Already they have lost out on their top choice.

Leo Mazzone, who helped build the Braves' pitching staff into one of baseball's best, is coming to the American League East, but he'll be the new pitching coach in Baltimore and not in the Bronx as he reached agreement on a three-year deal with the Orioles last night.

"The deal is finished business," according to a source close to the negotiations, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Talks between the Yankees and Mazzone broke off yesterday with the Bombers feeling they had little chance of getting him, according to a baseball official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The window for the Yankees to speak with representatives of Leo Mazzone closed today at 5 p.m.," the Bombers said in a statement. "Both sides agreed to end their discussions without resolution."

The problem for the Yankees was that there was little they could offer to make their job more attractive than some of Mazzone's other options - and that includes salary. He will now go from Atlanta to Baltimore, where he will work with life-long friend and new Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo.

He replaces Ray Miller, who reportedly made $375,000 last season, third-highest among pitching coaches.

Because the Yankees place such a high value on the position, they are expected to go after big names in a process that could last beyond the end of the World Series. White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper appears to be second on the Bombers' list. The former Yankees pitcher who is from Queens has finally received some attention after 14 seasons in the White Sox organization.

Former Yankee Dave Righetti also is a favorite. But Righetti has just been offered a contract to return as pitching coach of the Giants, and he lives in the Bay Area.

A handful of other names could get a shot, including Joe Kerrigan, who was with the Red Sox until the Yankees hired him this season; Ron Guidry, the former Yankees ace who has been an instructor at spring training and Goose Gossage, who irked George Steinbrenner recently by offering his services as an instructor to the Rockies but is still considered part of the Yankee family.