Much Ado About Nothing - Kershaw and Mattingly are Fine

Move on... Nothing to See Here... Just go back to what you were doing.

It appears that the Baseball world is yapping about the public argument between Clayton Kershaw and Don Mattingly during yesterday's game, and I can't help but think... So what!

Kershaw is a competitor, and like all competitors he wants to finish every game he starts.  So, to see him question Mattingly's move to remove him after just 80 pitches was something to be expected.  Heck, if he didn't come out lashing I would have been worried.  Via Matthew Moreno at Dodgers Nation:

“I’ve seen him like that before. I’ve talked about it numerous times with different guys. It never bothers me,” Mattingly said. “Those guys are being competitive, wanting to stay in the game. That never bothers me, at all. I have to make that decision. He can not like it. We’ll be able to talk about it later, it’s no big deal. I don’t get offended by what went on today at all.”

Kershaw added, via Steve Bourbon at MLB.com:

"I'm not going to talk about that at all. If you guys want to talk about the game, I'm more than happy to talk about it," Kershaw said.

When asked about his emotions in regards to the argument, Kershaw responded simply: "Do you have a baseball question?"

When asked what people will infer from watching the situation and Kershaw refusing to elaborate, the ace held firm.

"Make it up then, that's fine," Kershaw said. "It's between Donnie and I. No one else needs to know."

This type of thing is just the nature of sports... And sure, Kershaw was less than open about the exchange... But, I wouldn't read too much into it.

This being said, though, if Mattingly were to get the boot at seasons end I would expect all the talking heads to point to this and incidents like this as a major factor - "noting" that there must have been dissension within the ranks.... That he didn't have the respect of the clubhouse... That his decisions, many of which have been criticized in ad nauseam throughout the web, had caused all this.

And all the while I'll be shaking my head.  I believe all of these excuses would be red herring arguments.  At the end of the day, any change in the staff by the front office will be based on their desire to place their final stamp on the team.  Like the recent firings within the minor league staffs (10 and counting), they will be wanting to do the same with the big club.  Considering the recent changes, I think it's inevitable and that the only thing that may save Donnie is a World Series victory.

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