The Dodgers are hunting down their third straight division crown, but if they continue with a lack of October success, questions could surround manager Don Mattingly's job security.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman inherited Mattingly from his predecessor, Ned Colletti, so there's no telling how short of a leash the skipper is on. The Dodgers are fresh off of a sweep of the rival Giants, which gave them a healthy 6.5-game lead atop the NL West.
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Los Angeles has won the division two straight years, but fell to St. Louis in the postseason in both of them, losing in the NLCS in 2013 and the NLDS last year. The Dodgers haven't made the World Series since winning it all in 1988 and have been no-hit twice in a 10-day span this season.
Mattingly has managed the Dodgers since 2011, posting a 429-350 record, but if the team falters again, he could be on the outs. Reports surfaced of Mattingly possibly looking to go elsewhere on his own volition, but he insists he's content in sunny California.
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"I'm happy. I'm not worried about anything as far as that goes," Mattingly said, according to ESPN. "I'm happy where I'm at. I like being here. I feel like I'm a Dodger."
Still, it's always fun to speculate and here are three potential destinations for the manager if he leaves on his own power or is fired:
3) Yankees
Donnie Baseball is still beloved in New York after spending his entire playing career with the Yankees. In a 14-year span from 1982-1995, Mattingly hit .307 with 222 homers and 1,099 RBIs for the Bronx Bombers.
Mattingly was a coach for the Yankees under Joe Torre in 2004, but he left for the west coast alongside the legendary Yankees manager in 2008 before succeeding him as Dodgers skipper.
For Mattingly to return to the Big Apple, the Yankees brass would have to part ways with Joe Girardi. When New York entered this season with two straight playoff-less campaigns, it seemed as though Girardi could be on the hot seat.
The Yankees now hold the top wild-card spot in the AL by four games and are just 1 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays for first in the AL East. It's unlikely all the pieces will fall into place for it to happen, but the Yankees always come to mind when Mattingly is mentioned.
2) Angels
If he likes Los Angeles, he could always go across to the American League ballclub. Mike Scioscia has been managing the Angels since 2000, but L.A. could look to make a change this offseason. Scioscia had a very public falling out with Jerry Dipoto, who resigned as general manager earlier this year due to the way Scioscia and his staff delivered his statistical reports to the ballclub. L.A. tried to hang onto Dipoto, but the relationship was so toxic that he opted to leave.
With a public black eye like that and the Angels playing inconsistently on the diamond, Scioscia could find his tenure terminated at season's end, though it is a bit of a long-shot. Even still, the Angels are currently on the outside looking in on the playoff picture and winning is everything.
1) Marlins
A lot of the speculation on Mattingly's future arose when word got out that Marlins general manager and interim skipper Dan Jennings doesn't plan on wearing both hats next season. Jennings appointed himself the manager after firing Mike Redmond on May 17 and Mattingly is his first choice to take over, according to ESPN.
Miami has slogged through five straight losing seasons, finishing in fifth place in three of them. Since the start of the 2011 season, the Marlins have had six different managers, so the steady presence of Mattingly would make for a welcomed change.
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