Mattingly Steps Down

[love_that_reefer]

Don Mattingly stepped aside as the Dodgers' hitting coach on Tuesday and was replaced by Mike Easler.
The Dodgers had to know it was coming if they had his replacement already set. Mattingly followed Joe Torre from New York to Los Angeles and was supposed to eventually replace Torre as the Dodgers' manager. However, he said he needed to go home for family reasons. He will remain in the organization as a special advisor and coach. "I'm very grateful that the Dodgers have allowed me to take care of these family matters and I hope that everyone can respect our privacy during this time," Mattingly said in press release. "I truly appreciate the support of all Dodger fans since joining the organization and I look forward to helping the team win in 2008 and beyond."

Hope all goes well for Mattingly. Don't know who this Easler guy is. I was really looking forward to Loney and Mattingly working together.

[brewersfan19]

Mike Easler is a good guy as well. He was a solid ball player in his day.


I hope everything goes well for Mattingly and his family.

[realmofotalk]

Hiring Easler is an in-house promotion. He was the hitting coach for the Double-A club in 2006 and the Triple-A club in 2007. So basically he got the job because he knows Kemp and LaRoche.

[realmofotalk]

However, he said he needed to go home for family reasons.

i.e. showing up for divorce court

unless "Juan Pierre sucks" counts as a family reason.