Smoltz enters brave new world with Sox

But John Smoltz no longer pitches to the Braves’ Brian McCann. He will have a new catcher Thursday, the 22d man to crouch behind the plate for him.

For the first time in his major league career, Smoltz will pitch for a team other than the Braves when he takes the mound for the Red Sox against the Nationals.

And still that boy, the one whom Smoltz chose to be his personal catcher, seems awed by the pitcher.

“He’s one of the smartest pitchers I’ve ever been around, first off,’’ McCann said. “He wills himself to be the best, every single day. Everything he [does] just is at a high level, no matter if it’s playing ping-pong. He’s just so competitive. He’s usually the best at what he does.

“It’s very rare. He’s the best athlete I’ve ever been around. He can do it all. I could sit here and throw a million adjectives. He’s a great, great pitcher, and a great person.’’

McCann can barely contain his enthusiasm, even as Smoltz sits in the opposing clubhouse. He said being Smoltz’s teammate, getting the chance to catch him, is “something I’ll always cherish.’’ He knows - after being at the other end of 86 games and countless fastballs - what Smoltz can do. And he believes the Red Sox will learn just that.

“Never doubt him,’’ McCann said. “If there’s a game I want someone to win, I don’t care if it’s John Smoltz throwing lefthanded, I want John Smoltz on the mound. Boston got a great pitcher, a guy who when the postseason comes, you can rely on him to go out there and give you a great performance. I think they got a great pitcher in Smoltzy.’’

That is easy to quantify. In 20 major league seasons, Smoltz has gone 206-141 as a starter, with a 3.33 ERA. As a reliever, Smoltz rang up 154 saves, with a 2.41 ERA. He is the only pitcher with at least 200 wins and 150 saves. But that is hardly the extent of Smoltz’s greatness. Try his postseason numbers: 15-4 with a 2.65 ERA.

Those numbers are exactly why Smoltz is wearing a Boston uniform. Because, as McCann said, “You see Josh Beckett, he’s one of the best postseason pitchers coming up and Smoltzy is the best postseason pitcher, so you put those two together on a staff and they’ve got [Jon] Lester. This team is going to be tough to beat in the playoffs.’’

Smoltz is used to coming back from injury, having reinvented himself before. McCann has seen it. Bobby Cox, who managed Smoltz for all but two of his seasons in Atlanta, has watched the pitcher do everything possible. And sometimes, the impossible.

“He can invent pitches and arm angles when he had to, when his arm was sore and all that,’’ Cox said. “He would drop down, throw side arm, throw knuckleballs, and still win. The genius comes in, figuring things out. That’s what it’s all about, adjusting as hitters, adjusting as pitchers, and figure out a way to get people out.

“I’m not just making this up. It’s all true.’’

Cox has no doubt Smoltz will help the Sox, calling their pitching staff “dynamite.’’ Between his pitches and his presence, Cox predicted Smoltz would have a major impact.

“No. 1, he’s got talent,’’ Cox said. “No. 2, he’s smart as heck. No. 3, he’s a great competitor. Add them all up, you’ve got Josh Beckett and John Smoltz.’’

But Smoltz has not pitched in a major league game for the longest stint in his career, a rehab that comes at age 42. So why is he doing it? Why didn’t he retire, as former teammate Greg Maddux did before the season?

“I think when you reach a level, whatever level I’ve reached, people assume that that’s gone, that you should really be done,’’ Smoltz said. “There’s a futuristic view that’s dangerous in playing, like no one knows what I’m going to do, how I’m going to do. So you’ve got to wait and see. I enjoy what I’m doing.

“It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get back to this point and if I were doing it to prove one human being or 10 human beings wrong I’d be foolish. I’m doing it because I love it.’’

That’s why Cox believes in Smoltz.

“He’s done it many times,’’ Cox said. “Never count him out, ever. Ever.’’