John Smoltz got hammered tonight. Again. The Boston Red Sox arrived for the first game of a four-game series trailing the Yankees by 2.5 games. They will go into Friday's game 3.5 games back. Smoltz couldn't make it out of the fourth inning. His line: 3.1 innings, 9 hits, 8 earned runs. Ouch.
You see, when the Red Sox signed Smoltz, this was the kind of game they envisioned him pitching in. A big game on the road against the hated Yankees. Throughout his career, Smoltz has been money in these situations. Those days appear to be nearing an end, if they haven't already.
With the loss, Smoltz falls to 2-5 on the year. What's worse, his ERA ballooned to a whopping 8.32. Wow.
It takes me back to the off season when Smoltz bolted Atlanta for more guaranteed money in Boston. Atlanta had offered 2.5 million guaranteed while the Red Sox offer was 5.5.
Smoltz was openly critical of the Braves in their treatment of good friend and aging pitcher Tom Glavine. Frank Wren is looking smarter every day.
The Braves are currently third in MLB in team ERA at 3.76. Rookie Tommy Hanson, who took Glavine's spot in the rotation, is 6-2 and well on his way to earning the NL Rookie of the Year honors. Vazquez, Jurrjens, and Hanson have been very solid. Lowe and Kawakami have been up and down, but still are much better options than Smoltz or Glavine.
I have mixed emotions on Smoltz. I loved watching him pitch during his tenure in Atlanta and wanted him to retire as a Brave. I didn't like the way it all ended. I didn't like the comments Smoltz made on the Glavine situation either.
It's kind of tough to see Smoltz struggle the way he has for the Red Sox. But it's better that he struggle with them than with the Braves.
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