When asked how his team has encountered so many pitching injuries and still produced a National League-best 3.69 ERA, Braves manager Bobby Cox without hesitation has responded with, "Roger has done an excellent job."

With Leo Mazzone and TBS's affiliation with the Braves now a thing of the past, Cox can't refer to his current pitching simply as "Roger" and assume a wide-ranging audience would certainly know who he was referencing.

But those who have worked with Roger McDowell during his three years as the Braves' pitching coach know he's not just another "Roger" and that he's proven not to be just another pitching coach, either.

Circumstances might not be strong enough to describe what the Braves have dealt with on the pitching front this season. McDowell was supposed to have a rotation that included four former 20-game winners.

But with John Smoltz's season complete and the futures of both Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton in doubt, McDowell currently finds himself with a rotation that includes Hudson plus four other guys who had combined for 18 starts entering 2008.

Unfortunately for McDowell, the injury-related concerns have extended into his bullpen. Projected closer Rafael Soriano has been healthy long enough to make nine appearances and collect four save opportunities. Soriano's projected top setup man, Peter Moylan, made seven appearances and then underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow.

Regardless, McDowell has found a way to stay positive and follow the direction he gained during his formative Major League playing years, when Mel Stottlemyre served as his pitching coach. "I just look at it like we have a schedule to play and they're not going to change it for us," McDowell said. "We all still have jobs to do, and that's what drives us to come to the park every day."

When the Braves began their search for Mazzone's successor after the 2005 season, they didn't know a lot about McDowell, who had spent the previous couple of seasons in Las Vegas as the Dodgers' Triple-A manager. But it didn't take long for Cox to immediately take a liking to the former hurler, who was the winning pitcher for the Mets in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.

McDowell takes full advantage of the technological benefits that allow him to study the best way to pitch specific batters. But it's his ability to adjust and relate to all of the different personalities and approaches on his pitching staff that might be his greatest asset.

Obviously McDowell approaches Jair Jurrjens, Charlie Morton and Jo-Jo Reyes -- the rotation's three youngest members -- differently than Tim Hudson or Jorge Campillo, who has emerged as the season's biggest surprise. But at the same time, McDowell has shown each of them a level of respect that hasn't been ignored.

Maintaining his humble approach, McDowell doesn't want to even hear about how he deserves the credit for the surprising success his injury-riddled pitching staff has enjoyed this season.

"It's not me," McDowell said. "It's the 12 or 13 pitchers that go out there and make the pitches. I just hand them the ball."

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