(MCT) -LOS ANGELES -- Given the way everything ended in Boston, it’s easy to forget just how good Adrian Gonzalez is.

There’s a reason the Red Sox signed him to a $154 million extension, and it’s not because they thought he represented everything wrong with the team and the game.

Red Sox fans would be wise to remember this the next time they reflexively say, “Good riddance,” and instead consider the giddy words of Dodgers manager Don Mattingly yesterday.

“That’s an unbelievable trade,” Mattingly gushed before the Dodgers hosted the Diamondbacks last night. “An unbelievable trade. This guy is the (expletive). He can play. That’s how you win, with guys like that.”

The Dodgers clearly have no regrets over the megadeal that brought Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto west, and that’s because they have Gonzalez.

They got a firsthand look at what he could do while he played for the Padres, and they’ve had him in their sights for a long time.

“You never expect to get a guy like that at this time of year, or at any time of year,” Mattingly said. “We talked early about Adrian. We’ve actually been talking about this guy for three years. We almost had a deal a couple of years back and something happened. So he’s kind of a guy we’ve targeted and been loving for a while.

“He’s unbelievable. It really was kind of the perfect storm: The year (the Red Sox) were having, where they’re at (with) the cap, all of that stuff.”

While Mattingly spoke, a broad smile never left his face. As much as Red Sox fans feel like the Dodgers are suckers for taking on more than $260 million in contracts, Mattingly looks like a guy who’d make the trade every day.

“I’m not going to sit here and complain about having freaking Adrian Gonzalez,” Mattingly said.

Gonzalez has gotten off to a so-so start with the Dodgers. He blasted a three-run homer in his first at-bat on Saturday, then went just 4-for-19 (.211) thereafter entering last night’s game.

Mattingly minces no words when he says the pressure is on Gonzalez, Beckett and Co. The Dodgers began the night 31/2 games behind the Giants in the National League West, and 11/2 games behind the Cardinals in the race for the second wild card berth. They went 2-3 in their first five games with Gonzalez.

“Absolutely there’s pressure (on them),” Mattingly said. “It’s pro baseball. There’s pressure every day. But at the end of the day, it’s still baseball. I go back to the same things. How do you perform best? You perform best when you play like a little kid and have fun. That’s always there. A young kid proving himself, that’s pressure. An old guy showing he still belongs here, that’s pressure. Playing in front of 50,000 people, that’s pressure.

“The bottom line is we all have to do it now. There are a short number of games left.”

Even with Matt Kemp sidelined after crashing into a wall, closer Kenley Jansen shut down with an irregular heartbeat, and starter Chad Billingsley (elbow) potentially finished for the season, Mattingly still likes the Dodgers’ chances.

That’s what having Adrian Gonzalez in the lineup and in the clubhouse will do for a manager. The Red Sox are already learning how difficult life is without him.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be a loud leadership or if it’s a calmly talking to guys in different spots leadership,” Mattingly said, “but you can tell he’s leader.”

jtomase@bostonherald.com