It has been a disappointing season for the Los Angeles Dodgers who were considered one of the baseball online gambling favorites at SBG before the season began.
The news didn’t get any better on Friday as manager Joe Torre announced he will be stepping down at the end of the season. Torre was hired three years ago and the Dodgers had a lot of success against the odds at Internet gambling companies in his first two years as manager.
Don Mattingly the New Manager – The Dodgers didn’t waste any time in naming a replacement as they announced that hitting coach Don Mattingly will take over. Mattingly has never been a manager in the Major Leagues or in the minor leagues but it was always assumed he would take over when Torre stepped down. The Dodgers are sending him to the Arizona Fall League after this season so he can get some type of experience as the head man. Mattingly has been the Dodgers hitting coach since 2008. He was the hitting coach for the Yankees under Torre from 2004-2006 and he was a bench coach in 2007. Mattingly will be the fourth different manager for the Dodgers in the last eight seasons. The previous three were Jim Tracy, Grady Little and Joe Torre.
Torre’s Record – Heading into Friday’s game, Torre was 251-220 with the Dodgers. The first two seasons under Torre the Dodgers made the playoffs and had successful seasons against the online gambling baseball odds at Internet gambling companies and all was well in Los Angeles. This season the Dodgers will not make the playoffs although the fault is not Torre’s. The Dodgers ownership is a mess with the McCourt divorce and the team spent virtually no money in the off-season to make improvements to the club.
The Future – Torre may decide to take another position with the Dodgers, he might retire or he may decide to go somewhere else. He is definitely getting out of a sinking ship though. The divorce case between Frank McCourt and his wife, Jamie has been a mess and the Dodgers have suffered on the field because of the off-the-field disaster. The future for the Dodgers may not be very promising. Torre is an excellent manager and did a very good job with Los Angeles. Mattingly is a total unknown but it seems unlikely he will approach the success of Torre and the Dodgers could be mired in mediocrity for many years to come.