Leo To be Pitching Coach!

[rockin500]

from Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal

Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone appears to be heading to the AL East, but not for the job he was widely expected to take.

FOXSports.com has learned that Mazzone likely will join the Orioles as the team's pitching coach after his talks with the Yankees broke down Wednesday.

Mazzone is expected to receive a three-year contract with the Orioles, matching the length of new manager Sam Perlozzo's deal. Mazzone and Perlozzo are long-time friends, having grown up together in Cumberland, Md.

The Orioles already have a well-regarded pitching coach, Ray Miller. But Miller is recovering from surgery to remove an aneurysm and reportedly had given the O's his blessing to hire another pitching coach.

Mazzone is widely credited with helping develop the sterling pitching staffs the Braves have enjoyed over the last 15 years — a run that has coincided with the team's 14 consecutive division championships.

According to a report on Newsday's web site, the Yankees' list of candidates to replace Mel Stottlemyre now includes Dave Righetti of the Giants, Don Cooper of the White Sox and former pitcher Ron Guidry, who most recently has been a spring training instructor.

[Baseball Guru]

WOW!:eek:

I have heard he was a possible candidate but I am suprised he is leaving Atlanta...

[rockin500]

Im a bit surprised myself, but evidently working with farnsworth musta driven him mad! ;)

naw, i guess being close friends with Sam is pretty important factor in this.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Cool by me. I'm already over this. Leo put good years in with the Bravos and will put in a good 5 years with the O's. I'm just focused on who his replacement will be.

[Eva]

Mazzone might turn that young O's pitching staff into studs. Mazzone has been great pitching coach in his career since his young pitchers prove to be good as well as the old veterans reviving their career in Atlanta. Mazzone got a pretty good talent to work with in Baltimore. Maybe he's the guy that help this team stay in it all season. They got the talent, maybe Mazzone can bring it out. :)

I know Nanner going to be happy by this news.

Must admit though, it's going to be odd without Mazzone in Atlanta doing that rocking thing he does on the bench.

[Baseball Guru]

Im a bit surprised myself, but evidently working with farnsworth musta driven him mad! ;)
.


lol:laff:

Farnsy sure can wrestle though;)

[Nanner]

I like this! Yeah. I like this alot! :rock:

I'm, in fact, rocking back and forth in excitement. :D

Actually, according to the Baltimore Sun, it's still not a done deal. Mike Flanagan is being coy, but it seems that Mazzone is really interested, due to the fact that he and Sam are such good friends.

I like that Ray Miller just gave his consent before he went under the knife for surgery. Guy has alot of class.

Here's the Sun article: (I also like Bruce Chen's comment at the end of the article.) The article also states that Jim Duquette is close to being named a vice president.

Orioles close to agreement with Mazzone
Longtime Braves pitching coach regarded as one of the best in the game; Club also expected to name Jim Duquette to vice president post
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Reporter
Originally published October 19, 2005, 10:38 PM EDT

An agreement could be finalized Thursday that will enable the Atlanta Braves' Leo Mazzone to become the Orioles' next pitching coach, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

Mazzone, lauded as one of the top pitching coaches in baseball, appeared to be the leading candidate for the New York Yankees' and Orioles' vacancies. He withdrew from the Yankees' consideration Wednesday morning because of his preference to come to Baltimore and work alongside longtime friend and Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo.

The only holdup to the deal, according to league sources, is for the Orioles and Braves to work out compensation for Mazzone, who has been in the Atlanta organization since 1979 and the Braves' pitching coach since 1990.

According to league sources, the compensation issues are likely not deal-breaking and the Orioles are confident Mazzone will be their next pitching coach, replacing Ray Miller.

Mazzone's contract is up in three weeks, and even if compensation cannot be worked out, the Orioles would appear to be able to hire Mazzone without needing Atlanta's approval.

Asked Wednesday afternoon if the situation will be resolved quickly, Atlanta executive vice president and general manager John Schuerholz, who had given the Orioles permission to interview the coach, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I'm not real good at guessing, but it may."

Orioles executive vice president Mike Flanagan denied a deal with Mazzone had been reached, but said he couldn't comment further on the situation.

Meanwhile, Flanagan is likely to announce Thursday that New York Mets senior vice president of baseball operations Jim Duquette, the Mets' former general manager, has been hired as Orioles vice president, according to team sources.

Duquette, 39, had his second interview within a week's span Wednesday and agreed to the job offer, according to sources.

"We had some very meaningful talks today, but nothing has been completed," Flanagan said Wednesday night. "Talks went well, but at this point it hasn't been finalized."

It is doubtful the hirings of Duquette and Mazzone would be announced simultaneously. Regardless, the Orioles are expected to complete a huge coup in nabbing Mazzone.

The speculation was that if Mazzone was to leave Bobby Cox, who has managed the Braves to 14 consecutive division titles, he was ticketed to New York to replace the departed Mel Stottlemyre and become Joe Torre's pitching coach.

Given a window to negotiate by the league, the two sides talked, but Mazzone's agent, Jack Reale, said Wednesday night that the "discussions that we had with the Yankees came and went without an agreement."

The news was cheered in Atlanta, where at least one television station reported that since the Yankees were out of the picture, Mazzone was returning to the Braves.

However, according to several league sources, if Mazzone was to leave Atlanta, he was more intrigued by coming to Baltimore to team with Perlozzo. The two grew up together in Western Maryland, and after being competitors in American Legion Baseball, they became best friends.

When they were in the early stages of their coaching careers, Mazzone, 57, who still has family in Maryland, moved about three houses away from Perlozzo in Cumberland. Perlozzo was the best man at Mazzone's wedding.

Perlozzo said he was pleased with Miller but had always dreamed of having Mazzone as his pitching coach if the situation ever presented itself. Miller, who had surgery last week to repair an aortic aneurysm, gave Perlozzo permission to talk to another pitching coach before his surgery.

Mazzone's credentials led ESPN.com recently to declare him the top assistant coach ever in sports. Known for his intensity and his constant sway in the dugout while he focuses on every pitch, Mazzone has mentored six Cy Young winners and nine 20-game winners.

Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine are his most prized pupils, but Mazzone perhaps deserves more credit for his reclamation project pitchers such as Jaret Wright, Mike Hampton and Chris Hammond, who found their form under his tutelage.

From 1992 through this year, the Braves ranked either first or second in league ERA every season but two. Current Orioles starter Bruce Chen worked with Mazzone in the Braves organization for seven seasons and said Wednesday that his philosophy is similar to Miller's.

"When Ray came in and said all these things, it reminded me of all the things with the Braves - work fast, throw strikes, work down and away," said Chen, who did express that his first choice would be for Miller to return. "I just clicked with Ray. He really helped me, but I know what good things could happen if Leo comes to Baltimore."

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun

[Misha77Piazza]

:laff: My kid nearly had a cow when he heard Mazzone was interviewed with Skanks and said, "I don't want to keep watching him rocking back and forth in the dugout every time the camera zooms in the dugout!!!!" :laff: Then he heard that Mazzone is O's pitching coach and said, "Phew.....ohhhh, poor Uncle Michael!!!!" That cracked me up. Michael is my brother who roots for Skanks and O's but he is currently rooting for O's since he moved to Virginia. :laff:

But I guess my brother may be secretly pleased to hear Mazzone is on O's board because he had been ranting alot about previous pitching coaches. :hmm: