State of the Los Angeles Dodgers Coaching Staff
- Updated: October 21, 2014
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With the 2014 season coming to another disappointing end, of course the state of the Dodgers coaching staff is a question that must be answered. Now I’m sure you are all longing for Don Mattingly to get the boot, but that won’t happen, at least not for another year. In his press conference this past Friday, newly hired President Andrew Friedman was asked whether he plans on keeping Mattingly as manager or not. Friedman responded with a very confident “definitely.” He also said he plans to work with Mattingly for a very long time. Some may think that’s not a very good idea.
Don Mattingly
The current state of Don Mattingly is cemented and will be back as manager for the Dodgers in the 2015 season. Mattingly may have made some decisions that weren’t best for the team, but the bullpen performance was not much help, at all, during the 2014 season. Whether it be pulling out Kershaw, Ryu, or Greinke too early, or throwing Brian Wilson or Brandon League out there in a close game, it always seemed like Mattingly got away with making mistakes sometimes. He did not get away with it in the playoffs as the St. Louis Cardinals bashed the Dodgers pitching, hitting multiple home runs against the struggling starting pitching and bullpen. No matter how many flaws Donnie may have, we Dodger fans have to deal with his antics for at least another year.
Mark McGwire
The impact the Mark McGwire has had as the Dodgers hitting coach has been great. A hitting coach loves when the lineup includes power bats such as Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez. With Dee Gordon at the top of the lineup, he is a huge threat if he reaches first base. Just about everyone at the stadium has a strong feeling that he is going to steal second base and possibly even third base. Juan Uribe and Hanley Ramirez also add power and precise contact to a strong Dodgers lineup. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget Yasiel Puig. Yasiel had another promising season at the plate finishing the year with a .296 batting average. Puig is a 5 tool player and his bat is one of his biggest assets. He adds power and excitement to this lineup. Justin Turner was my surprise player this season and was the best bat off the bench. He ended the season with a .340 batting average in 109 games including 288 at-bats. Mark McGwire’s job is safe as of now.
Rick Honeycutt
Since 2006, Rick Honeycutt has been a great pitching coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Honeycutt played with 6 different teams over his successful 20 year career including playing with the Dodgers from 1983-1987. Rick Honeycutt has been blessed with the rare talent of the phenom Clayton Kershaw. Not many pitching coaches have the chance to coach an ace like Kershaw. Greinke and Ryu were huge assets to this lopsided pitching rotation in 2014. With an early injury from Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu were the teams number one and two starting pitchers. Kershaw came back and the 1-2-3 pitch was back to humiliating National League hitters.The number 4 and 5 spots were unsure most of the year. The first half of the season, Josh Beckett held that number 4 spot. Josh threw a no-hitter in Philadelphia in late May. Many others such as Kevin Correia, Carlos Frias, Roberto Hernandez and Jamey Wright filled in those 4 and 5 spots after Beckett got injured. Honeycutt’s job could possibly be in jeopardy but I believe he will stay as long as Mattingly is still around. Of course the bullpen was the biggest struggle of the long 2014 season. I’m sure has an input, but Donnie is the one making the decisions.
Let’s just hope the front office’s number one priority this offseason will be going after arms for the bullpen.
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