Tagged: John Smoltz
Legends better served by being quiet and moving forward
By Bud L. Ellis
budmansbravesbeat.mlblogs.com
ATLANTA
— It’s time for Tom Glavine and John Smoltz to take the high road.
Yes, I know it’s hard when you’ve performed at the very top
of your field for the past 20 years. Yes, I know it’s difficult when the employer for whom you’ve plied your craft for most, if not all, of those two decades doesn’t believe
it in their best interest to employ your services.
But the words coming from the mouths of Glavine and Smoltz –
two future Hall of Famers who were foundational pillars of the Braves’
unprecedented run of division titles through the 1990s and the first part of
this decade – only make the breaking up even harder to do.
Smoltz, who signed with Boston as a free agent in January, criticized
the Braves for not offering more guaranteed money when he left. Glavine, who the Braves
released Wednesday after deciding the results of the lefty’s minor-league rehab
outings weren’t good enough to warrant placement on the 25-man roster, came out
today on an Atlanta radio station and criticized the Braves for their decision.
Smoltz chimed in shortly after news broke of Glavine’s
release Wednesday, once again taking shots at Atlanta
for its treatment of both players. Braves Nation has swayed with
mixed emotions the past 48 hours, ranging from rage at the thought of these franchise icons
toeing the slab for somebody else, to those who believe time has passed by both
star hurlers.
Enough, already.
Look, nobody can refute the importance of Smoltz and Glavine
to the Braves during the salad days. But this is 2009, and we’re talking about
pitchers on the other side of 40 who are coming off surgery, pitchers who
combined to pitch in just 19 games last season.
Nobody can deny the work done by Glavine and Smoltz in an Atlanta uniform will
resonate as long as anybody talks about elite pitching, or baseball in this
city. But again, that was then, and this is now.
And the harsh reality of now is, the Braves are better
served without the services of either former Cy Young winner.
Frank Wren watched Glavine, Smoltz, Mike Hampton and Tim
Hudson take up extended residence on the disabled list in 2008. Hell-bent on
not having that happen again, the Braves’ GM reconstructed the starting
rotation this offseason, landing Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Kenshin
Kawakami to join emerging star Jair Jurrjens. Smoltz was offered a contract
that hinged mostly on incentive money, a fair offer for a pitcher who wasn’t
going to be ready at the start of the season (and still hasn’t thrown a
major-league pitch through the first nine weeks of the season).
Glavine was signed in Feburary as an insurance policy. If
healthy, he would be the fifth starter. But he wasn’t. And after a setback in
early April, followed by several rehab starts in recent weeks, the Braves brass
decided Tommy Hanson’s 22-year-old arm and 99-mph fastball would better fill
the fifth spot than Glavine’s sheer will to compete.
And that’s what all of this really comes down to, doesn’t
it? The competitive nature that drives an athlete to great heights, to the very
stratosphere of his sport. It’s not easy to shut that off if one believes he
still can perform. I can totally appreciate and respect that. I don’t blame
Glavine or Smoltz one bit for trying to pitch, if they are able.
But I do blame them for the whining and belly-aching about not
being able to pitch here. The Braves have made it crystal clear: they no longer
wish to employ either Tom Glavine or John Smoltz.
At the end of the day, both legends would be better served
by accepting that reality and moving on with their careers and their lives.
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Wren’s nest aflutter with flurry of gutsy moves
By Bud L. Ellis
budmansbravesbeat.mlblogs.com
ATLANTA
– Say this for Frank Wren: the man has guts.
The Braves GM is the talk of baseball this morning, one day
after a dizzying flurry of late-afternoon moves resulted in the departure of a
franchise icon and future Hall of Famer, the promotion of the organization’s
most ballyhooed prospect in years, and the acquisition of a player who
addresses the team’s most glaring needs.
Taken as singular events, the release of Tom Glavine, the
promotion of Tommy Hanson, or the trade for Nate McLouth would be attention-grabbing
transactions. But all three in one day? That’s a seismic shift, one that
changes the perceptions of this team, and the man calling the shots.
Heading into last season, Braves Nation was all aflutter
about the reunion of Glavine and John Smoltz in the starting rotation. We all
know how that sad story played out: Both missed significant time with injuries
(as did Mike Hampton – no surprise there – and Tim Hudson – quite a surprise),
helping to torch the rotation and plunge the Braves to their first 90-loss
season since 1990.
Smoltz signed with Boston
in the offseason, and Braves fans crucified Wren for not guaranteeing more
money to a pitcher who threw just 28 innings the year before, one coming off
his fifth major surgical procedure. I wrote the day Smoltz left it was a
difficult decision, but the right decision to make.
I feel the same about Glavine.
If indeed there are concerns about velocity and pitch
location, the Braves would be doing themselves a disservice by thinking Glavine
could help them win. This coming from somebody who watched with his own two
eyes as Glavine threw eight shutout, one-hit innings to win Game 6 of the World
Series in 1995.
That was 14 years ago. The goal is not to wax poetic about
years gone by; it’s about adding to those memories by making the playoffs this
season. There comes a time where even future Hall of Famers don’t have it
anymore (Steve Carlton, anyone? Fifty earned runs and 12 homers allowed in his
final 52 2/3 innings), and Wren and Co.
believe that time has come for Glavine.
Of course, it’s a little easier to make such a move when you
can plug in a 22-year-old who throws a wicked slider, a 99 mph fastball, and
who has dominated at Triple-A. It’s never been a question of if Hanson would be
promoted this season, but when. After striking out 90 hitters in 66 1/3 innings
pitched for Gwinnett, with just 11 earned runs allowed, his time has arrived.
The right-hander gets the nod Saturday night against Milwaukee at Turner Field.
It’s a bold move, thrusting a rookie hurler into the mix
with so much riding on the line – the Braves open play today six games in
arrears of Philly in the loss column – but Hanson isn’t your average rookie.
There hasn’t been a young arm come through the Braves’ farm system generating this
much buzz since Steve Avery. There is nothing left for Hanson to prove in the
minors, and the big-league Braves need Hanson in the rotation (and for that
matter, need the impressive Kris Medlen to bolster the set-up guys in the
bullpen).
Pitching hasn’t been the Braves’ problem, though (thanks
largely to moves made by Wren the past two years: signing Derek Lowe, trading
for Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez). Offensive production – or rather, an
offensive excuse for outfield production – has been. Once again, Wren moved
with bold and daring strokes. Tuesday, he sent the promising, yet overmatched,
Jordan Schafer to Gwinnett. One day later, he filled the black hole in center
by shipping three prospects to Pittsburgh
for McLouth, a Gold Glover who does two things – hit for power and steal bases
– the Braves sorely need.
To get a player who hit 26 homers, 46 doubles (tops in the
NL) and stole 23-of-26 bases last season WITHOUT giving up any of the team’s
top prospects – Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez, and Jeff Locke aren’t in the
class of Hanson, Medlen, Jason Heyward or Freddie Freeman – is a steal. This
isn’t Wren renting a player for two months or a season and a half, either. At
27 years old and locked up through 2011 (with a club option for 2012), McLouth
becomes a key part of this team’s foundation for the foreseeable future.
The timing of the deal, pulling the trigger in the first
week of June, shows Wren was not willing to watch the Braves’ offense languish
any longer. Instead of hoping Glavine could turn back the clock, hoping Jeff
Francoeur would remember to hit, hoping Gregor Blanco could add something
offensively to the outfield, Wren eschewed relying on hope and went to work on
fixing his team.
It would’ve been easy to stand pat, to trot Glavine out for
a farewell tour, to hold off promoting Hanson, to hope the current cast of
outfielders would hit. But Wren knew something had to be done.
Give him credit for having the guts to act.
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Lowe on the mound gives Braves high hopes
By Bud L. Ellis
budmansbravesbeat.com
ATLANTA — I’ve seen some pretty good pitching in my day.
I’m a Braves fan, after all, and throughout the 1990s and the first part of this decade, we were treated to some of the greatest pitching of this — or any other — generation.
Night after night after night, the Braves sent the likes of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz to the bump. Most nights, those three future Hall of Famers dominated in a way that we’ll wax poetic about for years to come.
Those days, as anybody who watched this team last season can attest, are over. Instead of nightly oohing and aahing, I spent most of last season writing on http://braves.today.com about yet another rotten pitching performance, another member of the starting rotation landing on the disabled list, another loss that eventually piled up to equal 90.
But Derek Lowe took us back to the heyday of Braves’ pitching dominance Sunday night, authoring a command performance on opening night. Beyond the numbers — and believe me, eight innings of two-hit, shutout ball with no walks, against a great offensive team in a hitter’s yard — it’s the way Lowe went about his business that struck me as ultra-impressive.
Folks everywhere moaned and groaned about the Braves’ lack of a pure ace. Perhaps it’s because for the first two months of the offseason, Atlanta seemed destined to land Jake Peavy, whose performance and persona personify ace in every sense of the word.
Lowe? Nowhere near the sexy, seductive pick like Peavy.
But who would you rather have out there at the top of the rotation every fifth day? Granted, Peavy is younger and throws harder. But Lowe knows how to pitch, folks, and the way he threw that heavy sinker on Sunday, it shows you that being smart and staying in control can go a long way toward success when you’re on the hill.
Lowe’s never been on the DL, annually generates double-digit wins and 200 innings, and showed Sunday night the cool calm at the helm that has helped him win six postseason games and post a career playoff ERA of 3.35.
More importantly, Lowe showed Sunday night that he can be the guy who helps lead this team back from last season’s unmitigated train wreck and back into contention. No, he won’t throw a two-hit shutout every time out. But more often than not, he’s going to give his team a chance to win. He’s going to pitch deep into games. He’s going to use that sinker, and his poise, to head off trouble at the pass.
After last season, that in and of itself is enough to make you feel good if you’re a Braves fan.
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