Don Mattingly

Don Mattingly believes. Or maybe it's just that he believes it's best that he believes. Either way, the end result is the same: for now he's sticking with struggling Javy Guerra as his closer. Mattingly admitted to concern over Guerra's last three appearances, saying he was without his “swag” and had met with him before Sunday's game against the Nationals. Yet despite having hard-throwing Kenley Jansen, Mattingly said he's sticking with Guerra. “My biggest concern with Javy [Saturday]

From the moment Don Mattingly made his Dodgers managerial debut in the spring of 2011, he has made it his mission to protect his players. He shielded them from the distractions of the end of the Frank McCourt era, allowing the talents of Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw to flourish, giving them the space to become stars. He shielded them from the distractions of the blockbuster trades a year later, taking the heat for the lousy clubhouse chemistry, giving the high-priced stars a pass on instantly becoming a team.

Phoenix - There isn't a newcomer comparable to Albert Pujols or C.J. Wilson at the Dodgers' spring-training complex. As a result, there's noticeably less buzz coming out of the Dodgers' camp than the Angels'. But Los Angeles will always belong the Dodgers, Manager Don Mattingly said Tuesday before his team's first full-squad workout of the spring. “You know, honestly, if you really want what I think about it, it's kind of like the Mets and the Yankees,” Mattingly said of the two New York teams.

MILWAUKEE - With speculation about his job status continuing to mount, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly did something completely out of character Wednesday. He criticized his players. Before his last-place team's 9-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, Mattingly implied his team lacked mental toughness and cited that as a reason for benching Andre Ethier for the third time in six games. BOX SCORE: Dodgers 9, Brewers 2 Despite indications that Mattingly might be wilting under scrutiny, the Dodgers plan for him to still be their manager when they open a three-game series at home Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals, according to two people familiar with the situation who spoke under the condition of anonymity.

It's a baseball truism that managers are hired to be fired. (Sort of like newspaper columnists.) You can be everyone's absolute darling one season and on the curb handing out résumés the next that read, "Won two historic World Series" (see: Terry Francona). Which brings us to Don Mattingly, entering his second season at the helm as Dodgers manager. All things  - and expectations  - considered, Mattingly had a strong debut. For someone who had never managed at any level, who was operating under a circus ownership and with a less-than-overpowering roster, he silenced critics with an even hand.

It's one thing to leave your heart in San Francisco, quite another to lose your mind there like Don Mattingly . Has there ever been a more ridiculous comment offered by a Dodgers manager, and take into account Tom Lasorda said a lot of ridiculous stuff while on the job, than what Mattingly said Sunday? The Dodgers lost three straight to the Giants, whom they will probably have to beat if they are to win a division title. And Mattingly said: "I feel better about our club walking out of here than I did walking in. " My apologies to Mike D'Antoni for thinking he was the most clueless coach in town.

To sacrifice bunt or not to sacrifice bunt, that is the question. To many modern baseball followers, the answer is - please, please, oh pretty please, do not do it. Sabermetric lovers despise the sacrifice bunt. Twice the Dodgers decided to bunt the runners up Tuesday, and twice it blew up in their hopeful little faces. For a manager who spent his entire life in the American League, Don Mattingly has become quite the National League manager. And despite some semi-tough questioning about his decisions to bunt in the seventh and eighth innings of the Dodgers' 2-1 loss to the Giants, he was far from repentant.

Was that great or what? Don Mattingly let the kid go, let him rip. A wondrous gamble that paid off. "I don't think we want to be cautious there," Mattingly said. "You play to win. " Is that a great quote or what? The Dodgers were down 5-3 to the Cardinals with two runners on in the seventh Sunday when Mattingly sent rookie Scott Van Slyke to pinch hit. The count went to 3-0, and the careful manager would have signaled for his kid with eight career at-bats to try to take the walk.

Don Mattingly knows his battles with Matt Kemp loom, and soon too. Kemp is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, and Mattingly is confident that if his center fielder is ready to play, he'll be ready to play every day. Only there's the rub. Kemp likes to play every game, but that is no longer part of Mattingly's plans. When Kemp sat out the May 14 game with his sore hamstring, it snapped a streak of having played in 399 consecutive games . The streak was apparently important to Kemp, and transversely, to Mattingly.

Now Don Mattingly wants replays expanded. Because, you know, baseball's not slow enough for most people. Mattingly was upset about the play at the plate that ended Wednesday's game in Milwaukee, feeling catcher A.J. Ellis clearly tagged Nyjer Morgan out after seeing the replays. Mattingly admitted it was like the fifth different replay he watched before being able to clearly recognize Morgan was out. Here's a video from Fox with Mattingly saying why he would favor adding replays for plays at the plate:     Video: Replay debate Fox sportscasters Steve Lyons and Jim Watson discuss what it would mean and, really, you are allowed to agree with Lyons.

MILWAUKEE - Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti was evasive when asked Monday about Don Mattingly's job status, refusing to say whether the last-place team could fire its manager this week. Against this backdrop of uncertainty, Clayton Kershaw pitched his second complete game of the season, a 107-pitch masterpiece in a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park that ended the Dodgers' three-game losing streak. "Every time I get in trouble, Kersh saves me for one more day," Mattingly said jokingly.

ATLANTA - Clayton Kershaw will pitch for the Dodgers in their series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday at Miller Park. If he wants to win, he should probably be prepared to pitch nine innings, maybe even more. Over the last three days, the last-place Dodgers went into the late innings leading the Atlanta Braves. They lost all three times, including Sunday, when Brandon League's spectacular eighth-inning meltdown sent them crashing to a 5-2 defeat. BOX SCORE: Atlanta 5, Dodgers 2 League was the third Dodgers reliever to turn a lead into a decisive deficit in the three-game series at Turner Field, following Paco Rodriguez and Kenley Jansen.

ATLANTA - There is a new-age school of thought that believes teams should use their best relievers the way the Dodgers are using Kenley Jansen - in potentially game-altering situations, often in innings other than the ninth. But Manager Don Mattingly said his decision to use Jansen in this manner is based on his team's needs rather than a desire to revolutionize the modern bullpen. Even with Brandon League struggling, Mattingly has hesitated designating Jansen as the closer because doing so would severely limit his options leading up to the ninth inning.

ATLANTA - Will Don Mattingly be the Dodgers manager for the remainder of the season? Team President Stan Kasten wouldn't say. "I don't discuss the manager and I never do," Kasten said. "Ever since spring training, we said that, when you wanted to talk about him every day. We had a rough start but we expect to get through this. " Kasten was reminded he was asked a yes-or-no question. "What was the question again?" Kasten asked. Will Don Mattingly be your manager for the rest of the year?

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly held outfielder Carl Crawford out of the lineup Wednesday and he plans to do the same with Andre Ethier on Friday, when the team opens a six-game trip in Atlanta. Only Matt Kemp has played in more games or had more at-bats than Crawford and Ethier, both of whom, the manager said, were in need of a break. "The [body] language tells you kind of where he's at. And then you see it on the field in his energy level," he said. "You can kind of feel it with guys.

I had never met Mark McGwire before Tuesday night, but I knew of his reputation and the fact he has struck out so far as the Dodgers' hitting coach. So given the Dodgers' lack of power, I asked, "Is it time to introduce the players to steroids?" McGwire laughed and I wondered why. "You're funny," he said before finally adding, "No. No. " What a bummer, I told him, I thought you might have the magic potion to get the Dodgers going. "The magic potion is in between the ears," he said.

Now for a lineup only a minor leaguer's mommy could love. The Dodgers presented their strangest lineup in recent memory -- like ever? -- Tuesday night against the Diamondbacks. Are you ready for Scott Van Slyke to make the first start of his major-league career as the No. 3 hitter? Jerry Sands in left and Justin Sellers at third? With Andre Ethier making the first regular-season start of his major-league life in center? That's three starters who a week ago were in the minors and a career right-fielder making his debut in center.

He was talking about James Loney, and how much the Dodgers need for him to be the hitter he was in the second half. You know, the usual. But then Don Mattingly strayed ever so slightly, broadening his expectations, and that's when his comment to Orange County columnist Mark Whicker got interesting. "The guy we had at the end is the guy we are going to need,” Mattingly said. "But then we needAndre [Ethier] to be healthy, we need Juan to be a run producer, more of a 80-90 RBI guy. We're going to need all that for us to be in it.” At first I thought: "He's actually expecting Juan Uribe to hit up to 90 runs batted in?"

After watching Brandon League struggle through another tough outing in the series finale with the Miami Marlins, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly was asked Monday whether the right-hander was still his closer. His answer wasn't exactly a vote of confidence. "Yeah, for now he is," Mattingly said. "I hate to say it like that. But yeah, for now. " League has given up runs in six of his last seven appearances and has just two hitless innings in the last month.

The Dodgers' starting lineup Sunday did not include first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who has been bothered by a strained neck. And there was some doubt outfielders Carl Crawford (hamstring) and Andre Ethier, who banged his toe against the outfield wall Saturday, would play, adding to the growing injury concerns for a team that already has nine players on the disabled list. But Manager Don Mattingly said the small, persistent injuries do little more than complicate his lineup card from time to time.