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Don Mattingly: Not in ideal position

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly announced Monday that his 2014 contract option vested with a first-round playoff victory over the Atlanta Braves but that he remains unsure of whether he'll be back with the team next season.

Mattingly said he felt the organization put him in a difficult position in the Dodgers' clubhouse by making him manage this past season in the final year of his contract.

"When you're put in this situation, the organization basically says, 'We don't know if you can manage or not,'" Mattingly said. "So, that's the position I've been in all season long, so that's not a great position for me as a manager. That's the way it is, that's the way the organization wanted it last year, that's fine."

Mattingly's option, reportedly worth $1.4 million, would put him in line to return, but the team has made no announcement about his future. A team source indicated last week that Mattingly would return, but after Mattingly's comments, that might not happen unless the sides can work out a multiyear deal.

General manager Ned Colletti said the issue will be "resolved very quickly" and voiced support for Mattingly.

"I have tremendous confidence and faith in this guy," Colletti said.

But the decision ultimately figures to be in the hands of team president Stan Kasten and the ownership group.

"I want to get through these next few days of meetings, which haven't even begun yet, before I talk about this past season or the upcoming one," Kasten said.

The Dodgers are 260-225 with one playoff appearance in three years under Mattingly. Colletti wouldn't discuss the team's plans for Mattingly's coaching staff, but it's believed Kasten is intent on making some changes to the staff.

Several teams are already well into their searches for new managers, and Mattingly indicated he would like to get his situation resolved fairly quickly so that, if things don't work out in Los Angeles, he can see what else is out there.

"I want to manage," Mattingly said.

The Dodgers got off to a slow start and were 9½ games out of first place on June 21, but they went on a franchise-best 42-8 run over the next 50 games and wound up winning the National League West by 11 games.

They lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in six games of the National League Championship Series. Mattingly indicated that his authority in the clubhouse was affected by his contract situation.

"This has been a frustrating year, honestly," Mattingly said. "I think when you basically come in with a club like this as a lame duck with the payroll and the guys you have, it puts you in a tough spot in the clubhouse.

"I dealt with that all year long, and really what it does is puts me in a spot where everything that I do is questioned, because I'm basically trying out, auditioning to say, 'Can you manage or can you not manage?' To me, it gets to the point where you either know or you don't."