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Wednesday, September 20
 
Dodgers: Changes on hold till after postseason

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone emphatically denied a published report that he had spoken with former big league manager Kevin Kennedy about the team's managing job.

Meanwhile, Dodgers chairman Bob Daly told reporters during an impromptu news conference three hours before Wednesday night's game against Arizona that no decisions have been made, and any changes concerning the future won't be announced until after a postseason evaluation.

Davey Johnson is finishing his second year as the Dodgers' manager and has one more year on his contract. The team entered Wednesday night's game with a disappointing 80-72 record and trailed the New York Mets by 5½ games in the NL wild-card race. The Dodgers were 77-85 last year.

It's been speculated for months that Johnson's job would be in jeopardy if the Dodgers, who have one of baseball's highest payrolls, didn't reach the playoffs. The team hasn't won a postseason game since winning the 1988 World Series, and hasn't qualified for the playoffs since 1996.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Malone had spoken with Kennedy, former manager of the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox and now an analyst for Fox Sports Net, about future employment.

"I've spoken with Kevin for about a total of five minutes in the last 30 days, about our minor league success," Malone said, adding that he hadn't spoken with anyone concerning the future.

Malone and Kennedy worked together with the Montreal Expos in the early 1990s, and Kennedy managed in the Dodgers' farm system before that.

"Kevin Malone has said that's something he's never done," Daly said, referring to the Times report. "Two people know what's true."

Daly was referring to Malone and Kennedy.

"There is nothing new to report," Daly said. "We will make our decisions at the end of the year. That's it."

Daly said he would have no problem making the final decision in all front-office matters.

"Anyone who's the CEO of a company has done that," he said. "The final decision will be mine. But I like information, I like to keep my options open. I have said many, many times that Davey Johnson is a very good manager. He certainly is a terrific guy, I like him personally, just like I like Kevin personally.

"At this stage, where we are today, there's nothing more I can say on the subject. I'm not going to say anymore. A lot happened that was under nobody's control this season."




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