Chop Chick

By brad webb

October 19, 2005 02:38 PM | Link to this

I am over it. After 33 years of being a Brave fan, I am sick of it. No I am not giving up on the Braves, but I don’t want them to win next year. I am tired of caring so much and watching them fail. Screw Leo. Hav I always thought he was the best…yes. Do I still think so…yes. Do I care if he is back next year…no. And trade Bobby for Joe Torre while. Go low budget and save money for a higher pay roll in the future. No this is not a joke. Trade Chipper, trade Andruw. keep Giles. Furcal, keep him maybe. Lower the payroll, keep guys with balls.

By OUTLAWED

October 19, 2005 03:18 PM | Link to this

I can’t believe they are not paying Leo extra 200K to keep him with us. He is a great part of this team thru the years and making only 200k it would be a big mistake to let him go. Under the circumstances he had done a wonderful job my friend, marvelous job. The Braves considering paying Furcal 8 or 9 million a year and they can’t pay extra 200k for Leo ? Braves do make me sick to my stomach at times, if they let Leo go I’ll go down to the Turner field and throw up.

By Curveball

October 19, 2005 03:23 PM | Link to this

Finally!…the beginning of the end for the Braves…and me as a Braves fan!

By Jason

October 19, 2005 03:59 PM | Link to this

ANY TEAM BUT THE YANKEES!!!!!!!!!! ITS NO DIFFERENT THAN A BAND SELLING OUT TO A BIG RECORD LABEL AND GOING POP!!!! NOOOOOOOO LEO DON’T DO IT!!! DON’T TURN TO THE DARKSIDE!!! THE EVIL EMPIRE IS NOT THE PLACE YOU WANT TO BE??!!? HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OR CONSIDER ANY OTHER TEAM THAN THE ONLY TEAM YOU’VE EVER KNOWN? DOES TEAM LOYALTY MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU? YOU ARE ONE OF THE GREATEST REASONS FOR THE BRAVES SUCCESS…AND IT’S NOT LIKE THE YANKEES EVEN NEED YOU…THEY HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH MONEY TO HAVE AN EXCEPTIONAL TEAM EACH AND EVERY YEAR. DON’T DO IT!!!! NO ONE LIKES THE YANKEES OUTSIDE OF THE TRI-STATE AREA. AS AN ATLANTA BRAVE, HOW COULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER THE YANKEES? I MEAN, IF YOU GOTTA LEAVE, LEAVE, BUT THE YANKEES?!?! THE GOOD THING ABOUT IT IS THAT THE YANKEES DO WANT LEO, WHICH SAYS TO ME HE IS THE BEST OF THE BEST. BUT THE YANKEES CAN’T ALWAYS HAVE THE VERY BEST OF THE BEST. THE YANKEES NEED TO GET THEIR MONEY GRUBBING, EVIL HANDS OFF LEO. BACK OFF!!!! NO ONE AROUND HERE CARES FOR THE YANKEES OR THEIR WAY OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS. AND DEALING WITH THE NY MEDIA AND THEIR ?”@#$(*#$ FANS IS NOT EXACTLY MY IDEA OF A BETTER JOB. GET REAL, LEO. YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART OF HEARTS THAT ATLANTA IS WHERE YOU BELONG. GO TO THE YANKEES AND YOU WILL FOREVER BE SEEN AS A TRAITOR, NO DIFFERENT THAN TOM GLAVINE. IF THE BRAVES ARE TO EVEN THINK OF HAVING A 15TH DIVISION TITLE, LEO IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THAT EQUATION.

By Jenna

October 19, 2005 04:08 PM | Link to this

Leo, don’t go!

AOL, PLEASE find the money to keep Leo around. We need him.

Leo is The Master. If our bullpen pitching proved anything this year, it was the need for Leo to lead these guys. They need to go to Camp Leo. They have they need his experience and knowledge guiding them.

Pitching was our biggest problem this year, and if you take Leo out of the equation, the outlook just gets worse.

If Leo leaves, ESPECIALLY if he becomes a Yankee, there really will be crying in baseball from this Braves fan.

Please don’t go, Leo. You rock. (heh.)

By Jenna

October 19, 2005 04:10 PM | Link to this

They have they need his experience and knowledge guiding them.

This sentence was supposed to say “They have talent, but they need his experience and knowledge guiding them.”

By OUTLAWED

October 19, 2005 04:38 PM | Link to this

WE NEED 200K BRAVES FANS TO PAY A DOLLAR PER PERSON TO THE BRAVES AT THE BEGGINING OF EACH YEAR SO LEO GETS HIS EXTRA 200K PER YEAR. LEO NEEDS TO STAY HERE. YANKEES ARE THE EVILEST OF ALL EVILS. I AM SERIOUS I AM WILLING TO DO IT WHAT ABOUT YOU?

By Adam

October 19, 2005 06:32 PM | Link to this

This is awful…awful for the Braves, of course, and likely also awful for Mazzone himself.

Hey, if it takes enduring a season’s worth of snipes from Steinbrenner and the NY press to make Mazzone realize how good he has it with the Braves, then that’s too bad. Mazzone should know better. It should be obvious from Mel Stottlemyre’s departure that it’s just not worth it to take the money and coach for the highly dysfunctional, mercenary Yanks. I hate the fact that I’ll be looking at Leo Mazzone a lot like I look at Tom Glavine now, if Mazzone leaves. But there it is.

So much is up in the air now. Can Jorge Sosa be effective without Leo? What does this do to the long-term promise of Davies, Lerew, Chuck James and the rest of the Baby Brave pitchers? Just awful.

By Adam

October 19, 2005 06:34 PM | Link to this

AHAHAHA! They just said on Sportscenter that talks between Leo and the Yanks have broken off!

WHOOOOOOOOOO

By Carroll

October 19, 2005 06:47 PM | Link to this

IF Leo moves on, I like Letwan idea about Sutton as pitching coach.

By braves fan

October 19, 2005 08:11 PM | Link to this

Fox Sports.com Senior Baseball writer Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Leo has accepted a 3 year contract with the Orioles.

By Adam

October 19, 2005 09:51 PM | Link to this

Let’s say that Ken Rosenthal is right, and Leo Mazzone is now an Oriole. I know. I’m still in “Say it ain’t so” mode myself.

In the next few days, there’s going to be a lot of venting of frustration towards the Braves organization, in this blog and wherever there are Braves fans. I’m sure that we’ll all soon be overwhelmed by people asking, rightfully, why Schuerholz and co. didn’t do everything necessary to retain Mazzone. These questions will only become sharper and louder with each pitching miscue next season; I certainly wouldn’t want to be the guy replacing Mazzone next season, should this deal with the O’s actually happen.

I think these are fair questions that someone’s going to have to answer. And, while I obviously don’t have the answer, I imagine that this is one of those situations where there wasn’t much the Braves folks could do. It seems like Mazzone wanted to coach with Perlozzo, like that would’ve been what made him happiest. And it seems like no one in the Braves organization was going to stand in the way of that, at this point. I can’t say for certain that, if compensation was the only issue, the Braves wouldn’t’ve offered Mazzone more money, but I bet you they would have given whatever it takes to keep him. I don’t think money is the motivation in this instance—after all, Mazzone won’t be sporting pinstripes next season, right? It just seems like Mazzone was set on moving on and working with his long-time friend, more than anything else.

Knowing that the Braves couldn’t’ve done much to change the situation surely doesn’t make this sort of loss any easier for fans to take. We all know this might mean the end of a run that’s probably greater and more valuable than we all realize right now. At least now we might stop and reflect on what a great trip it’s been and hope that the Braves find some way to replace the irreplacable.

By Carroll

October 19, 2005 10:07 PM | Link to this

If it’s true then bring on Don Sutton!

Leo, I luv ya and wish ya the best of luck! Thanks for everything!

By kevin

October 19, 2005 10:29 PM | Link to this

i’ve always thought of him being there until he retired, honing the young braves pitchers like he did with avery, smoltz, and glavine. this is sad to watch. just absolutely sad to watch. what a shame…

By Pat

October 19, 2005 11:39 PM | Link to this

Should Leo leave I’ve got a name for you…Greg Maddux. Obviously we would have to wait a year but when he is done pitching he could be an excellent pitching coach.

By Barry

October 20, 2005 12:13 AM | Link to this

I know baseball is a business but come on! The stats don’t lie: pitchers perform better here (Dan Kolb excepted)and a major part of that is Leo. So why are the Braves paying him $150k less than the top pitching coaches? Leo has been cheated for years and I, for one, do not begrudge him for looking after his family.

I certainly hope that he will not leave but if he does, it is the Braves that have a lot of explaining to do.

By Curveball

October 20, 2005 12:28 AM | Link to this

Leo is a winner, he got tired of coaching losers…besides, the Braves can’t afford talent like that anymore!

By Curveball

October 20, 2005 12:30 AM | Link to this

Hey Atlanta…what do you think of “genius” Schuerholz now??

By Brian

October 20, 2005 12:44 AM | Link to this

Losing Leo WILL bring the end of the Braves long run, whatever it was worth. If Bobby was half as smart as Leo we would have won 5 or 6 Series by now. It’s unfortunate because an extra couple hundred thousand per for him and a couple guaranteed years would probably be worth as much as bringing in a multi-million dollar free agent. 200 G’s is NOTHING to a baseball organization. I can only assume that ownership simply does not care about winning at this point when you’re willing to let the best coach in the game walk to save .2 mil. I’m going to do my best to no longer care either.

By Bluestreak

October 20, 2005 01:51 AM | Link to this

Folks, come on…There are 4 constants in this run…Bobby, Leo, JS and Smoltz. Bobby and JS ride off into the sunset after 06, probably taking Smoltz with them. Leo had if not an opportunity of a lifetime to work with a childhood friend, then at least an opportunity that doesn’t come along that often.
I think the entire organization realizes that this past season would be the last solid run we had with the hierarchy intact. So, I hope Leo has a good time for the next 3 seasons in BAL coaching with his good friend. Just not against us.
I think you will see a shift to Frank Wren as the GM after next season and either Freddy Gonzalez or TP as the coach. I just see them grooming one of the two to take over. The idea of Sutton for a pitching coach would be a good one I think. And it would clear up that crazy 5 man rotation that they had in the booth this year. This is not the end of the world, but it is definitely the first major sign of the re-building of the organization. I mean, look around baseball…this group of management has lasted longer than any other group. Its done some amazing things before October. Its time for a shake up of major preportions, not just a couple of changes to the lineup.
But don’t be surprised if these changes are what it takes for the Braves to make another run at it…this time as the Wild Card. Its worked for the past 5 years for the WC to get to the World Series.

Just Stop Panicking.

By Fabrizio Di Muro

October 20, 2005 09:09 AM | Link to this

I agree the with the comments that Leo leaving wasn’t about the money. He had an opportunity to work with his best friend in Baltimore. I don’t know if the Braves matched the Baltimore offer, but even if they did, I think Mazzone would have left anyway.

Why don’t Braves coaches have longer than one year contracts?

There will be a lot of questions to answer.

Sutton for pitching coach and re-sign Raphael Furcal.

By HobNailBoot

October 20, 2005 09:27 AM | Link to this

Most of the pitchers that have done the job for the Braves didn’t need pitching coaches. Mazzone has had at least 4 hard throwing relievers come unglued (Wohlers, Rocker, Farnsworth, Kolb)with failures in the mental aspect of pitching. Have we been giving Mazzone too much credit over the years?

By Scott

October 20, 2005 10:16 AM | Link to this

I love Leo…and hate to see him go. BUT, after being here 12 years under Leo, do you think Glavine just forgot how to pitch? Same with Maddux. Maybe the big difference in our staff can be summed up in two words….Andruw Jones. 2/3 of the world is covered by water…the other 1/3 by AJ. I honestly believe HE is the reason our pitchers excel (that and the grand canyon we call home field). I will miss Leo…but I think after a summer of coaching in a band box with a horrible pitching staff, he will miss us more.

By Jamie

October 20, 2005 10:17 AM | Link to this

Wrong Maddux, have you noticed what his brother doing in for The Brewers? The great player is not always the best Coach. Alot of times it the one who doesn’t have the talent, but the know how!!!

By braves fan

October 20, 2005 10:32 AM | Link to this

I wish Leo well,I agree with people who have stated that it’s a chance for him to work with a friend from his youth.If it was money then the Yanks would have prevailed.The Braves will attract a top notch pitching coach.One thing to keep in mind-If the Braves continue their youth movement and have a staff that consist of Davies,Lerew,James,Boyer,McBride,Devine it could merit some thought to look inward toward their own minor league staff.Smoltz,Hudson,Thomson(if retained)can function no matter who the coach is.The aforementioned crew plus Sosa and Ramirez are who probably need a good fit with the new coach.

By Carroll

October 20, 2005 10:45 AM | Link to this

Jamie: you are right about great players usually not making good coaches but I think Sutty would be an exception. He seems to have the patience, temperament, and know-how to get it done. Plus, he wasn’t a guy blessed with a bunch of talent…he was more like Glav…made the most out of his brains and the limited tools he had. But I do like the idea of Mike Maddux as well as Randy St. Clare.

By dannycardwell

October 20, 2005 03:06 PM | Link to this

guys, you wont see sutton in the dugout. he makes3 times what leo does and only works 4 days a week. you want a pitching coach? get mike maddux from the brewers. he is good. ask ned yost

By Chop Chop

October 20, 2005 03:35 PM | Link to this

As much as I dislike Don Sutton as an announcer and for his Dodgers pedigree, I can’t imagine him being a pitching coach. I like the idea of getting Mike Maddux from the Brewers. He’s done a heck of a job up there. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if his boss Ned Yost ended up succeeding Bobby Cox in ‘07. I really think this will be the last year for both Schuerholz and Cox in their current capacities, although I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Bobby moved upstairs to the GM position again. He did a good job building the organization up before Schuerholz got here and he wouldn’t have to travel as much.

By josh

October 20, 2005 04:35 PM | Link to this

Two words: DAN KOLB

no talent but know how AAAHHHH who am i kiddin

By WW

October 20, 2005 05:33 PM | Link to this

Don Sutton idea is the best I’ve heard and I think he would love to take the challenge. I like the Dan Kolb idea too though, yeah right! Hire Sutton and forget about it.