A mulligan for Smoltz
Sure was nice of John Smoltz to pay homage to Daisuke Matsuzaka like that in the first inning Thursday night. No breaking-ball command, constantly falling behind in the count, giving up rocketed hits to the likes of Josh Bard . . . yep, it sure looked familiar. What was the posting fee for this joker, anyway?
All right, I’m a jerk. (And an unfunny one — that one could have come straight from the Lenny Clarke Jokebook.) Tossing aside his gruesome first inning, the truth is that there was a lot to be encouraged about regarding John Smoltz’s first Major League appearance for a team other than the Atlanta Braves. Save for that first inning, that is.
He touched 93 on the gun. His stuff and command got better as his pitch count grew. He finished with a flourish, whiffing the side in the fifth, and if your memory retained only the highlights of his final four innings, you’re probably convinced this morning that this is someone who can help the Red Sox achieve their October goals. Perhaps best of all, he seems genuinely optimistic in his postgame comments, and Smoltz is one pitcher I trust to provide a truthful self-assessment.
I’m not sure if this was the case with you, but my expectations for him were probably a little too high entering last night’s game. I wanted him to immediately disprove the humorless Ken Rosenthal’s grim report that he’s nothing more than a fourth or fifth starter. Sure, he’s just parroting what a scout passed along, but must he drizzle on every parade?
I do admit that my opinion here is a long drive away from objective. Smoltz is and always will be one of my all-time favorites. During the Braves heyday in the early ’90s, I probably saw more Atlanta games than Red Sox games since me and my college roomies couldn’t afford NESN, and you didn’t have to be a diehard, tomahawk-chopping Braves fan to appreciate watching Smoltz pitch every fifth day. Plus — and this is a silly, nostalgic one, I know — he’s one of the few remaining big leaguers whom I can remember seeing pitch at The Ballpark in scenic Old Orchard Beach, Maine 20 or so years ago. Warm memories and sentiment probably affect my perspective more than they should.
So it was a little deflating to see the drama taken out of the event right away — I guess even the sun shines on the Washington Nationals every now and then. But even though he ended his Boston debut with an ERA higher than Matsuzaka’s, I like to think Red Sox fans are more sophisticated than to do the get-him-gone rain dance after one rough inning of a decorated pitcher’s first start in a year. (Let me amend that: I like to think that on days I keep sports radio turned off.)
I hope you’re with me here: I remain just as encouraged about his potential contributions to the Red Sox this season as I was before he toed the rubber, went through that familiar, compact motion, and delivered his first pitch for his new team Thursday night. In stepping in for the ailing Dice-K, who won one of his eight starts, he will be an upgrade even if he is just average. And that’s the thing about John Smoltz. Almost never in his MLB career, which began in 1988, has he been anything but exceptional.
A once-over of his stats reinforces how uncommonly impressive his career has been. Beyond the 210 victories and 154 saves — the numbers that all but ensure his Hall of Fame enshrinement, for he dominated in two diverse and crucial roles unlike any other pitcher in the game’s history save for Dennis Eckersley — are various other figures and factoids that further emphasize his excellence.
Rattling off a few: He has had an ERA over 4.00 once since 1989, a 4.14 ERA in the strike year of 1994. Since then, his highest ERA was 3.49 in 2006 . . . In 1995, he won 24 games, struck out 276 batters in 253.1 innings, and won his only Cy Young Award . . . He has never had an adjusted ERA below 102 since ’89, and in 2003, when he had 1.12 ERA and 45 saves, his adjusted ERA was 383 . .. That season, he whiffed 73 while walking 8 . . . He has 15 postseason victories, the most in baseball history, and a 2.65 postseason ERA in 40 games, 27 starts . . . He has just four postseason losses, allowing a total of eight earned runs in 27.1 innings in those defeats (2.63 ERA) . . . and on and on it goes.
Now, I know what the skeptic’s take will be on the preceding paragraph: That’s history, pal. Smoltz’s past has little bearing on what’s to come. This is a 42-year-old coming off major shoulder surgery. How can he possibly be counted on? And I hear you to a certain degree. There are legitimate questions. My answer is this: Smoltz is no ordinary reclamation project. This is not Wade Miller. This one of the most versatile and accomplished pitchers in the history of baseball, a postseason hero time and again, a Cy Young-winning starter and a lights-out closer, a phenomenal athlete who has kept himself in peak shape, a bright man who, in his 20+ seasons, has probably learned a trick or two to get the job done when he left his best stuff in the bullpen.
If you don’t take a chance on someone like this, then you must not ever take chances at all. And that’s no way to live, son.
Even after his so-so first start, my perspective isn’t altered. He’s here for October, and the Red Sox — who are pretty damn impressive at it is –will be an even better team for having him on the roster.
Yeah, John Smoltz’s first start was a letdown. But I saw enough to say this: I sure am looking forward to his second.
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