Don Mattingly says Dodgers still have a chance in NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly joined the show to talk about the state of the Dodgers and much more.
Mattingly said he loves managing even though there have been struggles. Mattingly said that no one in the NL West has run away with the division, and the Dodgers’ pitching gives them a chance.
Mattingly said there was more of the soap opera off the field last year. “I think our guys went through it last year,” Mattingly said. “We said in the preseason, no excuses.”
Dan asked what player had the biggest ego that he played with. Mattingly said Randy Johnson — but Mattingly said that wasn’t a bad thing in that case. Johnson should have had a big ego, and sometimes an ego can help.
Mattingly talked about the Buster Posey injury. He thinks the runner has to run into the catcher if he’s trying to block the plate. Mattingly said that he wanted his players to run hard. And Mattingly did say he had a really hard collision at home plate. Mattingly, however, did say he really didn’t want to see a great young player like Posey get hurt.
Dan asked Mattingly who he’d rather face — Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum? Mattingly said that he’d rather face Halladay because he challenges pitchers over the plate.