Dodgers News: Joe Torre Comments On Don Mattingly Contract Situation

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly will return in 2014, but until the end of the World Series, we won’t know if it’ll be for just one year or an extended period of time.

At an awkward press conference earlier in the week, Mattingly seemingly demanded a multi-year extension or he’d walk away from the only franchise he’s managed. However, his agent confirmed that Mattingly will at least honor the final year of his deal while he and president Stan Kasten negotiate a multi-year deal.

The way the Dodgers and Mattingly have handled the situation has been criticized and with Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio, former Dodgers and Yankees manager Joe Torre chimed in on the Dodgers firing his bench coach, Trey Hillman:

I talked to him yesterday. Sure it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but Donnie has an allegiance to the organization. You move on and you try and create that winning environment.

Hillman was fired after serving as the Dodgers bench coach for three years and was said to be Mattingly’s closest friend on the staff and in the organization. At that point, it was looking like Mattingly’s power play wouldn’t work as management was reportedly upset with the way he handled himself on Monday at Dodger Stadium.

However, management picked up the options for the rest of the coaching staff and then word got out that Mattingly would come back a day after. Torre and Mattingly have a close relationship as Mattingly was the Dodgers hitting coach from 2008-2010 under Torre, who helped lead the Dodgers to two NLCS berths.

Some of the Dodgers trepidation in bringing Mattingly back is that he adheres to the same strategy Torre uses, which has become outdated in the era of statistics and analytics. As Torre mentioned in the interview with Cowherd, having the right bench coach is important and we’ll have to wait and see how everything with Mattingly plays out after the World Series.

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In case you missed it, here’s the Dodgers pool celebration, PLUS Yasiel Puig’s celebration dance off!

http://youtu.be/LknQOqL7uME