Mattingly obvious successor

Don Mattingly is the obvious choice to succeed Joe Torre as the next manager of the New York Yankees. Even a one eyed, one legged farret, or a member of the Yankee front office, should be able to see that. It is the natural progression of things, the natural order of what should happen, and despite the controversy that still swarms around this current managerial change, it was destined to happen eventually.

Don Mattingly has made no bones about the fact that he wants to manage. He made that clear four plus years ago when he took the hitting coach job with the Yankees. He WANTED to be in a corner office one day. George Steinbrenner and the Yankee brass knew this. There was no way on Randy Levine's earth that they were ever gonna let him to cut his teeth for another organization, taking the chance he would find a home somewhere and be off their radar when the time came to replace Joe Torre.

Well, that time has come.

Mattingly is the answer to every question the Yankees could have in hiring a new head man. The team DESPERATELY needs a PR fix, a way to get the fans and the media talking about something other than how they disrespected one of the all time great Yankees this week. NO ONE on their list, not the energetic, eminately talented Joe Girardi nor the experienced, respected Tony Pena accomplishes that. A candidate from outside the organization would be even more of a disaster as the comparisons with Torre would begin from day one.

Mattingly, however, is the most beloved Yankee, still, on the face of the planet. An entire generation - my generation - now entering their 30's remember Mattingly as an icon. I had the Don Mattingly record (not CD, not MP3, but RECORD) of how to hit when I was younger. I have a signed baseball from him. I was there, in game 2 of the ALDS in 1995 when he hit his last home run at Yankee Stadium and I have never felt 56,000 people move, and yell, in unison like that before. I love Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, Mo Rivera, Andy Pettite, Bernie Williams, and the rest of those great, dynasty teams. I love Joe Torre. And I can see myself wearing a Joba jersey, and asking if someone has Melky, for many years to come. But NO ONE will ever eclipse Mattingly for me, and that is probably true for most fans my age. That means that fans will be excited by the prospect of Mattingly taking on a more direct role. They will be excited by the notion that Mattingly will take the reigns, and while the sting of watching beloved Joe Torre essentially being insulted out the door for no other reason than the fact that the Yankee brass didn't have the balls to fire him stright up will be ever present, there will be an excitement for next year with Mattingly at the reigns, even if it comes with some quiet anxiety.

The Yankees also need a manager the players can get behind. While this team is certainly becoming younger, and the old guard is beginning to dwindle, it is still made up of accomplised athletes who have made their bones in New York. Any new manager would have to command the respect of clubhouse leader and team captain Derek Jeter. They would have to be able to handle the talented yet enigmatic Robbie Cano, the future star of the team and a player that NEEDS to become the middle of the order player he is talented enough to be right now. They need to be able to handle any new, accomplished, free agents or veterans who come in via a trade. They would have to be able to command enough respect in that clubhouse where they could sit a Jason Giambi or a Johnny Damon without those veteran players becoming disenfranchised and turning their benching into a media circus.

While Girardi or Pena seem to have the make up to be able to handle multiple types of personalities, Mattingly is the only one you KNOW would command respect as soon as he walks into the clubhouse. Jeter, who is 33, has the same feeling towards Mattingly as I do at 29. He grew up watching him. He grew up idolizing him. When Jeter was called up briefly in 1995, struggling at the plater and looking lost in the field, it was Mattingly, then team captain, that offered the future Yankee great encouragement and support. Mattingly automatically has Jeter as a loyal and true ally. Giambi credits Mattingly with supporting him and working with him in 2005, after the steroid scandal broke and it appeared the slugger's career might be over. Mattingly was one of the few in the Yankee organization who continued to insist that Melky Cabrera could still be a solid player in the big leagues even after his disasterous call up in 2005. And he has been Torre's right hand man now for four years, even before he was named bench coach, to the point where Torre has continuously talked about Mattingly being a future GREAT manager. No other managerial candidate comes in with that resume.

The Yankees needs a manager that understands New York. All of the candidates discussed, from Girardi to Pena to Mattingly, understand what New York is all about. They understand the media attention, the talk radio and sports columnist dynamic, and what kind of pressure is placed on the Yankees year in and year out. However, neither Joe Girardi nor Tony Pena have ever experienced New York when the crosshairs were squarely on them. Girardi was a solid, veteran player for the Yanks, loved by the fans for his gutty play and his superb defense behind the plate. Yet, he was never close to being a star. That was reserved for the Paul O'Neills and David Cones. Tony Pena has been a first base coach, never once in the spotlight for this team.

Don Mattingly was a star. When the games were over, it was Mattingly's locker that people crowded around. When the team wasn't playing well, it was Mattingly the press turned to and looked at. And Mattingly was a star, was the center of attention, when the Yankees were at their lowest. He was there in the Mel Hall years and the Danny Tartabull years. He was there when Stump Merril told him he needed a haircut, which was directed from the front office, as if that was the cause of the Yankee demise in those years. Mattingly was booed on field after giving his heart and soul, and body, to the organization. And he has sat next to Joe Torre for four years, witnessing what kind of attention the manager gets on a day in, day out basis. Mattingly, more than any other candidate, understands the nature of the New York beast, and that can't be understated.

The Yankees need someone who could convince their high-profile free agents to come back. While I believe that Giaradi and Pena would be accepted, and respected by the team as a whole, I don't know if any of them would be seen as the calming influence that Mattingly would be seen as. Plus, Girardi has, for whatever reason, a reputation of being a manager in the vein of Buck Showalter, who A-Rod, for one, hated, so that would more than likely hinder the Yankee's chances of signing him to an extension.

Mattingly? He's been there over the last four years. He's been the hitting coach for these guys. For Posada and Mariano, he was the team captain as they were coming up through the Yankee ranks. It would be far more difficult for any of those guys to turn their back on Mattingly than it would for them to do it t anyone else, out of a show of support for Torre. Mattingly instantly gives the Yanks a better chance of resigning any of those guys, even though money will eventually talk.

The Yankees need a calming influence. Usually, a team looks for a manager that is different from the old one. Fire Joe Torre? Usually you get Lou Pinella. But the Yanks have never operated particularly well under the thumb of a dictatorial, high mantainence manager, no matter how talented they are. Now, none of us know how Mattingly will be when he is sitting in that corner office. He may very well be more firey, more prone to get in umps faces, more prone to be excited in the clubhouse and show his emotions on his sleeve, but you can also see that he has a natural, calm personality that has never waivered. Mattingly is, much like Joe Torre before him, confident in who he is. He doesn't need to prove anything. If his managerial career doesn't end well, it will not tarnish what he meant to this organization and to the fan base. He will always be beloved.

Also, Mattingly showed a unique understand of how to deal with people, and personalities when he was captain of the team in the 90's. Bernie Williams always credits Mattingly with showing him support during his darker first days, where the likes of Mel Hall would cruelly rag on the introverted Williams. Mattingly helped protect him from that. O'Neill credits Mattingly for helping sculpt the professional demeanor of the team that went on to dominate the sport from 1996 through 2001. It was his leadership that helped O'Neill understand what it took to be a winner, something he passed on to those who came through the door after him. Mattingly has already shown an ability to deal with different personalities, and deal with them well. He won't be rattled by anything that comes down the pike.

The only thing going against Mattingly is his inexperience. He has never managed before. To be honest, I can't predict how much of a role that would play in his success or failure next year. Maybe it turns out to be a huge deal, maybe it turns out to be nothing. All I know is this: Willie Randolph never managed a day in his life before taking over the Mets, and even though the team collapsed at the end of this season, Randolph has seemingly done a very good job. Mike Scocia never managed a day in his life before becoming the head man for the Angels, and that team, a team that is routinely overmatched, does nothing but win. And one of the candidates for the job, Joe Girardi, never managed before heading down to Florida and he ended up being Manager of the Year in 2006. Does it mean Mattingly will easily make the transition? Nope, but it means that having no managerial experience isn't a death sentence for someone's future talents. Ozzie Guillen has a championship ring, the confidence of his front office, and a strangle hold over the White Sox organization after never having managed before in his life. That's how it works.

Mattingly isn't just the best choice, he is the only choice. He will have a grace period, both with the fans and the ownership. He will be given the benefit of the doubt, even if his team didn't perform the way Torre's team have in the past. Any failures for next year will be laid at the doorstep of Randy Levine, who the fans are looking to blame for anything right now anyway.

But a word of caution to the Yankee brass. There seems to have been a tremendous amount of jealousy attached to the success Joe Torre had and the admiration he received. Many, including Randy "Motivational Speaker" Levine, seemed to believe he received too much credit. It is what made Yankee front office people resent Torre and, at the same time, made him so hard to get rid of.

If Mattingly comes in and is successful, you better be ready for an even worse love affair with a manager. If Mattingly wins a title, leads a team to the promise land, Yankee brass better be ready. If you thought getting rid of Torre was an difficult mission, getting rid of Mattingly after some success would be down right impossible.