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Armed for battle Contenders get the most out of their pitching staffs
It's no surprise that almost every contending team added pitching before the trade deadline. But four teams improved their pitching by doing more than just brining in a new arm. Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone told me he noticed Andy Ashby was throwing with more of a three-quarters delivery in Philadelphia. So he got Ashby to go back to coming over the top when he came to Atlanta, which added movement back to Ashby's fastball. The results? A 3-0 record, two complete games and a 0.78 ERA in three starts since the trade. With David Cone struggling and Orlando Hernandez hurting, Roger Clemens' hot streak has come at a perfect time for the Yankees. He told me he knew all along getting his legs healthy was all it would take to turn things around. After two weeks on the disabled list with a groin injury, Clemens has allowed just under 7 hits per nine innings, and his ERA is a down by nearly three runs a game. Matt Mantei struggled through injuries early this season, but now he's the Diamondback's undisputed closer again. What Mantei's five save, 0.87 ERA July means to Arizona may be as important in the long run as getting Curt Schilling . At 29, James Baldwin is the senior member of the White Sox rotation. The rest are young and have no post-season experience. That's why trading for catcher Charles Johnson may have been the best move any team made. Johnson won a ring with the Marlins and saw what guys like Kevin Brown and Al Leiter demand of themselves in the post-season. His experience will be a huge plus for Chicago.
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