Smoltzie. You lost. Ya big baby...

So, it seems that John Smoltz and the Cardinals are blaming his loss yesterday...not on his suck, but on the unrubbed balls he was given for the game.

I'll admit it...I openly am annoyed by John Smoltz and everything he does. I was SO excited when he signed with the team. On his first outing with the Red Sox...I jumped around proclaiming it John Smoltz Day. Since then, Smoltz has done nothing but disappoint me. He didn't pitch well with us...and seemingly was not ready for the challenge, especially in the AL East. He seemed arrogant in his post game interviews. Then, he left...went to the Cards and seemed to pitch "lights out." Maybe that shouldn't annoy me...but it does. If he was going to be pitching lights out, it should be for us.

But, I digress. So, last night...Smoltz walks an uncharacterist 5 people. He says it is because he was given "unrubbed balls." (Insert your own joke here...they write themselves!) Fine. It seems like classic not taking responsibility for your own suck, but fine. I can't see Joshie Beckett ever blaming one of his losses on something else. That's just not how he rolls...

The next part is what really annoys me. Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan goes on to say that the reason Bronson Arroyo didn't have that same hard time was because he was using pine tar that he had on his ball cap.

Duncan, who said the umpires told him the baseballs indeed were rubbed up, said Arroyo was able to deal with the issue because "I'm sure he had pine tar on his cap. He didn't have any problem getting a grip. Balls like that can generate a lot more movement than a slick ball that hasn't been rubbed up."

Asked if he had seen Arroyo go to his cap, Duncan said, "Just every pitch."

So, not only is Smoltzie not responsible for his loss, but Arroyo and the Reds are cheaters. Umm. No. Ridiculous. It's like that immature 7th grade response..."I lost, but it's because you all CHEATED." My response. Grow up.

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Why couldn't he pitch like that for the Sox? (part 2)

By now, all Sox fans probably know how John Smoltz has been tearing it up for the St. Louis Cardinals. He's not the only reclamation project the Sox tried this year.

After a rocky April, Brad Penny seemed to get into a groove, and by the end of May had a 5-1 won-loss record. He got even better in June, allowing only 11 runs in 5 starts, giving him a 3.17 ERA for the month. Despite throwing 6 innings of shutout ball on July 24th, his ERA for July nearly doubled over the previous month. August was even worse, 8.31 ERA.

The experiment didn't work for this NL pitcher, either, so the Sox let him go. What does he go out and do? After signing with the SF Giants, he pitched 8.1 innings of shutout ball against Philadephia, allowing only 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts.

Did the Sox let him go too early? Or is he just another NL pitcher that can't handle AL lumber?

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Why couldn't he pitch Like that for the Sox?

I'm in San Diego this week, so I headed on down to Petco Park to check out the Padres - Cards game. Smoltz was the starting pitcher for St. Louis so I assumed I would see the Padres put up some big numbers.

It seems that Mr. Smoltz is a lot more comfortable pitching in the NL than the AL. He got out of a minor jam in the 1st inning and then cruised from there giving up only 3 hits over 5 innings. He didn't walk anybody either. In fact, he looked like the Smoltz that we thought we were getting, a guy who, while past his prime, can still fool hitters and put your team in a position to win. I would have liked to see him pitch one game like this for the Sox, but they couldn't keep him around with the numbers he was putting up.

Just when you start thinking that the Red Sox front office isn't patient enough with players, up comes Julio Lugo to pinch hit for the Cards. His box score for the day? GIDP: Lugo

One other item from San Diego. There is a statue of Tony Gwynn in the park outside center field at Petco Park. Here's what the Padres website says about the statue:

TONY GWYNN STATUE
The 9-foot, 1,200-pound bronze likeness of "Mr. Padre" was unveiled at the Park at the Park prior to the Padres-Phillies game on July 21, 2007 as part of a "Tribute to Tony Weekend," honoring the 2007 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. The statue was molded by sculptor William Behrends, whose artistic credits also include a statue of Willie Mays at San Francisco's AT&T Park. The statue and surrounding plaza includes bricks with personalized messages from fans.

Have you seen Tony Gwynn lately? 1200lbs! Sounds like they got the "likeness" part right.

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John Smoltz: DFA'd

The Boston Red Sox have designated John Smoltz for assignment today after his poor performance against the New York Yankees last night. The 42 year old Hall of Fame candidate could never find a groove and get his rhythm this year. Junichi Tazawa has been called up from Pawtucket to replace him on the roster.

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Sox: Tuneup Your WP Radar, Joba's Comin' to Town

The New York Yankees have adjusted their rotation so that Joba 'the Headhunter' Chamberlain will be pitching in the opening game of that upcoming series, set to open at NY on Thursday. Sergio Mitre will now not pitch against the Sox. (damn!)

John Smoltz is set to face Joba in the opener, meaning the Sox bats better be alive and kicking. Despite his historic credentials, Smoltz has not found his rhythm and has not yet turned in a quality start this season.

As much as I would love to see the Sox sweep the Yankees the whole season, it is highly unlikely that would happen. This might just be the game that snaps the 8 game streak. Then again, now that the trade deadline has passed, players might be a bit more relieved that their status hasn't changed and should be able to focus more on the game, rather than distractions such as their status and other unsavory issues not needed to be rehashed in this post. The initial horror and furor over other issues has (hopefully) reached and passed it's peak. The dust will settle, and the answers to the questions will be answered.

To the Sox: you concentrate on today's game and let us armchair GM's worry about games later in the week. Play ball!

I was a second away from hitting the 'post now' button, when I took a quick look at Gameday on RedSox.com. The Sox are already up 4-0 in the top of the 4th. That should be a big enough cushion to get Buchholz started off with the right pitch.

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John Smoltz Gets Rocked Again

Is is time for the Red Sox to cut their losses on John Smoltz? The gamble turned out bad again today when he gave up 6 earned runs on 9 hits and a walk in 5 innings, taking his 4th loss as a member of the Red Sox and earning him some boos from the Fenway crowd. The 6 run deficit was too big of a hole for the Red Sox offense to climb out of. The Sox scored 2 runs on 6 hits (Ells and LaRoche each went 2-4).

Red Sox Lose 6-2 BOX SCORE

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Weekend Wrap Up: Fenway Edition

I posted this over on my personal blog, but wanted to double post it over here as well since it is very much Red Sox related. Enjoy!


Hey all out there in the internets....I'm a lucky duck and off work today. I was smart enough to request a day off to recover from my weekend.

I had to work until noon on Saturday because I am an idiot and scheduled to teach a class on the same day I was heading to Fenway Park. Brilliant planning on my part there. Luckily, it worked out. I worked from 8am-12pm...changed into my Red Sox attire and jetted down the Northway to get on the bus and go to Fenway Park.



That is the pic I took walking up to Fenway for the first time. I've been a Red Sox fan for a long time now...but never been to a game at Fenway. Now that I've been, I can't believe I waited that long. I went with a dear friend of mine. She's a fan as well....you know, not crazy obsessed like me, but a fan none the less. She got to witness my crazy obsession first hand.

Here is my top 5 list of my first trip to Fenway Park:

1. Great game. The Sox went out to a 9-0 lead and it looked like the game was well in hand. Then almost the whole bullpen drank a case of the suck and before we knew it the Sox were clinging to a 9-7 lead. Luckily the Sox offense was still on a tear and the Royals didn't believe in something called defense...and the boys won the game 15-9. John Smoltz got his first win in a Boston uni....and I believe I brought him luck.

2. The Kansas City fan on our bus. Almost everyone on the bus was a Sox fan...everyone but one guy. He and his lonely self boarded the bus wearing a Royals jersey. He had the most angry body language while he was watching the game. He was in the last row in the bleachers and stood the whole time, arms crossed with a huge scowl on his face. I kept looking back and checking on him because he amused me. My friend and I...and the couple sitting next to us joked that KC guy looked so pissed that he planned on killing us all on the way home as we fell asleep. And umm...I was only half kidding. The guy not only rode a bus for 3 hours to watch his team lose...but he also had a major creeper vibe to him. I almost took a pic of him while he was stewing during the game, but that just seemed mean. Still funny though...and on Monday morning, I wish I did.

3. Jason Varitek looked at me. I feel like such a dork that this brings me such happiness. I walked around with my friend for a good while and then walked around a little by myself to take some pictures and what not. I went down to the bullpen since Smoltzie was warming up with Tek. This nice couple...well, I don't think they were technically a couple since the woman was a nun and all...but they let me stand in front of them to take pictures. They were darling sweet. Anyways...back to Tek. So, I was taking pics of Smoltz and Tek...and Tek was actually really close to me. He was turned away, so I wanted to get a pic of him and his adorable face, so I yelled his name...and he turned and looked at me. I know...hand me my dork card. I almost forgot to take the pic since I was startled, but I would not be denied. Here is my close up Tek pic:



4. Yelling at JD Drew haters. I know he's not the most popular Red Sox player, but he's on the top of my list. Some of the crowd around me was heckling or booing JD as he came up to bat. Ugh. Expected, but still annoyed me none the less. Later in the game, JD made a spectacular throw to home that stopped the Royals from scoring another run. It was a genius play and I didn't think anyone could make that throw...but JD did. After the play...the crowd cheered and I yelled..."Yeah, who hates JD Drew NOW?" No one really responded to my yelling...which is probably better, but still happy I let people know about JD, his awesomeness and how wrong they all were. Just sayin...

5. The rain. The words Boston and rain have been permanently linked this summer. The weather report indicated no rain for the day. They were almost right. The skies stayed clear...until the top of the 9th inning. It started with a few drops here or there. By the time Saito took the mound, the rain turned from a few drops to a pretty steady rain. Saito had a 1-2-3 inning and as we were leaving the park the skies opened up and it started pouring. By the time my friend and I made it to the bus.....we were soaked from head to toe. There was not a dry spot on my body. And...I had light khaki pants on, so let's just say the world or at least my bus was aware of what color undies I was wearing. Good times, good times....really, it was. At least the rain gods waited until the game was almost over. I didn't get home until 4am as it was so a rain delay would have made me super cranky.

And one more for good measure...

This girl knows something something about baseball. I am used to most people thinking women who like baseball are there to watch cute boys and don't really know much about the actual game. I spent a good deal of time during the game explaining some things to my friend and just talking about the game and the players. Yes, I mentioned some of the players hotness....but more time was spent watching the game and commenting on said game. At one point during the game...while my friend was gone getting a drink and a hotdog...the guy sitting next to us had a question about Justin Masterson. So, he immediately turned and asked me. Of course I knew the answer. Later he wanted to know about Bates...what his story was, etc. So, we chatted about Bates and then both CHEERED when Bates got his first major league hit. It was just nice to see someone actually seeing a female is a fan...not just there to watch pretty boys run around.

I have some pics up over at the Facebook. If you and I are friends at the Facebook...feel free to check them out. There is no one on facebook who is not completely aware of my trip to Fenway, how excited I was about it....and what a great time I had.

I gotta figure out how to get back to Fenway and SOON.

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Smoltz Earns His First Win

John Smoltz had his best outing of the season going 5 innings and giving up just 4 hits and 1 run while striking out 7. He had plenty of run support from the Red Sox offense and left the game with a 9-1 lead.

The bullpen that had been the best part of the team for the first 1/3 of the season, again showed signs of fatigue. Masterson came in to relieve Smoltz and was awful; he gave up 5 earned runs in 1/3 of an inning. Okijima also had an off night giving up a home run and 2 other hits in 1/3 of an inning.

The bats were on fire with 2 homers by Youk and additional homers by Big Papi and Tek. Every batter but Kotsay (who had 2 walks) had a hit in the game.

Red Sox Win 15-9 BOX SCORE

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How Long is Smoltz's Leash?

Smoltz has had a great career. He's considered by some to be worthy of eventual induction into the Hall of Fame. I shouldn't be putting all of this in the past tense, should I?

With the Sox this year, the "potential Hall of Fame Smoltz" has given up 20 hits, and 11 ERs in the 15 innings that he has pitched. His ERA is a whopping 6.60.

Sox fans knew they weren't getting the same pitcher that dominated hitters for Atlanta, but they thought he still had some Ws to contribute to a winning club. How long before we should be truly concerned? One more start? Two more? Smoltz is 42. Comebacks get harder with age. Smoltz is a true competitor, and I think he can turn it around, but I am a tad worried.

With Buchholz pitching well in AAA and Dice-K conditioning in Ft. Myers the leash may not be too long.

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Happy Smoltz Day Red Sox Nation!

The day has finally arrived. John Smoltz will make his major league debut in a Red Sox uniform this evening against the Washington Nationals.



Every time I think about Smoltz pitching for us, I get giddy as a school girl. I do worry that I am setting myself up to have WAY too high expectations, but giddy as a school girl none the less. I have to remind myself that Smoltz is coming off surgery and that he is going to need to build up his pitch count and what not. Doesn't change how flippin' excited I am! We have JOHN SMOLTZ on a mound for OUR team. That is just complete and utter awesomesauce. We have a guy who has dominated starting games....closing games....middle relief.

The guy just knows how to win...and his competitive drive is one of the highest I have ever seen. Whenever I think of his competitive spirit, I remember when the pitchers were doing sprints in Spring Training. Who won the sprints? Yeah, that's right...the 42 year old John Smoltz, that's WHO!

I think he is going to fit in ever so well with the Red Sox and it's faithful Nation. 7:05pm cannot come early enough for me today.

HAPPY JOHN SMOLTZ DAY EVERYONE!!! (Except Braves fans)

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Smoltz, Buchholz and Van Every

John Smoltz pitched 4 innings in his last rehab start with the PawSox tonight giving up 3 hits and a run on a homer. Buchholz came in after Smoltz excited and pitched 4 innings of his own giving up 2 runs and earning the win. The outing had to be frustrating for Buchholz knowing that Smoltz is on his way to joining the Red Sox while he remains with the PawSox indefinetly.

PawSox outfielder and Red Sox fill-in/pitcher Jonathan Van Every will undergo knee surgery and will be out at least 5 weeks. With Kotsay and Baldelli healthy it was unlikely that he would have been called up in that time but he did quickly become well liked by the fans in Boston.

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Smoltz Will Pitch One More Game With PawSox

The rotation question has been postponed for now as John Smoltz is not going to join the team until next week to start against the Washington Nationals in D.C. He will make one more rehab start with the PawSox this week. The Red Sox now have some more time to try to move Penny while he has high trade value.

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Red Sox May Delay Smoltz's Arrival

John Smoltz was not light's out in his last start with the PawSox so the team is not sure they want him to start Thursday's game vs. the Marlins. If Smoltz does not start at Fenway on Thursday he will start with the PawSox. It makes sense to have him go one more in Pawtuckett since the team has Penny pitching well. There are two factors that are influencing this decision; the first is what happens tonight. If Dice-K gets shelled and has to be pulled early then Wake will be the go to guy. This would open a spot in the rotation for Smoltz this week. The other factor is the trade market, the Sox are looking for the best possible deal for Penny and are not going to rush into a bad one just to make room for Smoltz. All things considered not a bad situation to be in.

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Smoltz, Lowrie, and Lugo

John Smoltz pitched very well in his second to last rehab start with the PawSox last night. He went 6 innings allowing just 1 hit in the 2nd inning and a run on a sac fly before retiring the last 10 batters he faced in order. In 4 minor league starts, Smoltz is 1-0 with a 1.56 ERA. He spoke with the media after the game:

“I still have to work on that changeup,” he said. “I know it’s not a pitch that I absolutely have to have but it’s a nice pitch to have if the other ones aren’t where they need to be. In the past everyone thought I could rely on stuff to get hitters out. Now I’m going to have to rely on pitching. I’ve been pitching for awhile so coming back from this surgery will be no different for me. I’ll go out and hit my spots and take the sting out of the bat. That’s the goal of every pitcher.”

Jed Lowrie is about three weeks away from returning to the team according to Terry Francona:

"He's doing good. The biggest thing right now is stamina [with the wrist] and as he goes he feels a little fatigued, which is certainly understandable. He's doing terrific. He's a real conscientious kid. He puts in his time and he's thoughtful when you ask him a question."

Julio Lugo still loves playing in Boston even when fans boo him:

“It’s tough. Nobody wants to be booed,” he said. “Not me, not anybody. Sometimes the only person who knows what’s going on and why you missed a ball is you. You’re the one out there. The fans just want you to make the play.

“At the same time, I’m not making excuses. . . . I’ll tell you the truth. I think the fans have been fair to me. I signed here because they wanted to see the Julio Lugo hitting the ball and making crazy plays. Sometimes you deserve the boos. Sometimes you don’t, but I love it here.”

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John Smoltz Discusses His Latest Start - Video

His rehab is going well and he is a few weeks away from starting his first game for the Red Sox. Last night he went 3 1/3 innings giving up one run and striking out two.

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Smoltz Talks About His First Rehab Start - Video

John Smoltz discuses where he is at in the road back to the big leagues after his first minor league start of the season. Watch below:

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John Smoltz's Backyard

While most Red Sox fans dream of building a Fenway wiffleball field in their backyard, John Smoltz has gone with a different option. His backyard golf course shows that he is looking past his baseball career and may have his sights on completing in the PGA. Smoltz was asked if baseball gets in the way of his golfing:

As the baseball season starts, does golf take a back seat?
I'll play more golf during the season than I'll play in the off-season.

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Smoltz Does Well in Session

John Smoltz was happy with his performance in a bullpen session today:

"By his own terms, he backed off the intensity. Just trying to follow the glove around a little bit. But I think he was real excited, felt real good about it," Francona said of Smoltz.

The team may now push up his return date to May 15 vs the previous date of June 1. Right now the Red Sox have an abundance of pitching but come mid May there should be an injured pitcher that needs to be replaced.

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Wednesday in the Nation

Here's your quick look at what's going on in Red Sox Nation today:

Josh Beckett is throwing in Fort Myers and without the spare tire from last spring. (Extra Bases)

Pedroia is writing a book (Sox & Dawgs) and Manny's wife and former agent contribute to another one. (Red Sox Monster).

Red Sox bloggers love Smotz (The Bottom Line)

and Youk speaks...watch below:

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Smoltz Talks About Joining the Red Sox - Video

John Smoltz discusses the pain of leaving Atlanta and his expectations in Boston. Watch below:

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