The Dodgers lost again last night and are eight games out of first place. Manager Don Mattingly is disgusted. Here’s what he had to say after last night’s loss:*
“Basically, we’re sh**ty,” Mattingly said. “We’re just not that good . . . Home, away, whatever. I don’t know what that has to do with it . . . I really think you should talk to [the players]. I’m tired of answering the questions, honestly.”
Last season the Dodgers hit a low point when they were nine and a half games out. Mattingly was almost fired then, partially because when you have a $200 million roster you can’t really replace the players, partially because he seemed to be in a personal funk, disgusted with what was going on. We saw his displeasure on display at the end of last season too, when his friend and bench coach Trey Hillman was fired and Mattingly had issues with Ned Colletti.
I’m not advocating for the dismissal of Mattingly — I think he deserves a lot of credit for last season’s turn around — but a manager’s job is usually to be the one who calms everyone down when they get frustrated. Not to be the public face of the team’s frustration.
*The Times story censored that quote more, but multiple Twitter sources noted the particular expletive used by Mattingly. Which, laughs aside, I think is kind of important. Those of us who are passionate users of profanity know the subtle differences between various curse words in various contexts. Or at least I hope we do.
