‘Right thing, right time’:
New manager seems to have found tranquility
New Marlins manager Don Mattingly has high expectations for his new team.
“We did a good job, but we didn’t get to where we ultimately wanted to go.”
Playoff berths are fine, but when you have the highest payroll in baseball and the World Series drought extends to 27 years, it still felt like a failure.
The Dodgers front office talked to Mattingly after the season, discussed making changes, and he ultimately balked.
They agreed to a divorce two weeks after the Dodgers lost an NL Division Series in five games to the New York Mets.
“I’m not going to get into what last year was like,” Mattingly said. “I really liked working with (President) Andrew (Friedman) and (general manager) Farhan (Zaidi) and those guys. Those guys are sharp guys. I think a lot was made up of that they forced a lineup on me and told me exactly who to play. It really wasn’t like that. Everything was a collaboration.
“Obviously, analytics is a big part of what they do, and, quite honestly, it was a good experience. I just think too much was made out of it.”
Yet the differences were enough that he walked away with a year left on his contract.
“As we kept talking about things and different scenarios, it just felt like it was the right thing,” Mattingly said.
Two weeks later, Mattingly was hired by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who long admired him as a player with the Yankees.
“Jeffrey and I became friends over the last few years,” Mattingly said. “That is great for our relationship as far as having to talk.
“But if we (the Dodgers) had won the World Series, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”
And, let’s be honest, if the Marlins don’t start winning, he might not be completing his four-year contract in Miami, either.
“The Mr. Steinbrenner/Yankees training ground is always good for lots of different scenarios,” Mattingly said. “I never had any trouble working for anyone. Jeffrey is a fan; he wants to win. He loves the game. He loves being around. ... He reacts like a fan. And that’s just the way it is.
“I want to know what he wants from his club, the expectations, and I will take care of them and do the best job I can for him. I love the challenges that come with this job.”
Certainly, life will be different in South Florida. He’s going to have more control of his club. More freedom to make out the lineups. Less second-guessing.
He won’t have Clayton Kershaw every fifth day.
But he won’t have Yasiel Puig every day, either.
All that remains the same, at least internally, Mattingly said, are the expectations.
“I understand the division is tough, but we feel we’ve got a good club,” he said. “These guys have a little confidence about them. The way they finished the year last year, they feel good about themselves that they overcame some things.”
The Marlins, who were expected to contend for the NL East title last year, fell flat on their face. They fired manager Mike Redmond in May. And they fired Dan Jennings, who was their GM and assumed the managerial role after Redmond, in October.
Now, with a reshuffled front office, a healthy ace in Jose Fernandez, a healthy home run champion in Giancarlo Stanton, a batting title winner in Dee Gordon, a future Hall of Famer in Ichiro Suzuki and the home run king in hitting coach Barry Bonds, the Marlins think they can win.
“This is a great day, a new place, a new opportunity,” Mattingly said. “I’m looking forward to see what we become. If we play up to our potential and play our best baseball, we feel like we’ve got a good club. Last year, everyone saw this club has a talented core. And it didn’t work out very well.
“Yet that doesn’t mean a young club doesn’t grow and get better and learn from that experience. I feel like we’re a young team, but we have some miles on us and been through some things.”
Indeed, far too many things to create a cohesive culture.
Now, it’s up to Mattingly and his staff to bring stability to this dysfunctional franchise.
“It’s a situation where I am comfortable where I am,” he said.
Mattingly, who arrived at the clubhouse Friday at 7 a.m., seven hours before his players took the field, concedes he’s a much more confident manager than when he took over the Dodgers.
Five years of experience, managing the most expensive player payroll in baseball while trying to appease a new front office and ownership group, with a room full of egos at the same time, will do that to a man.
“This is a fresh start,” Mattingly said. “This is a great opportunity. It’s a little different. A different place. A different organization. Maybe a little different philosophy.
“Quite honestly, you have to do things a little differently. We’re not a team that’s going to rack up 10, 12 free agents in the offseason. We’re going to have to be a team that’s going to have to continue to teach and keep developing.
“It’s refreshing knowing you’re part of that.”
And how sweet it will be for Mattingly if he gets the Marlins back to the playoffs. He thinks they could become the Kansas City Royals of the NL, rising to the top after years of pain.
“I expect to win every day,” Mattingly said. “And we expect to win. There was no way I’d come here if I didn’t think we could win. That’s why I’m here.”
This time to stay.