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DEL.ICIO.USPrankster takes over Camp Leo
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
An obvious question to Roger McDowell: Do you rock?
“If I do, I’m not aware of it,” he says. “But where I’ve been, there’s not a lot of TV coverage. So I don’t know if I do or not.”
Roger McDowell is the Braves’ new pitching coach, succeeding the famous dugout rocker Leo Mazzone. Gone now to Baltimore, Mazzone isn’t without his eccentricities, but anyone who remembers Roger McDowell from his pitching days knows he held the reputation as the flake’s flake. As a player, McDowell definitely rocked.
He used to give teammates the ol’ hot foot. He performed with a mariachi band at Dodger Stadium. Playing himself, he appeared on an episode of “Seinfeld” as the notorious “second spitter.” According to Wikipedia, “McDowell was known to wear kilts off the field.” He was known even more for wearing his uniform upside down — pants over his head, shoes on his hands — during a game.
Another obvious question: Isn’t donning a uniform upside down rather hard? “There was a little difficulty there — up around a ‘10’ in difficulty,” McDowell says. “But I stuck the landing.”
The most obvious question: Is Roger McDowell, pitching coach, as unfettered as Roger McDowell, pitcher?
“No,” he says. “I guess you can say I’ve kind of grown up. I enjoy what I do in different ways. I still have the same desires and the same passions — they’re just expressed differently.”
Besides, a manager might get cranky if his pitching coach sat alongside with his pants on his head. Says McDowell: “They kind of frown on that kind of stuff.”
Speaking from his home in Palm Springs, Calif., McDowell was packing for the trip to Atlanta and his first real week on the job. Camp Roger — he won’t call it that, referring to it as “an early throwing program” — will commence Wednesday at Turner Field. The new guy knows he’s following the gold standard of pitching coaches. Of Mazzone, he says, “His success is pretty much second to none.” But McDowell, who’s 45 and who has worked just 41/2 seasons as a coach, has stamped himself as a rising star.
McDowell spent 12 years as a big-league reliever, throwing a wicked sinker and being credited with the win in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series. His best years were with the Mets, where he and Jesse Orosco were a tag team, but by 1998 McDowell had had three shoulder operations in 14 months and simply couldn’t throw anymore.
He’d gone to camp with the White Sox that spring. After McDowell retired as a player, Sox GM Ron Schueler asked him to hang around as a pitching coach for the minor leaguers’ extended spring training. In midseason McDowell became the pitching coach of the Class AA Birmingham Barons and didn’t much like it.
He retreated to California with an eye toward playing golf on the celebrity circuit. One problem, though: “My golf game stunk.” He did community relations work for the Dodgers, one of his former teams, and by 2001 was ready to return to the game full-time. “The ballpark,” he says, “is the greatest office in the world.”
McDowell spent two seasons as the pitching coach of the South Georgia Waves, the Dodgers’ Class A affiliate, and the past two with the Class AAA Las Vegas 51s. Last October, he was in Florida working in the instructional league when the Braves called and asked him to come interview. Within a week, they’d offered their prized job to a guy without any big-league coaching experience. Says McDowell: “It’s kind of like an intern getting the job as vice president of U.S. Steel.”
Coach-talk: McDowell wants his men to throw strikes, duh, “but not just a strike — a quality strike. A pitcher who’s behind in the count can’t be as aggressive. You want guys to get ahead in the count, challenge with the fastball, get beat with your best pitch.”
Mazzone was noted for having pitchers throw twice between starts. What’s the McDowell regimen? “It depends on the individual. In different parts of the season, a guy might throw more than twice if he’s struggling. It’s based on a pitcher’s need. It’s not set in stone.”
It would be virtually impossible to improve on what Mazzone has done, but the Braves will settle for a simple continuation. Befitting his background, McDowell was the sort of outside-the-box hire that might just work. Don’t be shocked if Rockin’ Roger sticks another landing.
Permalink | Comments (31) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Mark Bradley
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By caveman
January 28, 2006 09:43 PM | Link to this
Hopefully Schuerholtz’s string of off season acquisitions that turn into to gold will continue with Roger. Nobody else has proved to be as adept at team chemistry so this will definitely be an interesting situation to watch develop. The Braves have always been in need of some lively characters in the dugout and Roger might just be the perfect choice to blend professionalism and pranksterism into a fun atmosphere. As my seats at Turner are dugout level on the visiting side I will be keeping my eyes on the Braves dugout to watch for any of Roger’s old style pranks.
By Dawghead
January 28, 2006 10:13 PM | Link to this
Schuerholtz (sp) has been the best acquisition the Braves have ever made. Who ever thought Bream, Pendleton, or Smoltz would have panned out the way they did. Lets give Black Jack some time. Time will tell, but I gotta hunch this guy looked good in the minor leagues…………
By boomer
January 28, 2006 11:45 PM | Link to this
Hey Dawghead, maybe you should be Meathead. The new braves pitching coach isn’t “Black Jack” Mcdowell, it is Roger McDowell.
By Chris
January 29, 2006 01:05 AM | Link to this
I really like the fact that we got a young talent to take over for Leo. Being as closely removed from the bigs as he is, I think a lot of the pitchers will remember his work and respect him for it. He’ll also be able to relate to the guys as one of them, and I think that will help build some good relationships between him and the guys on the pitching staff.
By mark
January 29, 2006 02:10 AM | Link to this
Thanks for the blog , Mark. It’s going to be interesting and exciting to see what kind of effect Mcdowell will have on the younger pitcher’s. I’m an optimist and I really don’t think the bullpen will experience the same problem’s that they did last season. Now we all know that Bobby Cox’s contract is up at the end of the season and the Braves will do everything to sign him to a new contract , besides Cox doesn’t want to be managing anywhere else. But , what if Cox decides to retire ? Highly unlikely , but nobody expected a new pitching coach. I’m predicting that Jeff Francouer is going to have a MONTROUS season in 2006 , ditto for Andruw. Can Chipper stay healthy , bad wheels and all ? Can Smoltz stay healthy all season ? Can Adam Laroche handle lefty’s and playing everyday ? Can Brian McCann handle being the everyday catcher ? Do we have a leadoff hitter ? I believe that with all the pitching that JS has stockpiled , the rotation and bullpen will work itself out. Lot’s of question’s to be answered as of yet. Just sit back and watch Bobby Cox work his magic again in 2006. Go Bravos !!!!!!
By DilloninDoha
January 29, 2006 04:54 AM | Link to this
I’ve been a Braves fan since the rotten/forgotten years. I was sad to see Leo leave just like many of you. However, I see this move as another calculating transaction by JS. It’s a Win-Win. If Mr. McDowell continues the tradition, then all is good(Win). If Mr. McDowell starts to slip/fail, then take the time necessary to wait out Leo’s experiment with the Orioles and hire him back(Win). If Mr. McDowell is let go, well he ain’t family and he’ll soon be forgotten.
By PoliticalMan
January 29, 2006 05:01 AM | Link to this
“Hopefully Schuerholtz’s string of off season acquisitions that turn into to gold will continue with Roger.” I don’t have a list of all of Schuerholtz’s moves, but in the last few years, he has had a lot duds. Please recall that his outfield plans last yr were a disaster. He got bailed out by some rookies that he had no idea were ready to play. The bullpen last yr was DOA. Why is it that when a guy goes good in the bullpen, he is gone the next yr? Of course, the reason is money. To pay Chipper, Smoltzy, etc $15 mil, a reliever can’t make over $500K. So, if one is any good, it’s buy, buy. That is what McDowell walks into. The Braves have been very fortunate over the last ten yrs or so. They have benefited from a weak NL, especially the East. You put this team into the NL of the 1970s, you would be looking at road kill.
By BigD
January 29, 2006 09:38 AM | Link to this
Roadkill?……Right. This guy is a total Muts fan.
“Bailed out by rookies”?….Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the same man who farmed these rookies? Here’s an idea….maybe he actually knew he had quality talent to fall back on if the aquisitions didn’t pan out. What a concept. He even said they were calculated risks he was willing eat the cost on.
So….the bullpen sucked last year. It wasn’t too long ago that we had the lowest bullpen ERA in the league by a mile…and the cheapest.
Contructive criticism is one thing….Ignorant criticism is another.
By craig
January 29, 2006 10:30 AM | Link to this
when i think about roger i think about the time in 1991 while a phillie when he hit otis nixon and got ejected and wouldnt leave the phillie dugout
By Matthew
January 29, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this
They should have gotten a new manager, Bobby Cox sucks. He chokes in the playoffs. How can a team with their pitching not win more than one World Series?
Maybe now with Leo gone, Cox won’t have pitching to bail him out for his horrible managing and the Braves will finally fire him.
I was an awesome little leaguer. I could pitch with an awesome fast ball and I could hit with power from both sides of the plate. I could have been a great big leaguer and would have made the Hall of Fame if I hadn’t hurt my knees.
If you are reading this Shurholtz I have a suggestion for you. Hire me as manager and fire Cox now. With my extensive knowledge of baseball I could win several World Series. I used to give my little league coaches advice and we would have won the championship if they had listened. After all I was their all star player.
Please contact me at expert_40@yahoo.com and we can plan a meeting to work out the details. That is if you want the team to win the World Series again.
By The Hammer
January 29, 2006 11:04 AM | Link to this
As for Mr. Share-holds, I think he’s generally done a good job, but I have a question: is insurance paying the $ 13.5 million owed to mediocre Mike Hamptom this year? If not that deal is turning out to be a stinker. If so, then he should spend it on two quality players! Hampton is set to make $13.5 million in 2006, $14.5 in ‘07 and $15 million in ‘08, all paid by the Braves.
By Lew Hartman
January 29, 2006 11:13 AM | Link to this
To Political Man-about the outfield last year. The reason that Schuerholz went with Jordan and Mondesi was because he had the rookies standing by. They were at best a one year fix until we brought up Francoeur and gave Langerhans a chance. The Braves knew the kids were real close. Just so happens that they were right, after all. Asfar as all of you anti Bobby Cox idiots, when will you realize that post season record or not, he is the best there is. Look at football. Just because the Bills lost four straight SuperBowls didn’t make Jim Kelley or Marv Levy chopped liver. You people don’t have a clue.The Braves will win number fifteen this year and are set for years to come because of the actions of Cox and Schuerholz. End of story.
By PoliticalMan
January 29, 2006 11:13 AM | Link to this
I sure am glad I am not a smart guy. But I do know that spending a few million on washed up players (known throughout baseball) is a road to nowhere. No, Schuerholtz had not a clue that his minor leaguers could get the job done. Cox knew that he got lucky. And actually school is out on that. Francouer fell off dramatically, showing a lot of confusion at the plate. The series with Houston showed some serious holes in the Braves. The rookies froze. How’s that for constructive criticism.
It would be good to read comments completely before getting all red-faced. The great bullpen of a few years ago was let go. Maybe the business world should operate that way: fire all of your good performers. But then relievers are a dime a dozen. The great Leo can turn a dud into a real pitcher. Guess what, it hasn’t worked in a while, but Smoltz covered that up. Smoltz leaving the pen has shown the limitations of the policy.
I’m sorry that I don’t worship at the feet of Cox and Scheurholtz. They are okay and have benefitted greatly from a lot of knuckleheads being in the Eastern Div.
By Lew Hartman
January 29, 2006 11:16 AM | Link to this
By the way, the NL East was the top winning division in all of baseball last year. Get your story straight.
By HobNailBoot
January 29, 2006 11:36 AM | Link to this
I disagree that it will be hard to improve on the Mazzone record. For the most part, Mazzone expends the biggest percentage of his time on the starting pitchers; after a while, the starters really don’t need a pitching coach much. Examples: his input was minimal for Greg Maddox (not needed); After John Smoltz and Tom Glavine matured, they coached themselves the biggest percentage of the time (playing golf). I don’t think Mazzone has the knack for coaching bullpen pitchers (especially closers). The best closer he ever had, John Smoltz, coaches himself these days. With closers and other bullpen roles, I think Mazzone was less than successful with the Braves.
By Col. Wally
January 29, 2006 12:56 PM | Link to this
guys - guys - guys…give Roger a chance.. As a native Atlantan and who as a youngster used to look forward to my Dad taking me to see the Atlanta Crackers at Ponce de Leon Ballpark, and as someone who saw the first Braves game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, baseball in Atlanta has been very, very good to me (and my family). We are so fortunate to have a team like the Atlanta Braves and when players, coaches and front-office people prosper and move on due to the success of “the team” we should welcome their replacements with open arms. Welcome Roger….my family and I wish you every success and look forward to many years of you, Bobby, the other coaches and the players giving us a lifetime of wonderful memories! GO BRAVES!
By Penn
January 29, 2006 01:20 PM | Link to this
Thank God for those people like Col. Wally and for him bringing a bit of sanity to this discussion. Those critics who look at 14 straight division titles and call the architects (Cox and Schuerholz) stupid, no bood, lucky, etc. clearly points out the lack of intellect of the critics.
By Booger
January 29, 2006 02:53 PM | Link to this
Talk about antics in the dugout, just wait ‘til Bobby gets a digit lodged in his nostril and McDowell has to pry it out. Good time for a hot foot. Provides motivation.
Any Braves blog is better than none - and it sure beats the socceer and ice skating blogs going on this weekend. Still, this is a weak topic.
Seems criminal to call winning one of three divisions a championship. If you don’t win the pennant, you don’t go to the Series. If you don’t get to play for the pennant in the NLCS, you really finished no better than the other teams that watch it on TV.
Fourteen little signs may be the worst thing that has happened. Seems to make the fans content - passive - listless.
Pitchers start to throw on Wednesday. Hopefully, Bobby can pick a few.
By Lew Hartman
January 29, 2006 03:10 PM | Link to this
Fourteen little signs make the fans content? You sure don’t read the blogs if you believe that. The Atlanta fans are the most spoiled bunch of uncontent people I’ve ever heard. I guess they don’t remember the Braves of the 70’s and 80’s. Going to games with 3,000 people in the stands-oh, that was the playoffs last year.
By Booger
January 29, 2006 04:14 PM | Link to this
Hi Lew, happy Sunday afternoon. All you have to do is read the posts that appear in these blogs and you will see that there are plenty of fans content with 14 little signs. As another long-suffering fan (though I always had fun in that big ol’ stadium with 2,000 of my close friends) I can say that Bobby has had the best pitching in baseball for years along with 2- MVP’s and numerous All-Stars. One WS ring seems paltry. Many fans will tell you that doesn’t matter. It does to me. Don’t know how you can pick against ‘em in the regular season but it’s hard to pick ‘em winning it all with Bobby in the dugout. Game one he sits LaRoche and McCann and Langerhans for Franco, Estrada and Jordan. Lost game 1 as I remember. Booger.
By caveman
January 29, 2006 04:55 PM | Link to this
Amazing………. I thought we were commenting on Roger as a pitching coach. Why does every subject get twisted into the “only won the division” stupidity. I used to get the straight “A” student tickets when I was in elementary school in the 70’s and I can tell you that the love of the game can only take you so far. Winning has got to figure into it at some point and the Braves are the envy of the league in that respect. Once as a kid me and my father sat down near the field since the stadium was empty and I, as a 10 yr old, had a nice older man sitting near us talk to me about the game and the team and how some people will never understand the game of baseball. Before he left he bought me a hotdog and some cotton candy and I have always remembered that man. His name …… TED TURNER !! I love baseball !!!!!!!!!!
By Lew Hartman
January 29, 2006 06:05 PM | Link to this
Booger, I understand what you’re saying, but there isn’t anyone better than Bobby Cox. The only managers even at his level are Joe Torre, who hasn’t done anything in five years, Tony La Russa, who also hasn’t won a WS championship in years, and Dusty Baker who hasn’t won anything-period. So the question is, who do you replace Bobby with? I would rather take my chances winning and being in the playoffs. At least the law of averages is on our side. With any kind of luck, we could easily have three WS rings. But even if we had won two more, would the Atlanta fans even be happy with that? Is anyone besides me going to Spring Training? I’d like to meet some of you who I’ve been talking to all winter.
By LeTwan Anthony
January 29, 2006 07:18 PM | Link to this
Lew, Mama and LeTwan are going to Spring Training. See you there.
caveman, LeTwan doesn’t mean to criticize but straight A students don’t say, “me and my daddy”. If LeTwan said, “me and my mama”, LeTwan would not get any supper. Guess everyone’s entitled to an opinion and that’s what the blog is for … but there’s nothing stupid about being disappointed with one WS ring in 40 years. Since Bobby’s been here, he’s had the tools and hasn’t won the big ones. Sadly, the team probably won’t have 15 more chances in a row to win a Series. Gotta get it while it’s on the table. Seems to LeTwan that when Bpbby and Torre met in the WS, Joe came out on top.
By mark
January 29, 2006 07:40 PM | Link to this
Bobby Cox is a hall of fame manager with a world series ring on his hand , 4 national league championships and 15 division pennants{ 1 with Toronto}. He has the best winning percentage in the history of major league baseball and of course has won more games over the past 15 years than any other manager. Name another current major league manager with that pedigree and get back too me. Is he human ? of course , does he make mistakes , of course he does. Hey , if lonnie keeps running in the 91 series and wohlers does the job in 96 ,The bravos have 3 world championships and you are all idiot’s for bashing the best manager in the game. Cox get’s his team’s to the playoff’s , it’s up to the player’s too step up their game or take the blame for not getting it done in the post season. You are all going to feel stupid when Cox leads Atlanta to another World Championship. Go BRAVOS in 2006 !!!!!!!
By Lew Hartman
January 29, 2006 08:07 PM | Link to this
Amen, Mark. LeTwan, when are you and Mama headed down for Spring Training? I’m going to be there early, from Feb. 21 to Feb. 26. I’ll be down at the fence by the batting cages. I’m the fat guy with the artwork.
By LeTwan Anthony
January 29, 2006 08:32 PM | Link to this
mark, those 15 little signs are not “pennants”. The National League champion gets the pennant. There are three division winners in the NL each year - and a wild card. The wild card usually takes care of the Braves. That would have us finish, what? Third? Fourth?
Those little signs are probably made by the Braves to fool fans like you.
Lew, not sure what you mean by “artwork”. Should LeTwan and Mama look for paintings or tattoos? Mama likes a good tattoo. She’ll probably bring you a pie. Apple or peach?
By Lew Hartman
January 29, 2006 09:13 PM | Link to this
LeTwan-I’m a professional portrait painter, and do player portraits to get signed for my gallery. I have done tattoo designs before, though. I’m currently doing a portrait for one of the Devil Rays pitchers. A couple of years ago, I did several for Darren Holmes to use at charity auctions. Even though I live in Vermont now, Im a good Georgia boy, so I prefer peach. We can eat pie at the All Star cafe.
By LeTwan Anthony
January 29, 2006 10:10 PM | Link to this
Lew, that’s cool. LeTwan and Mama plan to be there and we will look you up. In fact, we are looking forward to seeing the portraits. Think Booger will be there? Carroll? Raisins? Brewerfan? doc? Robert? RR? BBFan? LeTwan can’t remember everybody. We could have quite a time, huh?
By George SteinBOOGER
January 29, 2006 10:48 PM | Link to this
and I’m a rocket scientist, brain surgeon is my hobby, you losers…
By Andrew
January 29, 2006 11:04 PM | Link to this
Thanks Mark for a good, positive column. Looking forward to Spring training and another Braves season. The rookies are really intriguing. Why your cohort Mr Moore has to be continually negative, who knows, lack of thought and creativity. Anyway, thanks for reminding me that baseball season is coming soon…
By Nuke
January 30, 2006 12:06 AM | Link to this
I really enjoy reading this site. Sorry, you guys who DEMAND championships as if YOUR demand somehow represents your own quest for perfection, kind of make me sick. Not only does this team win its division every year, it always comes up with interesting young players and interesting old retreads. Cox somehow always manages to make it work. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do what he and Shuerholtz have done? Didn’t think so. Shame on you guys. Do you really want to go back to the ’80s? Pleased to see that some guys, like Lew, Mark, Andrew and Wally, are grownups.