Braves News World

After spending 15 years as the Atlanta Braves’ pitching coach, Leo Mazzone is moving on to serve as the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles. The Braves had little chance of retaining his services as Mazzone has had a long-standing agreement with Sam Perlozzo, his best friend since childhood, that he would serve as his pitching coach if Perlozzo got a permanent job as a manager in the majors. Perlozzo and Mazzone played American Legion ball together as teenagers and were neighbors during the 1980’s. The fact that Mazzone will be close to family in Maryland and more than double his salary (to $500,000 a year) made his decision that much easier. Since Mazzone signed with the Orioles over a week before his contract with the Braves expired the Orioles were willing to send pitcher Moises Hernandez, the older brother of top Mariners prospect Felix Hernandez, to Atlanta as compensation. Hernandez was 0-4 for the Class-A Aberdeen Ironbirds last year but compiled a 3.08 ERA and struck out 56 in 52 2/3 innings. As far as replacements for the exiting Mazzone, the leading candidates include former Braves pitching coach Bruce Dal Canton, Mike Maddux (brother of former Brave Greg Maddux), and Randy St. Claire (current Nationals pitching coach and former Brave). Other possibilities include Guy Hansen (current Richmond Braves pitching coach), Don Gullett, and Mel Stottlemyre who recently resigned as Yankees pitching coach after 10 years of service. Joe Kerrigan and Braves announcer Don Sutton are longshots who have been bandied about as well.

The phone of Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton has been ringing off the hook since the Braves fell to the Astros in the Division Series this year. He interviewed with the management of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for 2 hours on Monday. The Devil Rays are looking to fill their vacancy at manager and have interviewed 6 other candidates (Devil Rays coaches John McLaren, Tom Foley and Billy Hatcher; Billy Evers, the manager of their Triple-A affiliate; former Tigers manager Alan Trammell and Yankees coach Joe Girardi) for the job thus far. The Los Angeles Dodgers have also contacted Pendleton and will interview him for their manager’s position on Wednesday. 5 candidates have already interviewed with the Dodgers for the position: their farm director Terry Collins, their Triple-A manager (and former-Brave) Jerry Royster, the aforementioned Trammell, San Francisco Giants coach Ron Wotus and Cleveland minor league manager Torey Lovullo.

The Good: “There’s always next year.” In recent years that sentiment has been of little comfort to Braves fans. However, with 18 rookies making the Braves’ major league squad at one time or another this season there is reason to believe we have the makings of another World Championship ballclub on our hands. It truly is amazing the “Baby Braves” made the playoffs in what must be classified as a “rebuilding” year. … Andruw Jones shook off his late-season slump and led the Braves’ offense as he has all year. He went 8-for-17 in the series with a homer, 3 doubles, 5 RBI’s, and 5 runs scored. … Before the season began John Smoltz insisted on returning to the starting rotation. He was sure he would prove an invaluable cog in the rotation throughout both the regular season and the postseason. He made good on both of those promises. Unfortunately it was not enough as the bullpen was left in shambles and now there are serious questions about the health of his ailing right shoulder going into next season. However, Smoltz pitched through the pain in Game 2 and reclaimed sole possession of the top spot for most postseason wins (15) with a gutsy 7-inning performance. He allowed 7 hits and struck out 5 but allowed only 1 run to best Roger Clemens. … Despite a maddening lapse on the basepaths in Game 4, Adam LaRoche came up big for the Braves in the series as he did the last couple weeks of the regular season. In 3 games, he went 4-for-8 including a double and grand slam, with 6 RBI’s and 2 runs scored.

The Bad: The Braves haven’t advanced to the National League Championship Series since 2001. … Rafael Furcal picked a fine time to start swinging for the fences again. He has been known to struggle when he starts uppercutting and I don’t think it was a coincidence he was hitless in 11 at-bats in Houston’s tiny ballpark. He was 3-for-20 in the set. … After knocking a homer and a double in the series opener, Chipper Jones went 1-for-13 in the following 3 games. … Marcus Giles was 4-for-20 in the series.

The Ugly: As has been the case all season, the bullpen let us down. Chris Reitsma had an ERA of over 16.00 for the series and Joey Devine gave up the final, decisive run. However, the biggest disappointment was Kyle Farnsworth who had been so reliable for the Braves in save situations since taking over as closer in late August. With the Braves up by 5 runs in the 8th inning of Game 4 he coughed up the lead, giving up a grand slam to his nemesis Lance Berkman and a solo shot to Brad Ausmus with 2 out in the 9th. Both were cheap shots but that’s all you need when playing in the bandbox that is Minute Maid Park.

The Good: The regulars got a few days of rest and these losses were meaningless. … Bobby Cox was able to audition a number of pitchers for postseason spots and, with 2 solid innings during the series, my bet is on 22-year old rookie Joey Devine to make the roster. Blaine Boyer, Macay McBride and Kyle Davies got lit up during the series and none of them should get the nod over him in my opinion. We don’t have much to go on other than his sparkling minor league and college record, but I have a gut feeling he’s just what’s needed to shut down the Astros in the late innings and rejuvenate the Braves’ lifeless bullpen. … Horacio Ramirez was sharp in his last tune-up for the postseason, allowing 1 run on 5 hits in 5 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1. He likely will be the first left-handed pitcher out of the bullpen in the NLDS. … The Braves finished with a 90-72 record for the season.

The Bad: Marcus Giles was 1-for-7 in the series. … Jeff Francoeur continued his recent slide, going 1-for-9 in the set. He finished the year at .300. … Dan Kolb gave up 2 runs, 1 earned, in 1/3 of an inning. He has no business being on the Richmond Braves roster, much less Atlanta’s postseason roster! Bobby Cox better leave him off the roster even if it picking the inexperienced Chuck James to fill the spot.

The Ugly: Blaine Boyer was the stalwart of the Braves’ bullpen in August when he didn’t allow a run in13 1/3 innings. Injury and ineffectiveness plagued him down the stretch and now it looks like he’ll be watching from the sidelines for at least the first round of the playoffs. He gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits and 1 walk Sunday without retiring a batter. That was not the kind of performance Braves’ management was looking for to assure themselves the shoulder sprain he sustained last Monday would not be a limiting factor in the playoffs.

The Good: The Braves’ took their 14th division title in a row. For those of us who suffered through the awful 80’s with the Braves this streak is doubly as amazing and rewarding. This run, unparalleled in the annals of sports history, will never be rivaled by another team. With this young team, hopefully the Braves have the makings of 14 more consecutive titles (but I wouldn’t hold my breath ). … Ryan Langerhans was 5-for-9 in the series and owns a 7-game hitting streak. … Adam LaRoche was 3-for-9 in the series with a pair of home runs, making him the 3rd Brave to hit 20 this season. … The hits just keep on coming for Rafael Furcal. With his 3-for-7 performance in the series his season average is .285, the culmination of a steady rise from the .220 mark he sported on June 21st. … Jeff Francoeur was 3-for-7 in the series with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs.

The Bad: Dan Kolb gave up 4 earned on 6 hits in 2 innings of work during the series. Oops, that’s good. Now there should be no chance of him making the posteason roster. … Andruw Jones was 1-for-7 in the set and has 5 hits in his last 40 at-bats. OK, that’s enough for the customary Andruw slump. Now let’s get things going again for the playoffs!

The Ugly: Let’s commemorate the Braves’ bullpen blunders one last time this year. Chris Reitsma blew the lead Monday night, giving up 3 runs and retiring no one. That brought his ERA up to 3.93. What’s scary is that still ranks him as one of the Braves’ top relievers. Besides Reitsma, Farnsworth, and Boyer (who likely won’t be healthy enough to make the postseason roster), no Braves reliever has an ERA under 4.00! Ramirez (who will relieve in the playoffs), Foster, McBride, Davies, Lerew, Devine, James, Brower, Kolb all above 4.00 (with the final 2 pushing 6.00). Makes you wonder if Bobby Cox should ever take out a starter with a lead before the 9th inning this October!

With his left hip flexor tendon deemed healthy, right-handed relief pitcher Joey Devine was called up by the Braves from Triple-A Richmond for the 2nd time on Tuesday. Devine, the Braves’ 1st round draft pick this season, stands a good chance at making the postseason roster given Blaine Boyer’s shoulder sprain and subsequent ineffectiveness. Devine injured his hip during his major league debut on August 20th. He hasn’t pitched since the 23rd of that month when he became the first pitcher to give up grand slams in his first 2 major league appearances.

The Braves extended their major league record when they clinched their 14th consecutive division title Tuesday night after beating the Rockies 12-3. Only the Yankees have more than half that amount of consecutive division titles (8 from 1998-2005). Bobby Cox worked his magic again, this time getting the most out of 17 different rookies to plug a number of holes due to injury (Hampton, Thomson, Hudson, Chipper, Estrada) and underperformance (Mondesi, Jordan, Kolb, Martin). Between his time with the Blue Jays and Braves, Cox has won 15 straight division titles (when he managed the team for a whole season). With an unprecedented number of rookies on a division champion team, Cox should win his 3rd Manager of the Year award as Braves manager this season (he previously won in 1991 and last year, 2004). John Schuerholz worked a number of pivotal deals (Hudson, Sosa, Farnsworth) without which the Braves would not have made the playoffs. Now for the hard part: it’s time for the young Braves to focus on reaching the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2001 and the World Series for the first time since 1999.

The Good: Rafael Furcal remains hot as the season winds down. He was 5-for-11 with his league-leading 45th stolen base in the series. … Chipper Jones went 4-for-10 in the series while scoring 3 and driving in 1 on his 20th homer of the season. He has now smacked at least 20 home runs the last 11 seasons. … Adam LaRoche continues to see the ball well. He registered 4 hits in 10 official series at-bats. … Brian McCann was 5-for-8 in the series, including a clutch single to complete a 4-run comeback Friday night. He appears to be coming around at the right time. … Kyle Farnsworth pitched 3 scoreless innings and now has 10 saves in as many opportunities with the Braves. … On Saturday John Thomson enjoyed his finest outing since returning from the disabled list. He surrendered just 1 run and 4 hits in 7 innings pitched. He walked and struck out 4 in earning his 1st win since May 5th! … The Braves’ magic number stands at 2.

The Bad: Andruw Jones had only 2 hits in 11 at-bats in the series, dragging his average down to .265. That extinguishes his chances at winning the MVP for all intents and purposes.

The Ugly: John Smoltz’s sore shoulder is still not close to 100%. As his shoulder goes, so go the Braves’ playoff hopes in all likelihood. They are shutting him down for the rest of the year in the hopes he’ll be recuperated in time for the first game of the National League Division Series. Smoltz didn’t fool many Friday when he gave up 8 hits, 2 walks and 3 earned runs in 6 innings of work. He did strike out 6, an encouraging sign.