With a New Rotation, Smoltz's Departure All the More Puzzling

Last week John Smoltz signed with the Boston Red Sox. He held a press conference yesterday, where he was introduced to the Red Sox Nation. He donned a Red Sox cap and jersey. He also attended a Celtics game, where he was announced as the newest Red Sox pitcher.

John Smoltz. Red Sox. Sounds verrrrry strange. Seeing him in that cap. Horribly strange. Horrific even. Drives a man to do strange things, seeing that image. Thinking about it. About him taking the mound in Boston, mowing down A-Rod and Tex in the heat of a playoff race. Something just.. gut-wrenching about it. Imagine its the last day of the season, and a Red Sox win means a playoff berth. Better yet it knocks the Yankees out of contention. Smoltz takes the hill, shuts down the opposition. Blows them away. The everlasting image of the Red Sox' season is Smoltz burying a slider low and in on Jeter to put the Yankees away. Say he wins a playoff game or two, maybe even throws a complete game and gives the catcher a bear hug at the end. How does that make you feel? That John Smoltz's image could be a part of Red Sox history. That's our man, our leader becoming an integral part of some other club's history! Think about Dave Roberts, who spent part of one season in Boston, but stole the base that led to the greatest comeback in baseball history. What if its the same for Smoltz? Can you live with that? I don't think I can. But I can tell you who has no problem with that - John Smoltz.


John Smoltz is the most competitive player in baseball. Maybe in all of sports (save for his buddy Tiger Woods). This offseason the Braves basically showed that they thought Smoltz couldn't get hitters out anymore. He's going to be 42 and he's finished. Many players might agree and say something like "well its been a great run, and its time I stepped away." Not Smoltzie. Never him. He hears "it can't be done" and all he thinks is "I'll show you it can." All Smoltz asked for was a chance to prove himself. For coaches and trainers to watch him throw, watch his movements, his range of motion, and judge right there how well his recovery his going. Judge whether he can get hitters out this season. The Braves appear to have not given him that chance. Their position during the end of the season did not change in the offseason. Smoltz was not going to become that ace starter they needed him to be. The Red Sox just need a veteran arm, a competitor and a performer down the stretch - and they signed the best one in baseball history.

After a week of moves rebuilding the broken Braves rotation, can Frank Wren really look back and agree that this was the right choice? Low-balling Smoltz with ridiculous incentives that would never vest? Their original plan was to rebuild first, figure out Smoltz and Glavine second. While they were waiting around for the rebuilding, they ignored Smoltz. He didn't want to wait around on anyone's doorstep hoping it might open come February or March. With all of the work he was putting into his rehab, it was important for him to know whether it was worth it. He's upset. He's upset in the lack of faith. This is John Smoltz. We know him. We know what he's going to do when faced with a challenge. He's publicly stated many times that his shoulder feels better than its ever felt. He can do push ups for the first time in over three years! Its more stable, its more useful, and its going to be ready for a major league workload, whether its in April or in August.

So why the split? Business, right? We offered less money, we require a significant contribution given the state of our roster, and we can't rely on a 42-year old pitcher coming off major surgeries. So we pass. The Red Sox have a loaded roster, a lot of money to spend, and nothing but time to let Smoltz regain his form. They want him ready for September - the playoff race. So they sign him. Ultimately it comes down to what gives Smoltz the best chance to not only recover adequately, but to contribute to a winning ball club, and have one more chance at a title run. The Braves offer none of those things. The front office believes we need him in April, and we have no guarantee that we'll make any kind of a playoff run. Should we be out of it in July or August, we'd probably end up trading him to Boston anyway. So which is better? Letting him go out like this, or by trading him in his final season? Which would make you more upset? Any way you slice it, Smoltz was not ending this season in a Braves uniform. He would not be ending his career as a Brave. End of story.

A lot of Braves fans, myself included, had the immediate reaction to write off Frank Wren, to write off the Braves franchise. "They won't be getting a dime from me until Frank Wren is fired!" Its understandable at first. But now, only a week later, that's become a ridiculous statement. Wren clearly is trying hard to put the best ball club together. Going into this week, who was the best free agent pitcher on the market? Derek Lowe. Now a Brave. Not to mention adding Kenshin Kawakami to go along with Javier Vazquez, acquired earlier this offseason. The Braves rotation has shaped up nicely, easily able to compete with the staffs in Philly and New York. But let's think about this. Were these moves so quickly made because of the reaction to Smoltz's departure? Or were they planned out, and we were going to get Kenshin and Lowe anyway? Well weren't we? Wasn't Wren's plan to get 2-3 pitchers and a power bat? Its hard to say if one influenced the other, but looking back.. with the money we still have, and a complete rotation now in place.. why wouldn't we offer Smoltz whatever it would take? We don't need him to start April 1st in the rotation. We have 5 pitchers already. We don't need him close on day one either, we have Gonzo. The state of the Braves pitching staff today bears great similarity to that of the Red Sox. We don't need Smoltz on day one or day thirty, we just need him in the clubhouse. We need him to rehab that arm and give us whatever production he can possibly give, whenever that may be.

So looking back, Mr. Wren, don't your proposed incentives to Mr. Smoltz seem a bit outrageous? Sure he could make $10M next year under our plan too.. if he throws 200 innings, if he starts 30 games, and if he's a front-line starter the entire season. But if all along you're saying that we need to rebuild our rotation first before worrying about Smoltz.. isn't that just admitting that he was never in the plans to be our #1 starter? Weren't we admitting that should Smoltz be on the roster in 2009, that it would be as a reliever or a midseason back-end of the rotation guy? Wasn't that the assumption all along? Why all of a sudden switch gears and tell John that if he's not ready to give us 200 innings this year, then he's not ready to be a Brave this year. Why low-ball him in guaranteed money and expect him to not be offended? Why all of these shenanigans? Either tell him its time to part ways, or be aggressive and keep him here. That kind of offer says, "We'll take you if no one else will. But we really don't care."

You might argue how that's a significant investment in an older pitcher who might give you nothing this season. And maybe it is. But if you have money to spend (and every team has $5M to spend. every team.), don't you always try to invest it in what gives your team the best chance to win? Does John Smoltz in the clubhouse not give you that? Does John Smoltz mentoring young pitchers like Jurrjens and Hanson not give you that edge? Does the idea of going to the ballpark to see Smoltz one last time not excite the fans? Bottom line - regardless of whether Smoltz throws 200 innings or 2 innings, your team is better with him on the roster. Boston knows that. And we damn well should know that after 21 years.

I wish John all the best, and hope he has a smooth recovery. And I'll say it right now - nothing would give me more pleasure than seeing him pitch again in a big game. That's what he was meant to do, and that's what I'll miss about him as a Brave. So good luck Smoltzie, I know I'll be cheering for ya.