Left on Base: Mazzone Dishes, Markakis Signs, Iguchi Goes Home

Left on Base is MLB FanHouse's link dump.

* Former Orioles skipper Leo Mazzone on his old employer: "Once I got there and saw how they operated compared to the Braves, I knew I made a mistake the first week of spring training," he said, before chuckling and adding, "I said to myself, 'You know what? I done messed up.' The lack of organization. The lack of discipline. The lack of overall professionalism. I was shocked, and I couldn't believe it."

* Here's one thing the Orioles are doing right: locking up Nick Markakis. We told you over the weekend an extension was coming, and now it's here. From Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun: "The Orioles have finalized a six-year, $66 million contract extension with outfielder Nick Markakis, according to baseball sources. Markakis will be in Baltimore later this week to take a routine physical and to sign the contract."

* Tadahito Iguchi is headed back to Japan, apparently to Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines.

* Jerry Reinsdorf on having a White Sox fan in the Oval Office (via Shysterball): "See, there are a lot of possibilities when it comes to a President Obama," Reinsdorf said. "And Ozzie (Guillen) can talk to [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez on the phone. But I don't know if Ozzie would be a great diplomat."

* The Biz of Baseball's Maury Brown on the value of MLBAM and MLB Network: "Factoring in MLBAM, when tied to MLBN's revenues, by 2015 the league could see between $800-$900 million annually, an exceptionally lucrative source of revenue."

* Don Zimmer, who suffered a small stroke last month, is back to normal. From the NY Daily News: "For a while, I had a little trouble getting around, but I'm getting better at that every day, too. I've got just about everything back, all of my speech."

* Bobby Jenks avoids arbitration by signing a one-year, $5.6 million deal with the White Sox. ESPN's Jayson Stark notes it's the highest salary ever for a closer in his first year of arbitration -- at least until Jonathan Papelbon signs his contract.

* Rockies avoid arbitration with Jorge De La Rosa, who signed for $2 million, and Huston Street, who signed for $4.5 million; Cards do the same with Todd Wellemeyer and Chris Duncan, while the Dodgers inked Jason Repko.