Touch 'Em All: Dodgers manager Mattingly unworried about calls for his head

When your nickname is Donnie Baseball, you better get used to the heat when the team you manage is a miserable 19-26.

Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly did not make any allies (among the people most important to him in his job) when, before Wednesday's game vs. the Brewers, he questioned his team's "grit" and the bosses who saddled him with highly paid all-stars he believes don't have much of the stuff.

In any case, following his blast, the Dodgers hammered the Brewers, winning, 9-2, to match their highest run total of the season.

Afterward, he said the offensive display had nothing to do with rant, or his benching of star outfielder Andre Ethier for making a bonehead play the night before.

"Meh," Mattingly told the Los Angeles Times. "We got the runs, we made the plays."

Then Mattingly (who's aware of the rising chorus calling for his head) said he wasn't worried that he could be fired on the Dodgers' day off on Thursday.

"Do I feel worried?" Mattingly said. "No, not really. Should I be?"

Maybe not. But the Times also reported that according to "two people familiar with the team's plans," Mattingly will be managing the Dodgers when they open a three-game series at home vs. the Cardinals. Gotta say, that's not much comfort.

The following incident is disturbing, but we're a newspaper, so we have to report it.

A vendor at Houston's Minute Maid Park has been fired for taking a tray of snow cones into a stadium bathroom during Monday night's game and placing it on the stall's floor while doing his business.

Unfortunately for the unnamed vendor (and fortunately for the public) the sordid episode was captured on video by a fan using a cellphone and later aired on Houston's KPRC-TV.

The person who recorded the video and gave it to the station said, "What sane person could possibly think, 'Yeah this is a good idea. I'll just put the food that I'm about to sell on the floor.' "

Aramark, which runs food services at the ballpark, called it an isolated incident and said the vendor's actions were "a clear violation of our food safety practices and are not reflective of our standards."

No argument here, even if the video clip does not show the vendor handling the cones.

Astros president Reid Ryan (who was named to the job last week and was hours into starting his new gig) responded to the matter quickly.

"We commend the swift reaction displayed by Aramark of terminating the employee immediately upon learning of the incident that evening," said Ryan, whose previous job was in the minors.

Welcome to the bigs, fella.

Finally, some good news for the injury-riddled Yankees: All-star first baseman Mark Teixeira, who has been out since injuring his right wrist in early March, could soon start playing in minor-league games.

- Wire reports