Don Mattingly, Andre Ethier have verbal fight in Dodgers dugout

Many expected the Los Angeles Dodgers to run away with the National League West this season, but through the first third of the year, the Dodgers look more than human.

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Still playing winning baseball, the Dodgers are at 30-28 but find themselves seven games out of first place behind their rival, the San Francisco Giants who own baseball’s best record.

Combine that with the roster crunch in the outfield and it appears tempers are getting the best of people, including Andre Ethier who was none too happy to be pulled from the Dodgers’ 12-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.

“He was really mad,” Mattingly said about Ethier, who was replaced in the ninth inning by Jamie Romak.

That lead to the player and manager engaging in a well seen war of words before the two finally separated from each other.

Thankfully emotions didn’t get out of hand and neither Ethier or Mattingly stepped over the line, allowing the two to have a peaceful resolution come Sunday.

“I think the greatest thing when you have guys like Andre is he can voice his opinion and I can voice mine, and the next day we’re both adults, talking and no problems,” Mattingly said. “It’s like family. It’s what you’re able to do at home. You’re able to argue back and forth, but at the end of the day, you love your kids. I look at it like that.”

Mattingly said he initiated the apologies the following day and admitted that even when you’re ‘wrong’, it’s better to be the big man. It’s not clear who he thinks was in the wrong, he or Ethier, though the situation appears to be behind both of them. At least for now.

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