I wish the Tigers hadn't already committed to Hernandez, Mazzone would be a much better choice.

Mazzone will not return to O's in 2008
Pitching coach guided Baltimore's hurlers for past two years
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles parted ways with pitching coach Leo Mazzone on Friday, allowing the veteran to pursue other opportunities for next season.

Baltimore will still be responsible for Mazzone's full salary -- which is reportedly worth $500,000 -- but will pay less if he takes another job. Brad Steele, Mazzone's business manager, said the move didn't come as a surprise.

"He had a strong inclination after Sam Perlozzo was fired and Dave Trembley was hired that he wouldn't be back," Steele said. "He had some conversations with [Baltimore executive] Andy MacPhail at the end of the season, and it seemed that the team would be making wholesale changes to the coaching staff. Some of them may even be announced today."

Mazzone, a celebrated coach who helped the Atlanta Braves win 14 straight division titles, spent two seasons in Baltimore. He was lured to join the Orioles by his lifelong friendship with Perlozzo, who was dismissed as manager back in June. Mazzone repeatedly stated that he wanted to be back next season, but it just didn't work out that way.

"He really wants to be part of a winning staff," Steele said. "He'll be 59 years old on Tuesday and he still has a lot of fire in the belly. He wanted to help Baltimore turn it around, but it appears that that's not going to happen."

Mazzone's pitchers won six Cy Young Awards during his 15-year tenure in Atlanta, and the Braves rode to glory with the venerable starting troika of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Mazzone's Baltimore staffs didn't have the same kind of talent, but he predicted big things for the young arms that are already assembled.

"When I look at Erik Bedard, Jeremy Guthrie, Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen," he said in September, "in my heart of hearts I feel that those four starters -- if we get them some help -- can compete for a championship."

Bedard thrived under Mazzone and credited the coach with teaching him a circle-changeup, a pitch he uses sparingly. Guthrie and Loewen also made progress with Mazzone's tutelage, but Cabrera remains a largely talented enigma. Baltimore finished with the second-highest ERA (5.17) in baseball this year and the worst relief ERA (5.71) in franchise history.

Injuries played a large role in those statistics, and the Orioles lost the services of three starters (Kris Benson, Jaret Wright and Loewen) for most or all of the year. Baltimore finished the season on a down note, losing 28 of its last 39 games and surviving with a pitching staff full of retreads and prospects that weren't quite ready to pitch in the big leagues.

The Orioles pitched to a 6.89 ERA in September, causing Mazzone to bemoan the lack of "varsity talent" on-hand. That late-season sentiment spoke volumes, but so does his career philosophy. Mazzone has said that he keeps an inspirational note in his briefcase that says, "If you don't care who gets the credit, you'll be more successful."

"When I first became a Minor League coach, I thought everybody worked together to develop a product. But everybody was jockeying for position to move up themselves," he said early in the year. "It was worse among the coaches than it ever was with players. I don't know if you'd call it competitive, but that's what made me appreciate that note. The only credit I want to see is a pitcher performing well -- and them getting the credit for performing well. Me, I just lay in the weeds."

Alan Dunn, who joined the Orioles as bullpen coach midway through the season, appears to be the favorite to take over for Mazzone. Trembley, who worked with Dunn in the Cubs' organization, has expressed confidence in his abilities. Earlier in the season, when told he'd be back next year, Trembley immediately inquired about the possibility of hiring Dunn.

"The first person I asked for at that dinner meeting was Alan Dunn," he said in August. "You have to have people that have the same attitude and philosophy that you have. That's not to say that other people don't, but I know Alan Dunn."

Trembley also issued a comment Friday as part of an official release sent out by the Orioles.

"I spoke with Leo today and told him I appreciated his efforts here," he said. "Moving forward, I felt that we would be better served with someone else working with our young staff and that it was in his best interests and our best interests to give him an opportunity to look elsewhere now."

Orioles name Kranitz pitching coach
Veteran instructor spent 22 years working in the Cubs' system
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles filled one of their few remaining high-profile coaching slots on Wednesday when they reached a deal with former Florida pitching coach Rick Kranitz. Kranitz, who spent the last two seasons with the Marlins, will be replacing veteran coach Leo Mazzone, with whom the Orioles severed ties last week.
"Leo was a good pitching coach, but I believe for what we're going to do and the direction were going, Rick Kranitz is the right guy for the Baltimore Orioles," said manager Dave Trembley, who was instrumental in the hiring. "What he brings to us is a level of expertise in mechanics [and] the ability to adapt to a whole lot of different styles of pitching. He's a real good communicator, which is something I think is going to be real important. We basically have a real young pitching staff."

Kranitz, who was named Baseball America's Major League Coach of the Year in 2006, previously spent 22 years coaching in the Chicago Cubs organization. He has a common background with three men with whom he'll be working in Baltimore -- Trembley, bullpen coach Alan Dunn and Andy MacPhail, the team's president of baseball operations.

All three worked in Chicago for a substantial period of time, and Kranitz calls his new working conditions an "absolute perfect fit." He is intrigued by Baltimore's young rotation and excited to get to work.

"I know Andy and I know Dave. I know what they can do," Kranitz said, crediting Dunn later in the conversation. "I really feel like in a sense I'm returning home, even though I'm thousands of miles away from Phoenix. I didn't talk to Dave during the season, but once we started our conversations again, it was like we never stopped talking."

Trembley, who managed in Chicago's organization from 1994 to 2002, had previously stated that his staff would be filled by people he could pick. Dunn, who was hired in August, was the first piece of the staff's restructuring.

The Orioles have announced that hitting coach Terry Crowley will return next year, but there should be a new bench coach and first-base coach.

"My first priority was to fill the pitching coach slot. I thought that was key and most crucial," Trembley said of the team's prompt and efficient hiring process. "Mr. MacPhail has been tremendous with me. He's allowed me to give him names I'm interested in, and he'll either say 'Yes' or 'No' to me. He hasn't said 'No' yet. The next two slots we have, we'll fill with the best available guys that we can. I'll get input from Mr. MacPhail and we'll go from there."

Kranitz was offered a chance to remain in Florida in his previous capacity, but he elected to pursue this opportunity. He began his coaching career in 1984 with the Cubs' rookie-level affiliate in Pikeville and steadily moved through the farm system. He has also managed for one season and served as a Minor League pitching coordinator.

The Florida job was his first full-time Major League stint as a pitching coach, and he got it because of another former Cub -- ex-Marlins manager Joe Girardi, who was dismissed after the 2006 season. Kranitz considered staying with the Marlins for another season and would have liked more time to make up his mind, but ultimately, he thought that he made the right choice.

"It was a very tough decision for me because I had a lot of great relationships over there," he said. "I had a great young pitching staff, [but] I just felt like I wanted to see what other opportunities were out there for me. It was a very hard decision. Let's just leave it at that."

The Marlins thrived under Kranitz in 2006, posting the fifth-best ERA (4.37) in the National League. Four rookies won at least 10 games for Florida that season, which was a first in big-league history. Those starters stumbled this season, but Kranitz led the team's relief staff to a 4.02 ERA, the third-best mark in franchise history.

Kranitz doesn't know too much about Baltimore's pitching depth but is excited to work with Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and Jeremy Guthrie. He also said that he didn't see them pitch last season -- unless you count Spring Training, when he was quite clearly preoccupied with making sure his own pitchers were prepared for the season.

"I've talked to Dave about a few of these guys. Absolutely, I'm looking forward to working with the young guys. We had a whole host of them in Florida," he said. "You really have to get to know the individual you're working with.

"Communication to me is essential. It's not easy to pitch in the big leagues, and it's not easy to pitch in the division we're in. What I bring is, I know, a good work ethic. I will be a tireless worker. I believe in preparation."

Trembley said that those two factors -- communication and preparation -- were among the reasons he considered Kranitz the perfect fit. Kranitz said that he won't work to a specific philosophy as much as he'll tailor his tutelage to each pitcher's strength, and he said that he's always thought a pitching coach should serve as the manager's "right-hand man."

"I'm just absolutely thrilled," he said. "I know our styles work real good together. I'm just very anxious to get started."

I agree, Tiger's should ditch Hernandez... booooo!

Fire Hernandez! I want Mazzone!!!

Fire Hernandez!! I want.... ANYONE ELSE!!

Bored and restless, Leo Mazzone wants back into baseball

BALTIMORE - He’s got plenty of free time and still is being paid handsomely by the Baltimore Orioles, so there’s really no limit to what Leo Mazzone can do this spring.

He’s played golf, visited a few nice restaurants with his wife and planted strawberries, blueberries, onions and tomatoes in the backyard of their lavish new home in Roswell, Ga. Yet, Mazzone can’t remember ever feeling so useless, exasperated and miserable.

The esteemed pitching coach is out of a job, and he can’t stand it. The 59-year-old Mazzone usually spends this time of the year rocking back and forth in the dugout, watching one of his pupils try to work out of a jam. What he’s doing now is more suitable for the rocking chair on his porch.

"What I’m doing is sitting here dying to get back into baseball again," Mazzone said. "When spring training hit, it was the first time in 40 years I wasn’t on the baseball field. It affected me pretty good."

After the Orioles fired him last October with one season left on a $1.5 million, three-year deal, Mazzone was guaranteed a salary in 2008 without having to leave his house. He has since learned that playing golf and gardening isn’t as challenging as grooming pitchers in the big leagues. Heck, it’s not even close.

"Everybody says, ’Just relax and enjoy your time, your contract runs through Oct. 31,’" he said. "But that’s not the point. The point is that I enjoy myself when I’m down in that bullpen working with pitchers, and I miss the whole love affair with the major leagues I’ve had since I was 9 years old."

After a highly successful run with the Atlanta Braves, Mazzone left for Baltimore after the 2005 season. He received a hefty raise and got to work with his best friend, Sam Perlozzo. But if he had it to do over, Mazzone would accept whatever Atlanta offered and assume his customary place in the dugout next to Braves manager Bobby Cox.

"At the time it was a great move, but now I regret it. You see the difference in organizations and how things are run and, believe me, the Atlanta Braves are about as good as it gets," Mazzone said.

"I got a chance to go back to my home state. My dad’s 86 and my mother’s 81, and they got to see me more in two years than they had in the last 16. Then I have three boys that live up in western Maryland. So we were able to get a lot closer. That part of it was good. But now, as I sit here on my back porch, I second-guess it."

He’s out of the game and desperate to get back in. He has no expectations of matching his salary with the Orioles, and won’t subject a would-be employer to dealing with an agent. If you want Leo Mazzone to be your pitching coach, just dial him up and make an offer.

"I’ve let it be known to general managers in the big leagues that money is not an issue. I don’t want them thinking it is," he said. "I’m ready to bounce whenever somebody calls. I’ll have my bags packed in 10 minutes."

Born in West Virginia and raised in Maryland, Mazzone made his professional debut in 1967 as a 19-year-old pitcher with Double-A Amarillo. After nine lackluster seasons, he abandoned hope of playing in the majors and became a coach. He was a minor league manager from 1976-79 and served as a coach in the Braves system before being named pitching coach of the big league club on June 22, 1990, the same day Cox took over as manager.

Over the next 15�½ years, Mazzone established himself as one of the foremost authorities on pitching. The Braves finished first or second in the NL in ERA in 12 of his final 14 seasons, and he helped develop six Cy Young Award winners. Mazzone had 10 different pitchers selected to an All-Star team, including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

During that time, he literally wrote the book(s) on being a successful pitching coach — "Tales From The Mound" and "Pitch Like a Pro."

Mazzone loved Atlanta, but couldn’t resist the chance to work with Perlozzo, then manager of the Orioles. Mazzone served as best man at Perlozzo’s wedding, and the two often spoke of collaborating at the major league level.

But little went right for Mazzone or the Orioles in 2006 and 2007. In his first season, Baltimore ranked 13th in the 14-team AL with a 5.35 ERA. In June of the following season, Perlozzo was fired. Mazzone stayed on, but four months later he was released after Baltimore finished with a 5.17 ERA and a major league high 696 walks.

He intended to latch on with another team in 2008, but none came calling. And now it’s May, and Mazzone is still out of a job.

"Yeah, I am surprised," Cox said. "But I think he was terminated at a late time, too, that year. Everybody else had people."

Two years earlier, Mazzone would have been a welcome addition to any big league staff. But the poor performance of Baltimore’s pitching staff under his direction seemingly took a toll on his once-pristine reputation.

"I don’t believe that," Perlozzo said. "Good baseball people know that Leo didn’t have much to work with there, and we had plenty of injuries on top of that. He’s still one of the best out there. I am very confident he will get a job, maybe even this year."

After being fired by the Orioles, Perlozzo spent last summer squirming through an unwanted vacation. Now third base coach of the Seattle Mariners, Perlozzo knows just what Mazzone is going through.

"Leo really enjoys being on the field. It’s kind of like all he’s ever done," Perlozzo said. "I wish he was happy and doing what he loves."

Mazzone occasionally serves as an analyst for FOX, but that only whets his appetite for his former job. Being in the broadcast booth is interesting, but it doesn’t compare to rocking in the dugout or teaching in the bullpen, trying to mold a thrower into a pitcher.

"The broadcasting thing has been enjoyable. That can be a second career down the road," Mazzone said. "In the meantime, I need to get back on the baseball field. I’m a pitching coach, and that’s where I belong."

From dugout to booth, Mazzone active
FOX commentator keeps eye on returning to game as coach
By Brandon Harris / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- Leo Mazzone hasn't seen much Braves baseball in person lately, but he's no stranger to what's going on with his former team.

Or any other club, for that matter.

The former Braves pitching coach was in the booth doing color commentary for the FOX broadcast of the Braves-Reds game on Saturday. It was just his second game as a broadcaster -- a job he's taken on as another way to stay in touch with baseball in case he ever makes a return to the game.

"I've been following [the Braves] on TV and radio," Mazzone said. "I've been following Major League Baseball, in general. I've got the satellite package so I can keep up with teams. I'd like to know who's doing what in case somebody calls me to get back down on the field. That's the ultimate goal."

Mazzone spent 17 years with the Braves before leaving after the 2005 season to become the Orioles' pitching coach. He was dismissed two years later.

He spent the early part of the day visiting with Reds players after spending part of Friday night in the Braves' dugout.

"Yesterday, I was supposed to visit with both teams, but I sat there with Bobby Cox in the dugout and never did get over to Cincinnati's dugout," Mazzone said. "It was great to see everybody. I saw Kent Mercker and Paul Bako with the Reds, and Ken Griffey Jr. came over and gave me a big hug."

As for which job is easier, Mazzone said it wasn't even close.

"[Broadcasting] is good and keeps me busy," Mazzone said. "It can be a little nerve-wracking at times because it's a different ballgame at times, but you learn. Down on the field is nothing.

"I've just got to make sure I don't sound like I'm one-sided, which I am."

I still want Mazzone!