The rich get richer

The emergence of young hurlers fortifies Atlanta's rotation

Who is the toughest pitcher to hit in baseball? Pedro Martinez? Randy Johnson? Curt Schilling? Wrong on all counts. Would you believe it's a 25-year-old rookie who was 43-46 in the minors? The baseball world is learning quickly about Damian Moss, the Atlanta Braves' left-hander who, despite the early season noise for Kazuhisa Ishii and Austin Kearns, has put himself into the Rookie of the Year picture and the Braves into the filthy-rich category of pitching.

In his last three starts, Moss (7-4, 3.03) has allowed only four hits and one earned run over 22 innings. For the season, batters are hitting just .184 against him. He nearly no-hit St. Louis last Sunday, allowing only a clean third-inning single to Mike Matheny before leaving for a pinch hitter in the eighth. He nearly no-hit the Cardinals in May, too, leaving after seven hitless innings because he had thrown 116 pitches.

"You look at that guy from the side and it's tough to figure out how you're not getting any hits," Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes said. "But [from the plate] it's tough to tell whether he's throwing a fastball or a changeup. They're coming out of his hand the same."

Said Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone, "He's amazing because he's basically doing it with two pitches."

Atlanta signed Moss out of his native Australia in 1993, when he was 16. Always highly regarded, he stayed below the radar of hyped prospects mostly because of injuries (bone spurs in his elbow in 1997, Tommy John surgery in 1998, circulatory problem in his left arm in 2001) and wildness (league-leading 106 walks in Class AAA in 2000).

Moss cracked the Braves' rotation in April only because Greg Maddux opened the season on the disabled list and Albie Lopez flopped as a starter. Moss' career quickly began to take off under the guidance of Mazzone and Tom Glavine, a fellow left-hander and one of the game's best gurus of the changeup. Glavine has become Moss' mentor, though after Moss dominated St. Louis last Sunday, Glavine cracked, "You're going to have to show me how you throw that changeup."

The Braves have scuffled for years to fill out the back of their rotation behind Maddux, Glavine and, prior to this season, John Smoltz. Young homegrown pitchers such as Jason Schmidt, Bruce Chen, Odalis Perez, Robbie Bell, Ruben Quevedo, Donnie Elliott, Pete Smith and David Nied never did establish themselves with Atlanta before being traded or drafted.

Now the Braves have four quality homegrown starters: Glavine and The 3M Company: a.k.a., Moss, Kevin Millwood and Jason Marquis, all of whom are in their 20s. Millwood, 27, has rebounded from two subpar seasons to the form he showed in 1998-'99, when he was 35-15. Millwood was drafted the same summer the Braves signed Moss. Marquis, 23, was drafted three years later, in 1996, and is now having a breakout season (8-5, 3.86). He has allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of his 15 starts.

While Moss has attached himself to Glavine, the right-handed Marquis is learning from Maddux and Smoltz, often inviting them into the team's video room to help him break down opposing hitters. Under their guidance Marquis has shown improved maturity on the mound.

"Last year he wanted to show everybody he could throw 98 all the time," Maddux said. "Now he's pitching. Velocity is the most overrated thing about pitching."

Said Marquis, "I've learned it's better for me to throw 93 and establish that down and away fastball than it is to go 96, 97 and not know where it's going. There are times when it's nice to know I can reach into my pocket when I have to for something extra. But the biggest thing I've learned from these guys is to get ahead with your fastball by hitting spots. Then I don't have to throw my breaking ball in the zone when I'm ahead in the count.

"It's incredible to be able to learn from these guys. It's like having three more pitching coaches. There's no doubt in my mind they've helped me become a better pitcher than I would be right now."

Moss and Marquis locker on opposite sides of Maddux. That could change next year. Glavine and Maddux are eligible for free agency after this season. The Braves, because of labor uncertainty, have not negotiated with either one. Both pitchers would prefer to stay, but Atlanta may opt to keep only one for financial reasons. If one or both of them leave, the legacy of Glavine and Maddux in Atlanta will continue. Moss and Marquis will see to that.

Reduced workload for a master

Greg Maddux is a six-inning pitcher. His days of throwing complete games -- he led the league three times and has 102 for his career -- are over.

"They're not important to me," Maddux said. "If I feel good and the team needs me to stay in and go nine, then yeah. But they don't mean anything to me."

The problem is that Maddux, 36, can't often go the distance anymore. The Braves' right-hander threw a season-high 100 pitches on July 27. The 100-pitch count is like an egg timer when the veteran right-hander is on the hill. When he hits it, he's done.

"Anything over 100 and I feel it the next two starts," Maddux said. "So it's not worth it to stay in a game when it's going to affect you for the next two."

The four-time Cy Young winner has been bothered by neck and calf problems this year. He said, however, that he feels fine now. The problem may be only that the slightly built Maddux, who has exceeded 200 innings in 14 consecutive seasons, finally needs to start cutting back on his workload. Consider the concessions that have been made to age and mileage this year: