What a remarkable 24-hour period this has been.
First, we had Peter O'Malley's scathing words for Frank McCourt.
Not to be outdone, the Dodgers followed up within a day by announcing that Joe Torre would not return to manage the team next season and that Don Mattingly would be successor.
Times blogger Steve Dilbeck found it more than a little coincidental that the timing of the Dodgers' announcement effectively took media attention away from O'Malley's comments and minimized their damaging effects.
Mattingley's promotion ahead of the seemingly more qualified Tim Wallach, manager of the Dodgers triple-A affiliate Albuquerqee Isotopes, raised a bit of an uproar amongst some. But as Times' Dylan Hernandez reminded all of his Twitter followers earlier this evening, Mattingly had signed a contract with Dodgers prior to the start of this season in which he would essentially be guaranteed the Dodger managerial job should Torre should step down.
The Dodgers will miss the presence of Torre at the helm. He guided the Dodgers to consecutive National League Championship Series and along with his on-field success, Torre will be remembered for the dignity and class with which he represented himself and the Dodger organization.
To its credit, the Dodger organization paid top dollar to lure Torre to Los Angeles three offseasons ago, and despite his tactical shortcomings (bullpen mismanagement, for one), it was money very well spent.
Wow, what a stroke of genius indeed for the Dodger PR team. I haven't mentioned the name "O'Malley" for four paragraphs.
In other news, the Dodgers fell to Colorado tonight at Dodger Stadium, 7-5.
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