When a profession sports team with a $240 million payroll falls two steps shy of even playing for a championship, uncomfortable days are ahead for that team's leadership.
Such is the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers and general manager Ned Colletti. And manager Don Mattingly could be right behind him.
CBSSports.com is reporting that Colletti, who just finished his ninth season with the Dodgers, has job-security issues after the Dodgers were eliminated in the National League Divisional Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
The Dodgers have won for NL West titles and made five postseason appearances during Colletti's tenure, but the new Dodgers ownership group, Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC, raised the stakes when they made the team the biggest spenders in baseball since it took over in 2012.
Los Angeles' $240 million payroll is the highest in Major League Baseball history.
CBSSports.com posted tweets from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, revealing the hot seat on which Colletti now sits.
Feeling among number of #Dodgers people is that GM Colletti is on hot seat, and that ownership has softer spot for Mattingly. We shall see.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 8, 2014
If #Dodgers change GMs, Colletti’s replacement presumably would want ability to name his own manager - if not sooner, then later. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 8, 2014
So Mattingly could be in his own hot seat fairly soon.
CBSSports.com added that the team has a general manager-in-waiting if it decides to dump Colletti in assistant general manager Logan White. White has been with the Dodgers since 2002 but has interviewed for several general manager openings over the years. He was the team's scouting director when the Dodgers drafted the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton.
But White's "experience" could be a double-edged sword. First, he is part of the current regime that has failed to get the Dodgers to the World Series, which has been the expectation the last two seasons. Also, if White is such a worthy candidate, why hasn't he gotten another general manager job?
The Dodgers have to be frustrated to watch arguably their two biggest rivals - the Giants and the Cardinals - continue to battle for World Series appearances while they're left at home.
Whom would you replace first with the Los Angeles Dodgers - general manager Ned Colletti or manager Don Mattingly? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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