The John Smoltz experiment appears to have come to an end for the Red Sox, with the club designating him for assignment today. The move comes one night after Smoltz was removed after just 3.1 innings against the Yankees, having allowed 8 earned runs on 9 hits and 4 walks. For the season Smoltz was 2-5 with an 8.32 ERA and failed to make a quality start in 8 tries. The future Hall of Famer, assuming he clears waivers over the next 10 days, will be free to sign on with another team, accept a minor league assignment (unclear is that is an actual possibility) or retire. Jason Varitek said that Smoltz could still pitch in the majors but needed more time to gain back full strength from his shoulder injury...and with the Sox locked in a tight pennant race Theo Epstein decided "time" was no longer a luxury they could afford to give Smoltz. If this is the end of the road for Smoltz in Boston, we wish him nothing but the best in all that lies ahead.
Posts
3 comments:
I will say that effort was never an issue...unfortunately the results were just about every time out.
I'd like to see him catch on with somebody just because ending his career this way is a shame. However he is far from the first HOF to end things a bit less than gracefully. When he enters Cooperstown this will barely be a footnote, fortunately.
I was actually hope we would have traded him to the Braves before the deadline. I wouldn't of expected much of anything in return, but I thought it was a face saving measure for a guy who deserved to finish out his career with dignity with the team he spent so many years with.
What's going on with Wake?
Post a Comment