[crustyme]

Seems to me if you're not talking about line movement, you dont really know what you're talking about. Mattingly was a great player but the Yankess were a perenial loser back then, he knows very well what its like to lose year in and year out.
Not one of you have mentioned that the Dodgers have been in complete shambles from a front office standpoint all year. Guys are worried about whether theyre even going to be getting a paycheck and where they will end up next year, tough to stay focused and motivated in that environment.
Mattingly has the potential to be a good manager, give him some time and let the dodgers improve their situation and then critisize.

players were never worried about their paychecks. commissioner's office let them know early that they would be paid regardless of the ownership situation. had mccourt defaulted, mlb would've stepped in and paid.

dodgers have a very strong lineup and a strong pitching staff. just compare them to the d-backs for example. d-backs don't even have a single regular day hitter above .300 yet dodgers have 2. no pitcher with an era under 3, dodgers have 2. so how are they just 1/2 game out of 1st while dodgers are 10 games out? kirk gibson.

gibby has proven to be a great manager and a great motivator. he may not have had much managerial experience but he did manage 83 games last season and has played in the national league. something you can't say about mattingly. he also learned from one of the best in sparky anderson. gibby should be the front runner for manager of the year, considering what a remarkable job he has done with talent level below that of the dodgers.

mattingly will never be a good manager.

[lakerboy]

Then you'd make an outstanding manager.

never played baseball. its okay we know you are a winner.

Seems to me if you're not talking about line movement, you dont really know what you're talking about. Mattingly was a great player but the Yankess were a perenial loser back then, he knows very well what its like to lose year in and year out.
Not one of you have mentioned that the Dodgers have been in complete shambles from a front office standpoint all year. Guys are worried about whether theyre even going to be getting a paycheck and where they will end up next year, tough to stay focused and motivated in that environment.
Mattingly has the potential to be a good manager, give him some time and let the dodgers improve their situation and then critisize.

i dont know what im talking about? are you okay? i said players that were losers as in a player that was shit would make a good manager. how many great players have been good managers?


here is a list of the mlb hall of fame managers. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hof/mgrhof.shtml

which one of them had great careers? great players do not make great managers. mattingly might be in a bad situation but it looks like the yanks did the right thing by not choosing him over girardi( who btw was a mediocre player). i know what im talking about. i have been following this game for 30 years.

[FishFace5]

Very good points Crusty.
Wouldnt really dispute anything of what you said about Gibson and the D'Backs.
However I would like to disagree about downplaying how bad of an environment playing in LA is right now.
I also would like to point out Mattingly put in a lot of time underneath Torre as a bench coach and I think we're calling him a bust too early.
Gotta admit Donny Baseball was my favorite player growing up so maybe I'm just acting biased becuase I'm a fan.

[lakerboy]

[quote=FishFace5;10972246]Very good points Crusty.
Wouldnt really dispute anything of what you said about Gibson and the D'Backs.
However I would like to disagree about downplaying how bad of an environment playing in LA is right now.
I also would like to point out Mattingly put in a lot of time underneath Torre as a bench coach and I think we're calling him a bust too early.
Gotta admit Donny Baseball was my favorite player growing up so maybe I'm just acting biased becuase I'm a fan.[/quote]


i loved the guy too. he was a great player during tough times for us yanks fans.

[FishFace5]

Not trying to challenge you LB. I respect you as a capper but just seem to disagree with a lot of your opinions outside of handicapping.
You are correct about generalizing great players do not have a proven history of being great managers but that does not mean they are incapable and you didnt really make that clear in your original post either. Gibson was a great player and seems to have potential to be a great manager, you cant just say assume Mattingly was a great player so hes automatically going to be a bust as a manager it just sounds stupid.

*Im a Yankee fan and I can tell you that Girardi has me pulling my hair out over some of his decision making so lets not elude to the idea the Yanks clearly made the right decision on who to make their manager

[stevenash]

To expand on FishFace5 post, Donnie comes dirt cheap, he gets like 1/20th of the money the big boys get, like LaRussa, who's so overrated, but that's another story for another day.

[Degenerate2]

The Dodgers have a strong lineup? They average 3.67 runs a game compared to Arizona's 4.49 Kemp has been great and Ethier has been solid but Loney's HORRIBLE perfomance is enough to negate that. Hell, Padres average slightly more runs per game playing in a park that is death to hitters. Mattingly is over his head but like someone said he was cheap. He needs to go, Colletti needs to go, McCourt too. Future isn't bright fellow Blue fans. Probably should become a Angel fan since they actually have a Dodger managing their team. As Kurtz said, "The HORROR."

[crustyme]

The Dodgers have a strong lineup? They average 3.67 runs a game compared to Arizona's 4.49 Kemp has been great and Ethier has been solid but Loney's HORRIBLE perfomance is enough to negate that. Hell, Padres average slightly more runs per game playing in a park that is death to hitters. Mattingly is over his head but like someone said he was cheap. He needs to go, Colletti needs to go, McCourt too. Future isn't bright fellow Blue fans. Probably should become a Angel fan since they actually have a Dodger managing their team. As Kurtz said, "The HORROR."

dodgers have a higher team batting avg and more hits. the reason they dont score is because of mattingly. how many close games have they lost because he has no idea how to bunt runners over, hit and run, steal bases etc. too many to count. he just sits there waiting for 3 run homeruns.

fact is dodgers have way more talent than the d-backs and would be in the race with a competent manager. heck even glenn hoffman wouldve done better.

[Thunder Gulch]

Hard to say so far because the deck is stacked against him, but maybe there is a reason he never got a look before now.

[Degenerate2]

They are not WAY MORE TALENTED then Arizona. Where do you get this? Would they be 65-50 under Whitey Herzog? Would players like Barajas, Gwynn Jr, Miles, Loney turn into real assets? Are these the significantly more talented players you are talking about? The truth is the Dodgers just are not that good aside from the manager.

[crustyme]

who on the dbacks are more talented than kemp, ethier, miles, carroll, kershaw and kuroda???? 2 best players on dbacks upton and kennedy are not better than kemp or kershaw.

loney may be having an off year but hes still far better than the dbacks 1st basemen.

dbacks hit more hr only cause they play in a hitters friendly ballpark. dodgers have more hits and better batting avg.

yes if dodgers had a better manager who knew how to bunt runners over, knew how to substitute properly and had common sense, they wouldnt be 11 games under .500.