Mike Piazza and Carlos Santana.

    __
     
  13. IBleedBlue15

    IBleedBlue15 DSP Stud

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    Enough with these stupid expectation articles. Why do people keep writing these?
     
  14. carolinabluedodger

    carolinabluedodger DSP Legend

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    They fancy themselves journalists, capable of original thoughts.
     
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  15. KOUFAX0000

    KOUFAX0000 DSP Legend Damned

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    Dum Dum should do better with Wallach next to jom. It's quite obvious Trey Hillman is a fucking idiot. Or perhaps DDD is as stupid as his moves show by ignoring good advice. We shall see.
     
  16. doyerfan

    doyerfan MODERATOR Staff Member Moderator

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    I'm probably gonna sound like a hater, but I despise most things this dude writes. I always leave him shitty comments
     

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