Moving to a new location
AJC blogs are moving to a new technical platform. So check out Terence Moore’s new blog home and bookmark it.
Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2009 > February > 06
Friday, February 6, 2009
McDowell creating own name with Braves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They refuse to call it Camp Roger. You know, as in the spinoff to the famous Camp Leo. Instead, Braves officials refer to the week-long session that just ended on Friday at Turner Field as this: “The Atlanta Braves early pitching program.”
That’s all.
So if you didn’t know better, you’d think Roger McDowell is trying to spend his fourth season as Braves pitching coach separating himself from his legendary predecessor.
You should know better. McDowell couldn’t care less.
Despite operating with a lesser resume and fewer Hall of Famers than his legendary predecessor, McDowell hasn’t complained nor flinched since entering the considerable shadow of Leo Mazzone.
“Obviously, I have all the respect in the world for Leo,” said McDowell, a pitching coach for two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Class AAA team before joining the Braves. “When we played the Braves during spring training, I always made it a point to go over and say, ‘Hi,’ to both Bobby (Braves manager Bobby Cox) and Leo and the rest of the staff.”
OK. But what about this confusion over Camp Roger, the Camp Formerly Known As Leo or whatever? It must be needless confusion. After all, McDowell shrugged, saying, “It’s neither here nor there. It is what it is. Guys come in and throw, and whatever everybody wants to call it, they can call it whatever they want. It’s just good that we have it, and we have it available for guys who want to come in.”
This also is good: The Braves have McDowell, the impressive reliever for 12 major league seasons through 1996 before he started to prepare for a career as a pitching coach. Now he is reshaping the staff of the Braves’ post-Cy Young-heavy era, and he is doing so with much help from his mellow personality.
Said veteran third baseman Chipper Jones, glancing around the home clubhouse at Turner Field this week toward the lockers of pitchers, “We’ve got a lot of young guys in here, and there’s some need for some constant baby sitting. Some of these guys will be taking their diapers off pretty soon as Dick Vermeil would say, and we’ll see how they blossom.”
Thus the presence of McDowell, who prefers softer tones than his louder but legendary predecessor.
“Yeah, Leo got a little frustrated,” said Jones, referring to Mazzone, who recently confessed to making a mistake by shoving away 26 years in the Braves organization four seasons ago to join his best friend and big bucks with the Baltimore Orioles. Added Jones, “You know, to Leo’s defense, it’s hard not to get a little spoiled when you’re running out Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, Neagle.”
Instead, McDowell has good pitchers instead of great ones. They’ll range from the durable Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez to the promising Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson to the iffy Tom Glavine.
That’s better than last year, when the Braves’ ERA went from one of the National League’s best through the early season to one of its worst at the end after injuries and age took its toll.
Anyway, if this pitching coach thing does the unlikely someday for McDowell and doesn’t work out, it’s like this: He appeared in an episode of Seinfeld. “It was a spoof off the movie ‘JFK’ about the second shooter,” said McDowell, smiling. “I was the second shooter, and I still get a check every time the episode runs.”
Thirteen dollars and 50 cents.
Guess McDowell is hoping this pitching coach thing keeps working out.
Permalink | Comments (32) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
