Wednesday, July 21, 2010

At Least No One Really Noticed Mattingly's Managerial Gaffe

Lucky for Don Mattingly, history will not remember what was arguably the game-losing gaffe of Dodger fill-in manager Don Mattingly, the apparent heir to the Joe Torre-inhabited throne. Sure, his Texas two-step near the mound may have caused the dismissal of Dodgers close Jonathan Broxton, which heralded much-maligned "pitcher" George Sherrill to take the mound for the Dodgers, who promptly ceded the entire game.

But the good news for Mattingly is, no one really notices the gaffes of an interim manager for a fourth-place team. That is, not Yahoo Sports:

”I really didn’t realize I was off the dirt,” Mattingly said. ”Rules are rules, you know? Obviously at that point it’s my responsibility not to take a step off.”

Mattingly also had an embarrassing snafu when he filled in as manager during spring training while Torre was in Taiwan. The lineup card posted in the clubhouse didn’t match the one given to the umpires, and the Dodgers batted out of order. This mistake, however, involved footwork, not paperwork.

“I’ve had to catch myself a few times on that,” Bochy said of fighting the urge to return to the mound after walking away.

Nearing the end of a game in which Giants starter Tim Lincecum(notes) hit Matt Kemp(notes) with a pitch and Clayton Kershaw(notes) retaliated in the seventh inning by hitting Aaron Rowand(notes), bringing automatic ejections for Kershaw and Torre, Mattingly summoned Sherrill. On Sherrill’s second pitch, Andres Torres(notes) doubled home two runs.

And not USA Today:

Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly, who had to take over after the separate ejections of manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer, went to the mound for a chat with Broxton before Torres came up. Mattingly took a few steps back off the dirt toward the dugout before turning around and advising first baseman James Loney what depth to play at.

Bochy came out to protest to plate umpire Adrian Johnson that Mattingly's about-face constituted a second trip to the mound. The umpires huddled and agreed, and Broxton had to leave the game."

And not ESPN's own Tim Kurkjian, who thinks the gaffe may have cost the Dodgers the game but we should still think of Mattingly as the potential and possible next Dodgers manager. Maybe. Perhaps.

photo: Jeff Chiu/AP

6 comments:

Wesley Vento said...

Torre and Shaffer suspended for 1 game. Kershaw for 5.

Want to punch so many things right now.

Nostradamus said...

Meh.

If he appeals, he'll probably not miss his spot in the rotation.

Bryan said...

no one also noticed that broxton should have stayed in.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/index?

Bryan said...

oops, just read true blue and they point it out there

THEMULL said...

IT'S ALL PART OF THE SWEEP> IT'S ALL PART OF BASEBALL>THAT'S WHY WE WATCH!!!

THEMULL said...

Broxton should have been removed and that's it...