Dodgers Nation Poll: Should Don Mattingly Be Fired?
After another series sweep, the Dodgers find themselves at 13-20 on the season and in danger of falling way behind the pace in the NL West.
The team ranks second to last in runs scored, while they’re close to the top in on-base percentage. Many people have called for the firing of Don Mattingly as the team has significantly underachieved.
Mattingly spoke to Mark Saxson of ESPNLA about the rough patch the Dodgers find themselves in:
“From Zack [Greinke] forward, it’s just been a stream. I can’t let my club think that we can’t win because we’ve got some guys banged up,” Mattingly said. “It’s been a little bit of a rough patch, obviously, with the number of guys, but I don’t really know what you do about injuries. It’s not something that you really coach or teach; you just kind of deal with it.”
We asked Dodgers Nation whether they thought Mattingly should be fired and 39 percent said that Mattingly shouldn’t be fired citing injuries and that it’s too early to judge the results.
The Dodgers started the year with a fairly healthy team as shortstop Hanley Ramirez was scheduled to return in the beginning of May and Matt Kemp was recovering from shoulder surgery.
However, a storm of injuries have led to the call-ups of starting pitchers Stephen Fife and Matt Magill, while the team hasn’t severely underperformed.
It’s difficult to judge the team general manager Ned Colletti and president Stan Kasten have put together, but it’s evident that they’re frustrated too.
With an upcoming series with the Marlins followed by the Nationals, the Dodgers are facing the proposition of having to sweep Miami.
Mattingly is under fire for his lack of late-game decisions and his obsession with tiring out the bullpen, but it’s tough to judge how he’s done with all the injuries.