Amid reports that the Miami Marlins will be looking for a new manager after the season, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was asked Wednesday about a report linking him to the not-yet-vacant job currently occupied by Dan Jennings.
“I have no idea where that comes from,” Mattingly said.
The Mattingly link, as reported by CBSsports.com, was nothing more than hypothesizing on the part of the author — not even in the neighborhood of tampering. That didn’t stop a reporter from asking Mattingly if the Dodgers could levy a tampering charge against the Marlins, but see for yourself:
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has told everyone he seeks an experienced manager now. Mattingly, a known favorite of the owner, is thought to be among the strong considerations, should he become available.
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Loria, a New Yorker, is said to long be an admirer of Mattingly, and the owner drawn from his own New York experiences before, once hiring Tino Martinez as hitting coach and a couple times previously considering Valentine, the former Mets manager. Mattingly has won praise for his steady hand and up-front approach from Dodgers veterans, but the expectations are sky-high for baseball’s first $300-million team, which also happens to be led by a new front office regime this year.
So there it is. The Marlins’ owner is from New York and wants an experienced manager to replace his inexperienced manager at the end of the season. As the report notes, Willie Randolph is also a name that could come up, not to mention probably about a dozen other managerial candidates more available than Mattingly with New York ties.
Mattingly enjoyed a small laugh over this Wednesday. We’ll let you know if it becomes anything more than that.