Don Mattingly continues to push through in tough Marlins season

Despite only 10 wins and a team that continues to flounder at the plate, Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly continues to receive praise for what he has done this season.

It’s a situation no Major League manager wants to be in. A team that has the worst record in baseball. A team that cannot seem to find a way to produce runs. A young starting rotation that could be good if the lineup showed some support. All these things exist and the Marlins manager Don Mattingly still receives praise for a job well done.

This might be the last season in Miami for Donny Baseball, but it does not mean other managers and national media aren’t aware of the struggles he and his team have gone through this season.

“I like what Don Mattingly is doing. That’s not an easy thing for a manager to do when you’re losing,” says one National League coach in a story on MLB.com.“But he does a tremendous job. Once they get some studs in there, that will pay off. He hasn’t been dealt a good hand. I don’t mean that in a mean way. He’s playing against teams far superior. But that team shows up and competes every night.”

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They say it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a community and plenty of prayers to see the construction of the Marlins as a sign of growth and development. For Mattingly, the front office, the fans, and the organization, the waiting remains the hardest part.

The numbers are staggering as Don Mattingly and his team prepares to face the New York Mets in the second of a three-game series in the Big Apple. An 11-2 loss on Friday night might have been one of the lowest points of the season for the team. It’s beginning to seem like an endless cycle that even a hamster would beg to jump off the wheel.

It’s a historic start – not in a good way – that the team is 10-28, which is the worst in club history.

Mattingly remains optimistic when asked about this team’s future. Whether he is in the dugout of this year, the last of his four-year deal with the team, is a question Derek Jeter will answer later. For now, he remains the captain of this sinking ship.

“Obviously, the losses are not good,” Mattingly said. “But our pitching has been pretty consistent. You feel like you are going to get a good start. … Our pitching this year has been positive.“Our biggest area that we haven’t been able to grow is being able to sustain any kind of steady offense. We have shown glimpses here and there, but we haven’t been generating runs. That’s been the toughest thing for us.”

You have to respect the words coming from his mouth. An offense that is 29th in baseball and a rotation that should be better than their collective record would indicate. Bad timing, misfortune. The need for a power hitter or two and of course injuries have to be factored into what is going on in Marlins Park.

Still, it is Don Mattingly who continues to preach the gospel as if it were the mantra the organization will live by going into the next decade.

“I don’t think anybody is happy with what is going on at the [Major League] level,” Mattingly said. “But we also know our system is getting better. The way we are going about our business down in the [Minor League system] is getting better. I truly believe that in time, it will be the place to be. The organization is going to be sustainable as we get everything in place.”