Mattingly Gives Dodgers An Earful Over His Status
LOS ANGELES - Through all the turbulent years in New York, Don Mattingly carved a reputation as an elegant player who carried himself with an earnestness that did not betray his small-town Indiana roots. That portrait, like the nickname that accompanied it, Donnie Baseball, seemed apt.
Mattingly has carried himself much the same way during his tenure as the Los Angeles Dodgers ' manager, from the turmoil of the former owner Frank McCourt's reign to the spike in salaries and expectations under a new, deep-pocketed ownership group fronted by Magic Johnson and run by the team's president, Stan Kasten.
At every turn, even when it appeared Mattingly's firing was imminent earlier this season, there was little change in his demeanor. So it was stunning Monday when Mattingly revealed a new persona: Donnie Hardball.
Mattingly, doing little to mask his disappointment over having to endure what he thought was a lame-duck season, said at a news conference that his tenuous status undermined his authority with the players, and he suggested that he would not return unless he had a new contract that adequately reflected the Dodgers' faith in him. The Dodgers fell two victories shy of reaching the World Series - the closest they have come since 1988 - but Mattingly, speaking in an even and direct tone, called it a 'frustrating, tough year' and made it clear he would not want to manage the team again in a final year of his contract.
'When you're put in this position, the organization basically says we don't know if you can manage or not,' said Mattingly, who is 260-225 in three seasons as the Dodgers' manager. 'I've always said I like being here, but I don't want to be anywhere that you're not wanted. I don't know how everybody feels. I know where I am, how I feel about confidence in myself. If people don't feel the same way, then that's the way it is.'
It was widely reported last week during the National League Championship Series, which the Cardinals won in six games, that the team would exercise the $1.4 option on Mattingly's contract for next season. But Mattingly said Monday the option vested when the Dodgers beat Atlanta in the division series.
If Mattingly does not return, he may have some attractive options. The Detroit Tigers, the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs have managerial vacancies, and each are close to his home in Evansville, Ind. Mattingly's disappointment stemmed from spring training when he asked the Dodgers to pick up the 2014 option, but Kasten declined. That decision, Mattingly said, left him more open to second-guessing in a clubhouse filled with many established stars. One such example came in Game 1 of the N.L.C.S., when Mattingly replaced Adrian Gonzalez with pinch-runner Dee Gordon in the eighth inning of a tie game. When the Cardinals won in 13 innings, they were able to pitch to a lineup that did not include Gonzalez in the cleanup spot.
'With a club like this, you come in basically as a lame duck,' Mattingly said. 'With the guys that you have, it puts you in a tough spot in the clubhouse, so we dealt with that all year long. And really what it does, it puts me in a spot where everything I do is questioned because I'm basically trying out or auditioning to say: can you manage or can you not manage? To me, three years in, you either know or don't know.'
Pressed repeatedly, Mattingly declined to go into more detail about what he wanted in a new contract; what he wanted to hear from Kasten, Johnson or Mark Walter, who heads the ownership group; or whether he would walk away. It was clear that he had the support of General Manager Ned Colletti, who hired him when McCourt owned the team.
The Dodgers were in last place in the N.L. West on June 21, nine and a half games out of first. They won 42 of their next 50 games and won the division handily.
'I have a lot of respect for this guy,' Colletti said. 'He kept it steady through a tough period of time. I've been a supporter of his from the day he walked through here as a hitting coach.'
Mattingly said he wanted the entire coaching staff back and said there needed to be a plan for Yasiel Puig, a dynamic and often polarizing outfielder, which would emphasize the importance of details. Also on the table is a long-term deal for pitcher Clayton Kershaw; a decision whether to pick up the option on second baseman Mark Ellis, whose range is not what it once was; and whether the Dodgers will have to replace reliever Brian Wilson, a free agent who covets a closer's job.
Those discussions will begin to take place in the coming days. As Mattingly left Dodger Stadium on Monday, he did not appear terribly concerned. He smiled and laughed as he headed toward the elevator, expressing excitement about his son Preston's college basketball career.
He seemed to be adhering to what he had earlier said was the biggest lesson learned from this season.
'Basically just stick to your beliefs,' he said. 'I got rewarded this year in a big way.'
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