Same Old for the O's?

The Orioles announced today that pitching coach Leo Mazzone would not be returning for his third year with the organization, following his good friend and former O's manager, Sam Perlozzo, out the door. Mazzone came to the Orioles in order to take advantage of the opportunity to coach with his longtime friend. Instead of allowing him to continue to aid in the latest attempt to try to restore the franchise to past glory under the new leadership of Andy Macphail, the Orioles chose to let Mazzone walk, with an additional $500K in his pockets, which he may use to subsidize his salary next year with a new employer.

While I understand the need for new manager Dave Tremblay to bring in a staff that he is comfortable with, the break in continuity for the young staff could be troubling. Additionally, the struggles of the pitching staff could likely be attributed more to the personnel that comprised it and the injuries that befell the members the front office brought in. From the season ending injuries to Adam Loewen, Kris Benson, Jaret Wright, Chris Ray, and Danys Baez, to the associated premature promotions of Radhames Liz, Garrett Olson, Brian Burres, etc.

During Mazzone's tenure, Erik Bedard became one of the top five pitchers in the AL. Jeremy Guthrie, claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Indians, contended for Rookie of the Year honors before tailing off in the final month of the season. Kris Benson demonstrated marked improvement in the 2006 season prior to his off season shoulder surgery. Improvement could be seen with Adam Loewen and Daniel Cabrera, though injury clouded Loewen's improvement and inconsistency plagued Cabrera.

While reason can be discerned behind this move, it is also one that smacks of an attempt to make rapid improvement with an inflexible roster loaded with subpar players with bloated long term contracts. The Orioles must commit to a long term strategy, similar to the efforts that are coming to fruition with organizations like the Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Indians. Hopefully, this can be a positive step in removing the putridity of the cloud of Angelos that has overshadowed this organization for the last 11 years.