Fansided

5 replacements for Don Mattingly as Dodgers manager

By Cody Williams

May 14, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (8) stands on the dugout steps in the fifth inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (8) stands on the dugout steps in the fifth inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 30, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (8) returns to the dugout after making a pitching change during the fourth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (8) returns to the dugout after making a pitching change during the fourth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

If Don Mattingly is fired after the Dodgers’ NLDS loss, these are five potential candidates to replace him

Another Major League Baseball season meant another set of lofty expectations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the Dodgers were unable to get it done once again in the postseason as they fell in five games to the New York Mets in the NLCS. Though it may be unfair, someone is going to have to take the fall for not meeting expectations yet again and that someone may very well be manager Don Mattingly.

Despite the fact that Mattingly hasn’t even been that terrible in terms of his management of this team, the front office of the Dodgers is going to look for a scapegoat for the loss and Mattingly is the most obvious candidate. Recent reports have said that Mattingly expects to return for next season, but that doesn’t meant that the front office in Los Angeles is going to feel quite the same after another premature exit from the playoffs.

The Dodgers are such a special case in terms of situation in Major League Baseball. Not only do they come from an enormous market that brings expectations solely based on geographical location, but they also boast one of the highest payrolls in the league. When you have that kind of talent, that big of an investment, and that type of fan-base that comes from a big market, it basically becomes World Series or bust. And it’s been bust for Mattingly up to this point.

It might not even be the best idea to drop Mattingly, either. The Dodgers skipper has done just as good of a job as any as dealing with the huge personalities on his team and leading them to regular season success, though that hasn’t translated into the postseason. He’s also done an admirable job of dealing with his team’s shortcomings, most notably a notoriously shaky bullpen.

However, everything about the Dodgers seems to scream that the fact that Mattingly didn’t deliver a World Series for yet another year means that the front office is going to push him out. Whether that means they allow him to frame it as taking a job elsewhere or just outright fire him, it seems in all likelihood that this is the end of the road for Mattingly in L.A.

If that is indeed the case, it’s time for the Dodgers to start thinking about their future and who they want to manage the team. Looking at the landscape, these are five potential candidates to fill the void that would be left by Mattingly as Dodgers manager:

Next: No. 5 Bud Black

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