John Smoltz, who accumulated 210 victories and 154 saves for the Atlanta Braves over the 21 seasons, is set to sign an offer sheet with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday afternoon, according to sources -- and he is leaving the Braves organization perturbed, after reading comments made by the team's chief executive officer.
If this is true, you've got to wonder what's wrong with the Braves organization. It's bad enough they've had crucial signings (Rafael Furcal, A.J. Burnett) and potential trades (Jake Peavy) slip through their fingers. But then they went ahead and pissed off their #1 starter? Way to go, guys.
Great signing for the Red Sox, who desperately needed something big to keep up with the Yankees.
EDIT: On the local news tonight, right after they talked about Smoltzy leaving us they said Derek Lowe was spotted being driven away from Turner Field by his agent Scott Boras. That'd be nice, I guess, but I still feel like my best friend moved to another state without telling me.
Gives the Red Sox an extra arm in the middle of the season should he rehab well. Similar to the situation they had with Colon last season, which was going along well until Colon hurt himself trying to swing a bat in interleague. I like Penny more than I like Burnett, so at short money that's a good deal, and Smoltz has earned the big game reputation through the years. Best case scenario would be to have Smoltz as a set-up man in the post-season, should he be healthy and the Red Sox be fortunate enough to reach that point. And if Baldelli has managed his health concerns, he provides a nice right handed bat off the bench, and for the usual 30 games where JD Drew injures himself.
EDIT: On the local news tonight, right after they talked about Smoltzy leaving us they said Derek Lowe was spotted being driven away from Turner Field by his agent Scott Boras. That'd be nice, I guess, but I still feel like my best friend moved to another state without telling me.
- StingArmy
(edited by StingArmy on 9.1.09 0118)
I think that just about sums up how all us Braves fans are feeling right now. This has been the offseason from hell.
I bet this looks good for about the first 6 weeks of the season before he gets hurt and sits out for an extended period of time. He could be a great asset if he can be healthy come October though.
You wanted the best, you got... Out of Context Quote of the Week.
"Mangini might not have had balls, but he DID have soft, supple breasts." (SEADAWG)
Originally posted by DrDirtPut him in the pen. Great closer. Great starter too but longer career closing.
Jonathan Papelbon is still on Boston's roster. Set-up man mayhaps? Between Smoltz, Masterson and the Papelboner, the Red Sox could be playing some mighty short games in 2009...
Kazmir doesn't make a ton of sense for them since he rarely goes deep in games. There's a lot of upside, but I would think they would be looking for innings eaters to hide their bullpen.