Nope, not slacking even more than usual -- I'm on vacation. Due back at my post Tuesday, July 7, but I'll probably crank out a column or two before then given that Maine has apparently switched climates with Seattle.

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.)

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During our weekly chat -- which at two-plus hours had greater length than any of Jay Bilas's favorite prospects -- we discussed John Smoltz's non-Braves major league debut, players who may appeal to the Celtics, and why "Off The Wall" was even greater than "Thriller." Click the replay button below to read the transcript.

Just a quickie, semi-coherent post on today's trade rumor du jour regarding Rajon Rondo.

I want Rondo and Ray Allen and the core of the NBA champions once-removed back next season to try to make it two Larry O'Brien trophies out of three, preferably at the Lakers' expense . . .

. . . and yet I am completely intrigued by the possibility of dealing the Celtics' starting backcourt to the Detroit Pistons for guards Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey and forward Tayshaun Prince.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski's report on Yahoo! Sports today, the Pistons shot down the proposal without any discussion between front-office bosses Danny Ainge and Joe Dumars. And I suppose that's good. Because after spending a good part of the afternoon pondering the pros and cons of this, I can't make up my mind if I would want this to happen. Know what I mean?

There are very few Celtics players in my 30 years or so as a fan who I've enjoyed watching more than Rondo, at least when he's going well. You know his many attributes: Electric athlete, a true point guard's playmaking skills, a clever finisher, unusually adept rebounder for a guard.

He is one of those charismatic performers who pulls off some jaw-dropping play about every game that gets you, Mike, and Tommy fired up to watch the replay. I'd be bummed if some other franchise's fans got to watch Rondo grow into the prime of his career.

I don't mean to make the admirable Ray Allen the afterthought here. But with his contract coming off the books next season, it's not a surprise that the Celtics would at least throw the a into the water and see what's out there for a classy, clutch 34-year-old shooting guard. But upon first glance, it is a complete surprise that they might be willing to deal Rondo, whose immediate future here would seem to be as secure as anyone's on the roster.

That's not to suggest that Rondo is a flawless or finished product. His jump shot is a menace to rims everywhere, and Doc Rivers isn't the first coach to be frustrated by his attitude, which sometimes tilts toward pigheaded rather than precocious. So with further consideration, you bet I believe there is something to this, despite Ainge's non-denial denials today. I don't necessarily think Ainge is trying to deal Rondo -- but if the right, reasonable deal came along, he would have no qualms about sending the 23-year-old point guard elsewhere, even to an Eastern Conference rival such as Detroit.

It is easy to see how Ainge might have considered the Detroit proposal "the right deal" from a basketball sense. Nobody in the league is better at coming off screens and burying mid-range jumpers than Hamilton, and he gives it his best effort on the defensive end as well. It's debatable whether Stuckey is a true point guard, but his talent is indisputable -- he averaged more than 15 points and 5 assists per game in his second NBA season, and at worst he'd be an extremely capable combo guard. The lanky, versatile Prince would give the Celtics the true sixth man they lacked a year ago. Bringing in those three high-quality players in exchange for Rondo and Allen would be daring, but it also could well prove to be a stroke of genius on Ainge's part come next June.

Then again, keeping the starting five in place that won last June may be the shrewdest mode of operation. I'd love to know what Ainge's ideal outcome -- within reason -- would be in terms of transactions this offseason.

Guess we'll just have to keep wondering if and until one of these rumors comes to life.

Check out this glowing scouting report from the 2007 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. Sound like someone you might want in Your Favorite Team's starting rotation?

About the worst thing any scout will say about [him] is he's a No. 2 [starter] rather than a No. 1 . . . There's disagreement about whether the number of quality pitches he possesses is five six or seven . . . His best is a forkball that dives at the plate . . . He finished an 11-inning win [in 2006] with a 97 mph heater . . . [He] can also make hitters look silly with a 12-to-6 curveball, a hard slider, and a changeup that acts like a screwball . . . There's talk he throws the mystical gyroball, a breaking pitch with double spin, but he denies it. [He] also has command and control of his pitches, as well as a feel for setting up hitters.

All right, so the gyroball reference was a tipped pitch. The pitcher who earned such rave reviews before throwing a single pitch in United States professional baseball is outcast-of-the-moment Daisuke Matsuzaka, who signed a six-year, $52 million deal with the Red Sox -- after the club had paid a $51 million posting fee -- in the winter following the 2006 season. And that report was rather restrained compared to some of the giddy praise that flowed from fingertips to keyboard after his dazzling seven-inning, 10-strikeout debut with the Red Sox against the mighty Kansas City Royals in April 2007.

Now, I'm certainly not suggesting he'll be as good, because I'm a believer that the 1998-2001 Pedro Martinez was a once-in-a-fan's-lifetime gift from the sports gods, that Petey did things on the mound that we'll never witness again. But in terms of anticipation leading up to a start, then having an absolutely thrilling performance justify every single word of hype . . . well, if that wasn't straight out of the Vintage Pedro playbook, I don't know what is. [His next start] just cannot get here soon enough.

Yep, that was me. I wrote that. I compared him to Pedro Martinez even as I tried to resist, and I'm ashamed. As punishment, I will listen to Bob Costas talk about Mickey Mantle for 24 hours nonstop, the equivalent of aural waterboarding. In all seriousness, it's clear in retrospect that the "Japanese Pedro" stuff fell somewhere between hyperbole and nonsense and we probably should have known it at the time, despite all the international intrigue that surrounded Matsuzaka and his imaginary gyroball. Nobody could be that good. Well, you know . . . except for Pedro.

Today, 24 hours after the Red Sox put his disastrous 2009 season on what may be a lengthy hiatus with a tired and perhaps World Baseball Classic-damaged right shoulder, we're left to ponder exactly what Daisuke Matsuzaka is. While much about his future is cloudy today, we can find some clarity in his past, and this much we do know about the enigmatic 28-year-old:

Save for the occasional spectacular glimpse, during his two-plus seasons with the Red Sox, we've rarely seen that pitcher who was supposed to be a No. 2 starter at worst. But almost as frustrating as Matsuzaka's performance this season is the notion that he's some kind of colossal bust, which has manifested itself in more tasteless "Just send him back to Japan!" comments on this blog than I'd care to admit. Why is perspective always the first thing to go among many fans when a player struggles?

To call Matsuzaka a flop with the Red Sox is beyond foolish, particularly if you put those oversized early expectations on the shelf long ago. As Terry Francona has noted multiple times recently, Matsuzaka won 33 games in his first two seasons in Boston -- 36 when his three playoff victories are included. If he had enough career decisions to qualify, he would be on the fringe of the top 50 all-time in winning percentage, even with his 1-5 mark this season. And after his 18-3, 2.90 ERA last season, it was Matsuzaka, and not Jon Lester or Josh Beckett, who received a vote in the American League Cy Young voting.

That is not a pitcher who failed to hold up his end of the bargain. That is not a pitcher that you sell low in a trade or bury deep in the bullpen. That is a pitcher making a significant contribution to a team that has two postseason appearances and one World Championship since his arrival.

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