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John Smoltz - is it time to call it quits?
Michigan
Posts: 4,942 ✭
in Sports Talk
From the Bleacher report:
On July 6, John Smoltz made his third appearance for the Red Sox and his first at Fenway Park.
Smoltz was beaten by the light-hitting Oakland Athletics 6-0. He allowed 10 hits and five earned runs in six innings.
The Red Sox have lost all three games Smoltz has started. Over that span, he has allowed 20 hits, three walks and 11 earned runs in 15 innings. His ERA is 6.60, and his record is 0-2.
This begs the question, how much does Smoltz have left in the tank?
His fastball, once in the mid to high 90's, now hovers at around 91-92 MPH and appears to be fooling no one.
The most alarming thing about Smoltz's recent lack of success is the fact that all of his outings have come against relatively poor-hitting teams.
On June 25, Smoltz faced the Washington Nationals, one of the worst-hitting teams in the majors. He went five innings, gave up seven hits, and allowed five earned runs.
I keep hearing people say, "Be patient, he still needs to get his legs under him."
Well, Smoltz himself was saying that he felt good enough that he could have come back a month sooner, but the Red Sox had him on a time table and had no immediate need for him in the rotation at the time.
Does that sound like the words of a man that didn't have his legs under him?
Just how many starts are the Sox going to give this guy before they realize that it is a failed experiment?
They took a gamble on the guy and lost. It happens. It's time to move on to another option.
Other teams in the same situation may leave him in the rotation and see if he can get it straightened out. The Red Sox are different from other teams—they have options, and strong ones at that.
Its time to give the kids down on the farm another chance. Theo Epstein has done a wonderful job of stock piling the farm system with pitching.
I say its time to dip into that resource and give Clay Buchholz or Micheal Bowden another shot.
John Smoltz is a Hall of Fame pitcher, and in his day, he was one of the most dominant and fearsome competitors in the game.
Unfortunately, father time catches up to us all at some point.
I think I hear a knock John's door.
On July 6, John Smoltz made his third appearance for the Red Sox and his first at Fenway Park.
Smoltz was beaten by the light-hitting Oakland Athletics 6-0. He allowed 10 hits and five earned runs in six innings.
The Red Sox have lost all three games Smoltz has started. Over that span, he has allowed 20 hits, three walks and 11 earned runs in 15 innings. His ERA is 6.60, and his record is 0-2.
This begs the question, how much does Smoltz have left in the tank?
His fastball, once in the mid to high 90's, now hovers at around 91-92 MPH and appears to be fooling no one.
The most alarming thing about Smoltz's recent lack of success is the fact that all of his outings have come against relatively poor-hitting teams.
On June 25, Smoltz faced the Washington Nationals, one of the worst-hitting teams in the majors. He went five innings, gave up seven hits, and allowed five earned runs.
I keep hearing people say, "Be patient, he still needs to get his legs under him."
Well, Smoltz himself was saying that he felt good enough that he could have come back a month sooner, but the Red Sox had him on a time table and had no immediate need for him in the rotation at the time.
Does that sound like the words of a man that didn't have his legs under him?
Just how many starts are the Sox going to give this guy before they realize that it is a failed experiment?
They took a gamble on the guy and lost. It happens. It's time to move on to another option.
Other teams in the same situation may leave him in the rotation and see if he can get it straightened out. The Red Sox are different from other teams—they have options, and strong ones at that.
Its time to give the kids down on the farm another chance. Theo Epstein has done a wonderful job of stock piling the farm system with pitching.
I say its time to dip into that resource and give Clay Buchholz or Micheal Bowden another shot.
John Smoltz is a Hall of Fame pitcher, and in his day, he was one of the most dominant and fearsome competitors in the game.
Unfortunately, father time catches up to us all at some point.
I think I hear a knock John's door.
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Comments
That being said, I think Sucholz should get a shot -- perhaps work him in when the rosters expand.
<< <i>WAY to early to give up on Smoltz. Lester has had 3 games stretches worse than that -- should we give up on him?
That being said, I think Sucholz should get a shot -- perhaps work him in when the rosters expand. >>
What's up with the B's avatar and calling him Sucholz
<< <i>
<< <i>WAY to early to give up on Smoltz. Lester has had 3 games stretches worse than that -- should we give up on him?
That being said, I think Sucholz should get a shot -- perhaps work him in when the rosters expand. >>
What's up with the B's avatar and calling him Sucholz
I think the correct spelling is Suchholz.
Clay earned the name last year. Doing well in the minors doesn't "unearn" the moniker. Doing well in MLB will get his real name back. Luso and Blew haven't done much either to fix theirs, but I would say Okajima has shed his 2008 nickname of Chokajima.
Of course, we retain the right to slap a tag on any player that lets us down!
<< <i>What's up with the B's avatar and calling him Sucholz
It's a term of endearment.