Gary A. Vasquez – USA Today Sports Images
Things around the way of the Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t been running too smoothly to begin the 2013 MLB season. They are just 19-26 to start the year and are six games behind the three-way tie atop the National League West. However, their lack of success is just the beginning of their problems.
Injuries have also been a major issue in this young season for the Dodgers. Hanley Ramirez has missed most of the year on the DL. Zach Greinke also missed several weeks after breaking his collarbone in the Carlos Quentin-being-a-crybaby incident. Those are just the star players that have fallen victim to injuries; the list of others would continue for quite a while.
Related: Don Mattingly Will Be Lucky To Survive Through All-Star Break
However, the bulk of the blame for L.A.’s lack of success this season has fallen on the shoulders of their manager, Don Mattingly. In fact, over the past week or so there have been numerous reports that Mattingly might be getting fired in the near future. Mattingly also spoke out on the team’s struggles earlier this week, which seemed to indicate even further that he might be on his way out the door.
However, according to reports from Friday night, Mattingly isn’t going anywhere.
In a statement released on Friday evening, Dodger’s owner Stan Kasten said that he’s not on the verge of firing Mattingly and the manager’s job is safe for now. However, Mattingly is, in fact, largely to blame for a lot of their problems. He’s done a poor job of handling personalities and adversity this season, as evidence by his recent power-struggle with Andre Ethier. It may not be now, but if the Dodgers continue to struggle for the same reasons, Mattingly’s job needs to be in jeopardy.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
