Talk:2006 American League Preview/@comment-93324-20060307104349

I think that we&quot;ll find out whether the "Mazzone Effect" was real or not this season, and I reserve judgment until then. Frankly, Schuerholz could have been just as much a factor in those fluky pitching seasons (Jaret Wright, etc.) as Mazzone, as he and his scouts were the ones who recognized the potential for a big year and acquired them. Plus, not all pitchers have been aided by whatever it is that Mazzone supposedly does (see: Perez, Odalis; Chen, Bruce -- who happens to be on the O&quot;s now, that&quot;ll be fun; Byrd, Paul; Schmidt, Jason; Reynolds, Shane; etc.). Plus, do you see him working magic with anybody in Baltimore&quot;s rotation? Lopez, maybe, but I just don&quot;t think they&quot;re very good. Plus, they won&quot;t score enough for it to even matter... No one in their lineup has any appreciable breakout potential, Roberts is coming off the mother of all fluke seasons, and they&quot;re likely to give Corey Patterson (2005 VORP: -10.6) a lot of PA&quot;s. So, yeah, when you&quot;re in a dogfight with Tampa to escape the division cellar, it&quot;s kinda bleak.