The Bronx Stop: A Yankees Blog

Don Mattingly completed his first ever interview for the Manager's Post of the New York Yankees tonight.

I actually heard the news conference that was held over the phone tonight. I thought that Mattingly was a little rough around the edges in answering some of the questions, but I actually enjoyed hearing him talk about how he feels about the organization. He claims that this is really the first time that he has had the opportunity to speak his mind on things, and I think he does a pretty good job of doing it tonight.

One thing that stood out to me in particular was Donnie Baseball's comment...
"There is a lot of Joe Torre in me, but also a lot of Billy Martin and Lou Pinella."

I really liked this comment. However, in the press conference a few questions later, someone asks him to elaborate on this and he says that he does not want to answer. I am not sure why he wouldn't want to. I am sure he made this clear to the Fat Cat's but he needs to explain to the media and the fans what he is all about as a manager as well (we all know the type of player he was).

Another thing that scares me a little bit is when Donnie was asked what he would do to change the fact the Yank's were eliminated in first round of the playoffs three years in a row. He responded, "The first thing to do is get in the playoffs." That is fine and I completely agree with this. But what I am trying to understand is when he goes onto say that when a team gets in the playoffs it is "basically a crapshoot" and that there is "no magic formula to win the World Series." I personally think that this is the kind of the mentality Steinbrenner is trying to get away from. Steinbrenner is a man who always likes to have control over his destiny. He does this by buying what he wants. In social psychology terms a comment like the one Donnie made shows that he has an external locus of control or a kind of controlled destiny. This is the complete opposite that a rich man like Steinbrenner has because he feels comfortable feeling that his destiny is controlled by himself (and his wallet). I think that if Donnie wants to be considered for this job (and by all means definitely should) by the Big Boss he needs to tell him what he wants to hear. And when all else fails....he should maybe just stick to the Steinbrenner Doctrine- "WIN THE WORLD SERIES AT ALL COSTS"