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Mazzone may be New York-boundBraves pitching coach negotiating with Yankees
By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 10/18/05 The New York Yankees are negotiating with Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone and could be close to getting him to trade in his tomahawk for pinstripes.
Hours after Yankees manager Joe Torre gave Mazzone a ringing endorsement Tuesday, Mazzone's attorney confirmed talks with the Yankees began several days ago and had progressed.
"We have been talking to the Yankees, that's correct," said attorney Jack Reale, who said he's negotiated with the Yankees and also had discussions with the Baltimore Orioles about their interest in Mazzone.
Mazzone, 57, didn't return messages left on his voicemail. He has been with the Braves organization since 1979 and been their major league pitching coach since 1990, coaching six Cy Young Award winners and nine 20-game winners in that span.
"Leo has great affection for the Braves organization and Bobby Cox but has reached a state in his career where, for his benefit and his family's benefit, he has to consider all his options," Reale said. "That's what he's in the process of doing right now. We're proceeding in a formalized manner."
One day after news spread that the Yankees received permission from the Braves to speak to Mazzone, Torre said he had recommended him as his next pitching coach.
"Leo is very good at what he does," Torre told reporters at a news conference Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, his first public comments since the Yankees were eliminated by the Los Angeles Angels in the first round of the playoffs. Torre also announced he will return as manager of the team next year.
"I was managing the Braves when Leo was in the minor league system over there. So he wouldn't be a stranger to me. . . . I'm going to be consulted. I hope that what I have to say goes a long way."
Mazzone's contract expires in mid-November.
"All we're saying right now is 'no comment,' " Braves manager Bobby Cox said from Florida, where he's been in meetings with top Braves officials and scouts to begin planning the construction of next year's team.
"He's been invited back here. There's a verbal agreement."
That agreement, however, between Mazzone and general manager John Schuerholz only addresses what Mazzone would be paid if he's back with the Braves in 2006.
Like other Braves coaches, Mazzone works under one-year contracts. The team won't do multi-year deals with coaches.
The Orioles are interested in Mazzone, a friend of Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo for many years. But that interest was initially complicated by the condition of highly regarded current Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller, who was still hospitalized after surgery for an aortic aneurysm.
Reale said the Orioles' situation had become clearer by Tuesday, though he declined to elaborate. "We have spoken to Baltimore," he said. "They're definitely in the picture."
Mel Stottlemyre, who quit last week after 10 seasons on the Yankees coaching staff, was the top-paid pitching coach in the majors at more than $400,000 annually — about $200,000 more than Mazzone was paid by the Braves.
Cox and Schuerholz are signed through 2006, and management uncertainty beyond that may have contributed to Mazzone's consideration of other offers.
Torre, who has two years left on his contract, considered stepping down after a season in which his staff came under frequent criticism by management. But after several days of positive meetings with team officials, he decided to stay.
The pitching coach job was discussed in those meetings.
"They asked me about what are my thoughts," Torre said. "I said I had no problem [with Mazzone]. I know him. A good guy. Obviously he's very good at what he does because of his track record in Atlanta."
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