Don Mattingly is mad as hell and he's not going to take this anymore

Also he's unemployed by Friday almost for sure, but he's entertaining until then.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/dodgers/2013/05/22/don-mattingly-dodgers-manager-grit-talent-mental-toughness/2351061/

"We got to find a team with talent that will fight and compete like a club that doesn't have talent,'' Mattingly told the Orange County Register and other reporters Wednesday before their game with the Milwaukee Brewers. "I felt we got more out of our ability [last season]. I don't know about being tougher, but I felt we got more out of our ability.''

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And ... PUNTO!!!!!!!!!

"There has to be a mixture of competitiveness,'' Mattingly said. "It's not, "Let's put an All-Star team together and the All-Star team wins.'

"It's finding that balance of a team that has a little bit of grit and will fight you. And also having the talent to go with it.

"All grit and no talent isn't going to make you successful. But all talent and no grit isn't going to get you there either.''

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And ... NERDS!!!!!!!!

"There's another level you can't measure with sabermetrics. They may say, "B.S.'' to that, but there are certain things you can't measure.''

The Dodgers do sucking better than anyone else for sure.

 

Well, they're playing the gutless Brewers, so they seem to be getting better.

 

This clown thinks he has a team of All-Stars? Maybe that's the problem.

Kershaw is all-World. Kemp and Gonzalez are All-Stars. Beyond them, they've got a bunch of washed-up stiffs.

 

Agree with this, and it's also clear the team isn't really run with a sabermetric mindset - It's run more like Steinbrenner's Yankees. Not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with spending a ton of money when you're a billionaire or have a billionaire ownership group, but the issue with those Yankee teams is that they would hold on to players because they had big contracts instead of just cutting bait and dumpster diving for some guys with upside.

 

Look at who the Dodgers have:

Kershaw
Grienke
Ryu
Kemp
Gonzalez
Ethier
Ramirez
Crawford

Those guys should be pretty darn good. But alas, they stink.

Its sure not Mattingly's fault I don't believe. Am glad to see them stink though.

 

Unfortunately though, you only listed 8 players on a 25-man roster. I think the hallmark of a good organization is how they round out now the top five on their roster, but the bottom five. Even if you're riding a hot streak from him, it's not a great sign if you have to rely on 300 to 400 AB from a guy like Nick Punto, or Luis Cruz.

 

Their bullpen has 13 losses. There you go.

 

Sometimes I get the sense that the Dodgers were like the first person in WalMart on Black Friday. After years of not being able to spend during Frank v. Jamie, they grabbed every piece of merchandise out there without regard for if they needed it or not.

 

I'm fading on Ethier. I used to defend him, I am not sure I can anymore. He just looks like he doesn't give a shit. Benching Ethier for Scott Van Slyke is a push, SVS hasn't done shit in the majors and bringing up the Cuban guy, Puig, won't make a difference. Puig was awesome in spring, been average in AA, if he can't hit AA pitching, why would he be able to hit major league pitching.

As far as the lineup, I like Kemp, Crawford, Gonzalez and Ramirez. That's pretty much it. Not sure you need an all-star at catcher, AJ Ellis has done okay this season, Mark Ellis is a serviceable 2B. The rest of the team is trash.

Greinke, Ryu can be very good, Kershaw is the best pitcher in the game and Jansen is normally great. The rest of the pitchers, meh. I'm not averse to calling up Zach Lee and seeing what he can do, he can't be any worse than Beckett, Capuano, Magill or Lilly.

 

Kershaw is the best thing going for the Dodgers, but his arm is going to fall off if he has to go nine every night to save the bull pen's ass. Grienke and Ryu are good, but they can't go deep every time and teams can rally late. The offense is terrible with runners in scoring position. Gonzalez is doing good, Kemp is always dangerous, but after that they really aren't doing much. You could see this last year when they picked up some of these All Stars. They just could never play together.

Firing Mattingly will kill the team this year and will probably leave the Dodgers rebuilding for a few years to come. I couldn't see Kemp or Gonzalez sticking around if they know they can be used by a contending team. I'd throw Kershaw in the mix, but I know better than to think the Dodgers would trade him.

Now, I have to admit, I'm loving every minute of this and hope the Dodgers keep looking up at everyone for the entire season.

 

There's nothing wrong with 300-400 ABs from Nick Punto. And I don't just say that as his stalker. That's 100 games for a utility infielder, barely more than half the season. Last week in Atlanta, he started at 2B, 3B and SS in a three-game series. He's a fine fill-in option at any of those positions. It's not like they're counting on him to score half the runs.

 

Punto could be a good fit on practically any team in that role. It's not him and I don't think it's necessarily Mattingly, either. I feel bad that Mattingly is twisting in the wind but you could see this coming when they didn't extend his deal. The sharks circle whenever that happens. This being an off day, I assume they'll make a move if they're going to.