In the aftermath of the news that Joe Torre will be making up his mind about his Dodgers future by the end of the season, an interesting rumor is now circulating about his potential successor.  And no, it does not have to do with current hitting coach Don Mattingly, who is assumed to be Torre’s heir apparent.

According to a Tweet by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, now that Bobby Valentine is no longer in the running for the Marlins managerial job, he could be a leading candidate to be the Dodgers next manager if Torre does indeed depart.  This was also first mentioned earlier this week on the blog Rowland’s Office.  While the author does not claim to have any inside information, there is logic behind this.

First off, Valentine is a former Dodger, having played with the team in the early 1970s.  In addition, he is good friends with former Dodger manager and current Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda, who was Valentine’s first minor league manager in the Dodgers farm system.  Don’t think they’re close?  One of Valentine’s dogs is named after Lasorda.

Working under owner Frank McCourt (and the tumult surrounding his divorce) likely wouldn’t be an issue for Valentine.  If anything, McCourt would probably like his fiery style as a change to Torre’s calm demeanor.  But there are no clues as to how Valentine feels about “psychics.”

Keep in mind that his boss in Texas when he managed the Rangers was none other than future president George W. Bush.  And he is used to dealing with the media circus from his days spent managing the New York Mets.

Finally, why else would Valentine suddenly be out of the running with the Marlins?  After all, these rumors have come and gone over the years, and it’s no secret that this would be Valentine’s dream job.

For now, Mattingly is still considered the front-runner for the job.  He passed on potential managerial jobs with the Indians and Nationals last fall in order to stay with the Dodgers.  And if it helps, he received a nice endorsement from former Yankee teammate and current Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti – high praise from a rival team.

Either way, it should make for an even more interesting summer in L.A.

Re-printed with permission of the author.

Chris Lardieri covers the Los Angeles Dodgers for Examiner.com and has written about Major League Baseball for Inside Edge, a scouting company that provides content to ESPN Insider and Yahoo Sports. He previously wrote for 1766, the Rutgers Alumni Magazine, and popular blog, ‘The Outer Loop’.  Be sure to follow Chris on Twitter for more MLB and sports observations.

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