Are the Philadelphia Phillies giving Don Mattingly a fair shot?
As Don Mattingly inches that much closer to leading the Philadelphia Phillies to the MLB playoffs, we just saw two other managers have the "interim" tag removed from their titles this week: Chad Tracy and Andy Green.
Should Mattingly be next?
Well, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski has made it abundantly clear that the team won't be making any rash decisions with Mattingly and will be waiting until the season is over to decide how they want to proceed.
In other words, they aren't entirely thrilled with the job that Mattingly has done and would prefer to seek other options. Unless, of course, Philadelphia wins the World Series.
But is that entirely fair to Mattingly?
The Phillies were 9-19 when Mattingly took over for Rob Thomson in late April. They've gone 78-61 since, and with an incredibly flawed roster.
Let's be honest: Mattingly did not inherit a juggernaut here. He assumed the managerial role for a team with significant problems, specifically thin offense and a subpar bullpen.
That isn't on Mattingly. That's on Dombrowski and the front office.
Now, do I think Mattingly is the best person for the job? No. To be quite frank, he disappointed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and while the small-market Miami Marlins didn't exactly supply him with a gold mine, he didn't exactly do a great job there, either.
Mattingly has a track record, and it isn't a very good one. So I understand Philadelphia's hesitance to commit to him long term.
But the real problem with the Phillies does not lie with their skipper. The primary issue is a front office that has consistently made questionable decisions, resulting in an aging core with not enough supplementary pieces and a bare-bones farm system.
Philadelphia knew it had an outfield hole last winter. It tried filling it with Adolis Garcia. It understood it needed bullpen help. Its only answer was Brad Keller.
Yes, the Phils acquired multiple pieces at the MLB trade deadline, headlined by Luis Arraez and flanked by Caleb Kilian (who came over in the Arraez deal) and Brooks Raley.
Arraez has been good, but Kilian got injured almost immediately, and Raley has been a disaster. You can't fault the Phillies for that. They tried.
But they should have been more active during the offseason to fix the issues that were so obviously there.
I completely get the desire to replace Mattingly given his history, but that won't remove the actual obstacle that has been plaguing Philadelphia.
