Smoltz to make Sox debut next Thursday
John Smoltz's first start in a Red Sox uniform will come against the Nationals next Thursday, June 25, in Washington D.C., the pitcher and club confirmed before tonight's game at Fenway Park.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona said that Smoltz's arrival means the Sox could go with a six-man rotation for the time being, though not as a long-term solution.
"It might be for a time or two through. It could happen," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said today when asked about the prospect of a six-man rotation upon Smoltz's return. "A six-man rotation wouldn't be the worst thing for a short period of time."
Francona said Smoltz will slot between Josh Beckett and Jon Lester in the rotation.
"Once he comes back, hopefully there's no turning back and he pitches deep into October," Francona said.
Earlier today, Smoltz engaged in a lighthearted interview on the Dan Patrick radio show this morning, indicating then that he thought he would pitch next Tuesday or Wednesday.
During the interview, Smoltz did not indicate what other move or moves the Red Sox would make in order to work him into the rotation. When asked by Patrick if struggling Daisuke Matsuzaka will go to the bullpen when he joins the rotation, Smoltz joked, "No, I think when I join the rotation, Lester and Beckett go to the bullpen."
With a dose of snark, Patrick offered another solution.
"You know what? You've got to feel bad. If you pitch well, then Brad Penny gets traded. I hope you're happy."
"I don't think that's going to happen," Smoltz said, laughing.
Patrick kidded Smoltz that his first start -- against the woeful Nationals -- should really count as another rehab assignment.
"Does a win against the Nationals count on your career record?" Patrick joked. "Does that count as part of your rehab?" When Smoltz laughed but didn't respond, Patrick added, "You can't lose to them, John. Then I'm going to go, 'what happened to him?' Then, the Braves are right [for letting you go]."
Patrick also delighted in teasing Smoltz about being "the baseball version of Brett Favre."
Patrick: "You're sort of the guy who won't go away. You've got a Hall of Fame career, you've got money, you've got everything but hair. And you could walk away right now. Do you understand what Favre's going through by wanting to play again?"
Smoltz: "Do I understand what he's going through? No. But I certainly understand what I'm going through. And that was a year-long operation to get back on the mound. And I'm almost there."
Patrick: "Yeah, but he had arm surgery and wanted to come back and play. He's had a Hall of Fame career. You don't see any parallels between you two?"
Smoltz: "No, because I didn't come out and say I retired."
Patrick: "But people said that you should probably."
Smoltz: "Well, people said I should get a toupee, too . . . I didn't listen to that, either."
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After Johnny Damon swatted the ball out of Alex Cora's glove (Sunday, third inning), Hernandez was quick to ask: "Are they going to put a purse on Damon's hand, too?"
Note to Globe: reprinting a radio interview does not constitute good journalism or sports analysis.
Hope he starts Tuesday in DC as I will be in the stands that night. I was in the stands in Philly for Dice K's start Saturday night and have had my fill of "cruel and unusual punishment" for one season.
looks like Matzuwalkas next weeks will be determined friday. Either he starts and gets placed on the DL subsequently, or Beckett will pitch Friday. Then it remains to be seen how they build him up again. Dont think he is finished. But it would pay not to stick with him right now and not to make the same mistake again like leaving Buchholz starting for a few games too long last season, which might have cost us the division. As regards to Buchholz, stop whining kid, get strong, mature and show us out of what kind of 'holz' you are really made of in September. That's early enough for you and you better not splinter then.
I would.....the BIG girl!
Pathetic that Dan Patrick scoops the team of 10 Globe reporters we have "covering" the Red Sox. What the hell are you guys doing besides live blogging each game? The mobile version of Boston.com sucks now anyway.... not that I'd ever read the live blog... anyone who isn't watching on TV uses ESPN's Gametracker or something similar to follow pitch by pitch.
It would have been cooler if Smoltz made his first start against Atlanta this weekend. Ah well. Hope he doesnt look like crap against the Nats.
Dan Patrick is snarky
Smoltz is a cool guy, kinda reminds me of Eckersley. Hope his career has a few more fruitful starts in it.
Paragraph two, sentence three should be, "from whom he parted," not "with whom he departed." No one edits these blog posts?
Wow is this guy refreshing. Never a Braves fan, I tended not to follow him. What a consummate professional and class act. I'd love to keep him in the organization forever--whether he starts a game or not.
Yes! I live in Maryland and bought red sox vs. nationals tickets months ago, for thursday's game. Now I get to see a future hall of famer pitch in his first game back. I'm so excited I get to go to this game! John Smoltz has always been one of my favorite players, I was ecstatic when he signed with the sox, but I never thought I would ever get to watch him pitch.
Woah......did Smoltzie get a hair transplant? I thought he was partially bald.
Don't be so quick to trade Penny who has proven he can pitch this year. Let's wait for Smotz to get two or three starts.
Why not Bump his start back a day to the 26th. Imagine Smoltz back from surgery pitching his first game of the season in the town and against the team that said they didn't need his services anymore. That would then slot him between Lester and Wake which is pretty safe if Lester keeps on top of his game.
jpr - maybe you should apply to be a copy editor at the Globe. Otherwise, screw.
For all those suggesting that it would be "cool" to pitch against the Braves, I think they were trying to avoid that... I'm sure Smoltz, while a professional, would be a little nervous in Game 1 to begin with. While the game against the Nats will be great, I'm guessing he's on a 75 pitch count, so maybe 4, 5 innings at most.
irishcat.. they did that on purpose, Smoltz does not want to pitch against Atlanta.
isn't smoltz bald? whatsup with that extreme hairdo and the visor
The video changed and he's bald again. Bring back Smoltz with spiky hair video.
If Smoltz pitches well, my passion bucket will overflow.
Who was the clown at the Globe who reported yesterday that he was pitching a week from tonight? LOL. I wish these people would actually fact check before typing. All of us reading the article can hear something and type it w/out checking. It's called blogging! The Boston Globe has become the Boston Blog(e) ...
And what ever happened to proof reading articles before publication? Please don't say they use spell check in Microsoft Word ... please! LOL ..
And some wonder why some newspapers are going out of business. Some are thriving ..
As long as the Sox do what Smoltz wants them to do he'll continue to act like a class act. But if they don't . . . well, let's just wait and see.
Another blog post, another round of derisive comments about how worthless it is. You spent probably 3 minutes reading it, then another 3 minutes feeling compelled to let everyone know how much of a baseball and journalistic genius you are, and how the piece wasn't worth your valuable time. You could have saved yourself 6 minutes and skipped over it.
Note to ka: Your a PUNK!
Yesterday, they reported what they knew about when he would start. Today, there's more information. That's how it works.
Tomorow... YES! There will be more NEWS.
Btw - This is the Blog section of the Globe. You should expect blog type information. And frequent updates. And less than perfect grammar & spelling.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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