Report: Dodgers, Mattingly talking contract
Don Mattingly and the Los Angeles Dodgers are discussing a contract extension that could keep the manager in town well beyond the 2014 season.
According to ESPN, Mattingly and the Dodgers opened dialogue for a new deal this week. His current contract expires after 2014 and that year was automatically triggered when the Dodgers reached the National League Championship Series.
Mattingly said in October that he didn't want to remain somewhere he wasn't wanted in an awkward season-ending press conference during which he was seated next to general manager Ned Colletti openly questioning the Dodgers' dedication to him.
"It's been a frustrating, tough year honestly," Mattingly said at the Oct. 21 press conference. "Because I think when you ... come in basically as a lame duck and with the ($232 million) payroll and the guys that you have, it puts you in a tough spot in the clubhouse.
"So we dealt with that all year long, and really what it does, it puts me in a spot where everything I do is questioned. Because I'm basically trying out -- auditioning to say, 'Can you manage a team or not manage?' It's a tough spot. To me it gets to that point where, three years in you either know or you don't.
Mattingly ultimately said "I love it here. I've always said that."
Colletti said he has tremendous confidence and faith in Mattingly.
