ESPN.com- John Smoltz may have thrown the last pitch of his storied career.
The Boston Red Sox cut the struggling Smoltz on Friday, a day after the New York Yankees sent the 42-year-old righty to yet another early exit.
Smoltz is taking some time to mull his options -- and one option is returning to the minors for Boston, in an effort to transition into a relief role, ESPN baseball analyst Eduardo Perez reports.
Smoltz, 42, met with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. His base salary is $5.5 million, and on top of that, according to the terms of his contract, Smoltz was receiving about $35,000 for every day he's on the roster. The Red Sox have the option of passing Smoltz through waivers and assuming he won't get claimed. He could conceivably be called up late to pitch out of the Boston bullpen. (for full story go here: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4384410)
What's the assignment Theo gave him? Pack up your shit. Grab your cane. Move to Florida and reap the benefits of your AARP card. I'm sorry but this has been long over due. The guy just doesn't have it anymore. Smoltz and the Red Sox claim that he still has it mentally, but the transfer physically just isn't the same.
Well he can pitch a perfect game in his mind for some other team because he hasn't been pulling his weight since he's been called up. The only start that resembled even a glimmer of the John Smoltz of the '90s was a rain-out game against the Triple-A Orioles.
The Red Sox are in the middle of 20-game stretch that features some of the top teams in the AL (2-Tampa, 7-New York, 4-Detroit, 3-Texas, 4-Chicago). They need all the help they can get. With Matsuzaka still waiting to come off his 3-month period, Clay Buchholz searching for his balls, and Brad Penny thriving in the world of mediocrity our once hearty pitching staff is looking rather emaciated.
A suggestion? Bring up stud pitching prospect Michael Bowden. C'mon we didn't get Halladay, and no one else is stepping up. Why not hand the ball over to a young gun, where it is a little harder to get scouting information for opposing hitters? How many times have the professional hitters in the Red Sox lineup been fooled by young pitching? Some of the pitchers haven't even been good! Stick the kid out there and let him earn his licks. Hell, it can't be too hard to match Buchholz's numbers.
And as far as Smoltz goes: Hey, it was a good try. Theo signed him knowing he was going to be a project, and got a former Cy Young winner and a pitcher with the most postseason wins for next to nothing. There's been a slew of pitchers to change teams at the twilight of their careers and not produce. He just can't perform at a level that is expected out of the fans of the Nation. But who knows, maybe he has a future in the 8th inning...
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