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The Leo Mazzone Experience


Leo Mazzone was supposed to be the answer to the Orioles pitching woes. He came in with a rep from Atlanta of getting the most out of pitchers and making pitchers like Greg Maddux and John Smoltz as good as they were in their prime. With Mazzone all thought Daniel Cabrera would turn his great stuff into a dominating pitcher. We also thought he could make Bedard even better, get Chen and Rodrigo to be solid pitchers and have Kris Benson be the solid veteran he is. Now its July 17, and Chen has a 7.38 ERA and is in the bullpen, Rodrigo has a 6.44 ERA, Cabrera just got sent down to the minors after leading the majors in walks and wild pitches for the first half, and the Orioles just picked up Russ Ortiz and his solid 7.88 ERA. Bedard has been the only starter we can depend on as a stopper, with occasional flashes from Benson. Out of the other 3 that we thought would make up our rotation, 2 should never throw another ball in the majors, atleast with the Orioles, and Cabrera needs to redefine his mind and windup on the mound in AAA. What to do?

Get rid of Ortiz, Chen, Rodrigo, Latroy Hawkins, and Todd Williams. Another firesale you say? Rebuild the bullpen around 3 guys. Chris Britton, Kurt Birkins, and Chris Ray. Britton, a 23 year old, has just been solid since coming up. Birkins has been very good in middle relief and gives us a good lefty in the bullpen for years, since he is only 25. And Ray is lights out, as most people know. 22 saves in 23 chances, and only 24 years of age. Make sure all 3 are signed for atleast 3 years and build up the bullpen around them as you "rebuild." Latroy Hawkins and Todd Williams are both solid, veteran, middle relief/setup type of pitchers that will be overvalued in the market by playoff bound teams. Hawkins is 33 and Williams is 35. Not TOO old for relief pitchers, but not needed by the Orioles, and they truthfully are more valuable than any bat I think we should trade, besides Mora. Chen and Ortiz have absolutely no value on the market. Nobody wants a soft-toss lefty with an ERA over 7, who is giving up a homerun every 3 innings. And nobody wants Ortiz with his inflated 7.88 ERA and 22 million dollars and 3 years left on his contract.
C.C. Sabathia, Carlos Zambrano, Bronson Arroyo, Chris Carpenter... the list of guys that will make less money and are far, far superior pitchers goes on. They aren't just guys that blew up this year either. Mazzone might of made good use of this guy in Atlanta, but he is done, that magic is not going to happen again. It is simply mind boggling why we would pick up a guy like this, but then short change proven free agents in the offseason.

Leo Mazzone and his reputation as the best pitching coach in baseball is just that, a reputation. The O's haven't seen the results from him or the staff. While they don't have amazing talent, there isn't any reason Daniel Cabrera isn't dominating hitters up in the majors right now. Erik Bedard is the lone bright spot on the starting staff, but he already showed his ability in previous seasons. The staff has actually worsened since last year. Cabrera, Chen ad Rodrigo have all regressed. Bring up Penn, keep Loewen up and fix Cabrera and get him back up here before the end of the season.


Random Notes (7/17)

MLB
:-: Adam Loewen starts his first game after coming back up from AAA. He starts tonight against the A's.
:-: Erik Bedard improved to 7-1 with a 2.78 ERA at home Saturday, as opposed to 4-5 with a 5.77 ERA on the road.
:-: Rodrigo Lopez had the most losses of any AL pitcher from the 2005 All Star break until this All Star break; 17.
:-: Peter Gammons is out of the hospital and will continue to recover from the brain aneurysm. I wish him and his family all the best.

NFL
:-: The Panthers juicer was sentenced to prison.

NBA
:-: J.R. Smith will be traded to the Denver Nuggets by the Chicago Bulls once his deal from New Orleans to Chicago is finalized.

Global News
:-: Tsunamistrikes again. 100+ killed.