Torre Resigns, Mattingly Takes Dodgers’ Job
Torre Leaves LA Dodgers
Joe Torre announced on Friday that he leaves the LA Dodgers’ as manager at the end of a very poor season. He will be replaced by Don Mattingly who is set to take the helm in 2011. Torre didn’t exclude though his eventual involving in a front office role for the same Dodgers. According to his saying, everything he does he does it from instinct, including the big decision of quitting the coach job, acknowledging that he couldn’t find in the same time solutions for the poor performance he has been produced until now.
“I manage a lot by instinct and I have to make decisions by instinct, and it just told me it was time to go. I did feel responsible for the struggles we had this year. I’m in charge. I had trouble finding something to help, and I was frustrated by it. I just felt the club needed a different voice, a younger voice. There’s no one I’m more secure turning it over to than Donnie,” Tore would sat in a news conference. The announcement comes right after the 5-7 loss Dodgers conceded from the Rockies the same day. Dodgers’ general manager Ned Colletti would have agreed a three-year deal with Mattingly last year the boss promising him that whenever the time comes for Torre to leave the team, he will would immediately charged as coach. Mattingly has an impressive curriculum vitae. The 49-year-old won in his youth period the American League Most Valuable Player, award taken in 1985. However didn’t coach before, though this will manage in the upcoming Arizona Fall League. Mattingly showed relax during the news conference, but also about his first head coach job. “I feel like I’m ready. I have confidence in myself. I know people are going to question it. It’s understandable. It’s a belief in myself,” he said.
The style he will adopt will be widely inspired by the managers he served under, including Dallas Green, Berra, Pieniella, Martin and Torre. “But there’s only one way to play — the right way. I’ll just be myself,” he mentioned. Mattinly becomes thus Dodgers’ seventh manager since Tom Lasorda gave up the job in 1996 due to health issues after training the LA team for 20 years. He also had the chance to see Dodgers coming first in the runs as Manny Ramirez contribution was quite solid thus. Now, the team is 12th. “I sabotaged the second half with the offense. I apologize for that,” Mattingly added. As for Torre, this had already been deal a contract extension in winter, but had other talks in spring when claimed that he is unsure whether wanted to continue as coach the next season.
They say he keen on training elsewhere. “I don’t anticipate that being the case. If I say I’d never manage again, that closes the door and makes me feel old. I don’t anticipate, but I won’t say I’m not going to listen if it’s intriguing or exciting,” Torre, who leaves the team with 72-75 in fourth place and 11 games behind San Francisco, said. With the young players in regress, Mattingly showed confident about few of them. “I’ve seen them do it in ’08 and ’09. I’ve seen young guys struggle at times, hit a plateau, take a step backward to go forward. All of a sudden they think it’s easy and got to get back to work. I’ve seen it before, so I know it’s there,” he said. Manager Colletti showed aware of the fact Mattingly is needing a very experienced bench coach, this not meaning that they keen on bringing a former Major League manager.
Tim Wallach, Albuquerque’ manager, is considered likely to join Mattingly’s staff in Los Angeles. “Donnie put in his time, he deserves this,” Wallach claimed. “I am really happy. I put in my time, but this isn’t about me. It’s about Donnie. He has the knowledge, the temperament, the ability to deal with the players on this level. I haven’t thought about this job. I didn’t take the Triple-A job to necessarily manage the Dodgers,” he also added.
