Mazzone, Cox downplay return of pitching coach to Atlanta

<p>Through Leo Mazzone's 15 years as the Braves' pitching coach, Atlanta fans learned to relax when they saw the familiar sight of Mazzone's nervous rocking on the dugout bench.</p><p>Now Atlanta fans are the ones with the bad nerves as the Braves have tumbled to the bottom of the NL East, with a decline in the team's pitching receiving much of the blame.</p><p>Some fans have wondered if it is more than a coincidence that the Braves' collapse came after Mazzone's exit to become Baltimore's pitching coach. That is sure to be a popular topic as Mazzone returns to Atlanta Friday for the Orioles' weekend series against the Braves.</p><p>"It will be fun for him," said Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo. "He's got a lot of good memories there, won some championships there."</p><p>The combination of Mazzone's longtime friendship with Perlozzo, a childhood friend, and the added job security of a three-year contract in Baltimore convinced Mazzone to leave Atlanta after 15 successful years with manager Bobby Cox.</p><p>Mazzone, who still has a home in Cobb County, often said he would never leave the Braves as long as Cox was the manager.</p><p>Mazzone continued to profess his admiration for Cox even on the day he announced his decision to join Perlozzo in Baltimore.</p><p>"I've told everybody I've come in contact with that the biggest influence in my life other than my father was Bobby Cox," Mazzone said in October.</p><p>But Mazzone and Cox have downplayed Mazzone's return to Atlanta.</p><p>"I'm not even thinking about that," Cox said when asked his thoughts on Mazzone's return. When asked a follow-up question, Cox just smiled and shook his head.</p><p>Meanwhile, Mazzone had little more to say.</p><p>"I'll feel real good about it," said Mazzone when asked about his return to Atlanta. "We better pitch good there."</p><p>That was it.</p><p>Mazzone and Cox have other worries.</p><p>The Braves, 5-21 in June, rank 18th in the major leagues and 10th in the National League with a 4.65 ERA. The Braves have only 16 saves in 33 opportunities, including their 17th blown save, by new closer Jorge Sosa, in Wednesday night's 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees.</p><p>To be fair, the team's slide from its customary spot atop the NL pitching leaders began with Mazzone on board in 2005, when the Braves were sixth in the league with a 3.98 ERA.</p><p>Also, the Braves already have had pitchers spend more time on the disabled list through three months than in any of their run of 14 straight division championship seasons, beginning in 1991.</p><p>Meanwhile, Mazzone's Baltimore staff ranks 29th among 30 major league teams with its 5.17 ERA before Thursday night's game against Philadelphia.</p><p>"There's a whole lot more to do than I initially thought there would be, as far as know-how and adding pitches, or just simplifying the game," Mazzone told MLB.com. "You know, it's a work in progress."</p><p>Some said Mazzone didn't deserve credit for Atlanta's successful run of pitching, especially in the 1990s, when Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz combined for six Cy Young awards.</p><p>Smoltz, the only Braves player who was in Atlanta for Mazzone's full reign as pitching coach, says Mazzone indeed deserves credit.</p><p>"Despite what anybody is going to think one way or the other, some day when my career is over, he's going to be a big part of it, a very big part of it," Smoltz said. "That's always going to be the case."</p><p>Roger McDowell, who accepted the difficult assignment of following Mazzone, has earned praise for being more open with young pitchers than the sometimes gruff Mazzone.</p><p>"He talks a little more," said reliever Macay McBride of McDowell. "With Leo it was more of he's not going to say anything to you. He just lets you do your job. Roger has been in that role. Even if you get the job done but you do something that will hurt you down the road, he'll come tell you."</p><p>But Braves third baseman Chipper Jones says the pitchers' post-Mazzone approach is less effective.</p><p>Without Mazzone to point the way, Jones says Braves pitchers are throwing inside too often. Jones says that is a big reason the Braves have given up 92 homers, tied for the fifth-highest total in the NL.</p><p>"Not to bring back the ghost of Leo Mazzone, but the one thing I always agreed with Leo about and the one thing that Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz did better than anybody during the '90s was they owned the outside corner," Jones said.</p><p>"They used the pitch inside to set up the down and away strike. And I think that's what we need to get back to."</p><p>Braves players will be eager to see how Mazzone is received by Atlanta fans.</p><p>"Hopefully he'll get a good ovation," said veteran Mike Remlinger before his release from the team this week. "The first time he goes to the mound, it will be interesting to see how the fans react."</p><p>___</p><p>AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg in Baltimore contributed to this report.</p>

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