Smoltz Could Prove Costly for Red Sox’ Postseason Chances
Some will blame Epstein for relying on a 42-year-old coming off major shoulder surgery with limited experience against AL hitters to be a staple of the Red Sox' rotation. Some will blame injuries to Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield as the reasoning behind the Red Sox’ midseason meltdown. But in the end, Smoltz took the ball every fifth day and said he felt fine, though the results said something different.
Epstein signed Smoltz knowing that he wouldn’t be able to help the club until midsummer, but also knowing that the $5.5 million it took to acquire him would be paid off in October. Leaving his legacy in Atlanta behind the same way his former teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine did, Smoltz signed with Boston for one last shot at a title before his 42-year-old shoulder finally had enough.
Smoltz’s last start in a Red Sox uniform didn’t end up coming in October, and there certainly wasn’t any champagne waiting for him in the visitor’s clubhouse at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 6 after the Bronx Bombers used him as a Juggs machine en route to blowing the AL East race open.
He finished his career in Boston with a 2-5 record and an 8.32 ERA in eight starts. The veteran righty came off shoulder surgery after 20 seasons in the NL to face AL hitters on a regular basis for the first time, and he got embarrassed.
If Smoltz doesn’t lay five absolute eggs in his eight starts, the Red Sox are six up in the wild card on the Rangers and eight up on the Rays with just two games separating them from the Yankees in the East rather than seven. Instead they are fighting for their playoff lives, trying to fend off the Rangers each night and hoping the Rays don’t finally put it together this season.
Smoltz allowed five-plus runs in six of his eight starts and was finally showed the door on the morning of Aug. 7, the day after the first game of the Boston Massacre: 2009 Edition. Following each of his abysmal performances, he stood in front of the media and was accountable for every pitch he threw, and every ball that ended up in the bleachers. But in the world of pennant races and World Series dreams, being a class act won’t get you far. It’s putting zeroes on the board that will.
With $5.5 million from the Red Sox in his bank account and an extra $1.5 million in his pocket for his 42 days on the roster, Smoltz is still looking to continue his already illustrious career with a contender. Now the Cardinals are willing to take a chance on Smoltz and see if they can revitalize his season, the same way they did with Julio Lugo and Matt Holliday over the last month.
But even if the pitcher formerly known as John Smoltz finds a way to push the sun back up into the sky for the final weeks of the 2009 season, his time in Boston will still leave a black mark on his Hall of Fame resume.
John Smoltz came to Boston to help the Red Sox realize their postseason dreams. But once the 2009 season is said and done, he might be held responsible for crushing them.
