John Smoltz smells like mayonnaise.

Anyone like me waiting for those "Schuerholz is Smoltz's homeboy" t-shirts.

poor smoltz. he deserves a better team :(

i'd of course love if we re-signed him for as long as he still wants to pitch, even if we aren't going to be competitive just because i love watching him and he's still a great pitcher.

why the **** wouldn't we try to re-sign him? i suppose our budget is being lowered to royals levels with the liberty media acquisition. there's nothing like having your favorite team sold for tax purposes.

another thing, since this still is bugging me. each season he pitches (especially at this level!) lends more and more credence to his HOF case. barring injury, he'll get to 200 wins some time next year. he has 3 seasons as a dominant closer. he has 200 innings of 2.66 era post-season pitching (with a 12-12 record... *sigh*). if he gets to 220-230 wins (3 more years after this one of good-to-average pitching), i think he walks in to the HOF.

It'd be nice if all those seasons were as a Brave, but nothing surprises me any more. we're spending something like $30 million on Tim Hudson and Mike Hampton next year. Good times.

The Braves franchise has played continuously since 1876 and have never had anything close to a great player spend his entire ML career with the team. If Smoltz were to, he would be orders of magnitude better than the current best career Brave, who is either Biff Pocoroba, Bruce Benedict, or Rick Camp.

The Braves franchise has played continuously since 1876 and have never had anything close to a great player spend his entire ML career with the team.

Boy, all they had to do to prevent this travesty was decide they could live without Dave Nicholson (from whom they got all of 25, career-ending ABs in 1967) and Bob Bruce (from whom they got 38.2, career-ending innings in 1967) in December 1966.

how about completing the circle and send him back to the Tigers?

"
The Braves franchise has played continuously since 1876 and have never had anything close to a great player spend his entire ML career with the team. If Smoltz were to, he would be orders of magnitude better than the current best career Brave, who is either Biff Pocoroba, Bruce Benedict, or Rick Camp."

Interesting but mostly trivial
Matthews basically was and Aaron was except that he wanted to finish his career where he started it (Milwaukee).

Chipper, and maybe even Andruw, should change things soon

how about completing the circle and send him back to the Tigers?

I suspect that trading Smoltz would mark the collapse of the Braves once and for all. Nothing concrete I can point to, really -- there's just something about him that has in recent years marked him as the focal point of the dynasty and the player I most identify as symbolizing why they have been so consistently good. Even more than Chipper Jones, although in some ways they are very similar -- high quality players, both willing to do what the team has needed (while still making clear that, as competitive individual athletes, they have a strong preference and want it respected), both with most of a HOF career behind them . . . .

Surely one of the two of 'em will finish up his career in that uniform, if not both.

I think that, like Andruw's recent blow-up about having been put on waivers, this is much ado about nothing. It's a high-level athlete, unhappy about the way the season has gone, making noise about something relatively minor.

Smoltz will be back next season. $8 million (the cost of his 2007 option) is the going rate for an innings-eater.

It is likely that Schuerholz cannot even contemplate picking up Smoltz's option until the sale of the Braves is complete, and I doubt that he would be permitted to make any moves that impacted the team significantly in financial terms. Unfortunately, I don't think things will improve when Liberty Media is in control. As someone said elsewhere, Liberty Media is just Time-Warner lite, and they apparently see the Braves mainly in terms of the tax write-off that they represent.

"As someone said elsewhere, Liberty Media is just Time-Warner lite, and they apparently see the Braves mainly in terms of the tax write-off that they represent."

And this was with Arthur Blank, the guy who owns the Falcons, making a fervent attempt to buy the club earlier in the year. He would be about 130383831894891 better than Liberty.

As an aside, I think Smoltz's excellent season has been thoroughly over-shadowed by the Braves' struggles. He's thrown 190 innings, tops in the league. He's second in the league in strikeouts with 176. He's seventh in ERA. (3.36) He's walked just 40, given up 19 home runs and is tied with Brandon Webb for the best FIP in the NL. (3.27)

In any "normal" Braves year, Smoltz is a Cy Young front-runner. Combine this year with 2005, and it certainly looks like everyone who mocked Smoltz for going back to the rotation were dead wrong.

Smoltz will be back next season. $8 million (the cost of his 2007 option) is the going rate for an innings-eater.

If that's all he costs then you're right. Smoltz is a few steps above innings-eater. Braves are probably just waiting till year end to formally exercise it, just in case his elbow goes pop or something.

how about completing the circle and send him back to the Tigers?

If the Braves did this in a few years, they'd have Christy Mathewson's journey as a model:

December, 1900: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds from the Norfolk (Virginia-North Carolina) in the 1900 rule V draft. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.) Mathewson won no (0) games for the Reds.

December 15, 1900: Traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the New York Giants for Amos Rusie. Mathewson then won 372 games for the Giants. And Amos Rusie, who had won 245 games as a Giant, never won a game for Cincinnati.

July 20, 1916: Traded by the New York Giants with Bill McKechnie and Edd Roush to the Cincinnati Reds for Buck Herzog and Red Killefer. Mathewson then won one (1) game for the Reds, then retired.

Combined Matty-Rusie record:

For the Giants: 617-322

For the Reds: 1-1

How's Doyle Alexander been doing lately?

"If that's all he costs then you're right. Smoltz is a few steps above innings-eater. Braves are probably just waiting till year end to formally exercise it, just in case his elbow goes pop or something."

Which is kind of what's disquieting about this. According to Smoltz, not only has Schuerholz not exercised the option, he hasn't even told Smoltz that he's going to.

Smoltz is a smart guy, and he has to understand how this works. Would it have been so very hard for JS to call up his ace pitcher and say, "Hey, John, don't worry about the option. We're picking it up in the off-season. Just go out and play. We'll take are of you."

Smoltz is one of the best starters in the national league. Surely that's worth more than $8 million yes? IMHO he's a huge bargain at that salary.

Okay, so I just looked. He's leading the league in IP, 2nd in Ks, 2nd in WHIP, 3rd in VORP among starters, 6th in ERA. He's not going to win the Cy Young, but he's surely in the team photo.

$8 million is CHEAP for that kind of pitcher. Kris Benson, Matt Clement, and Jaret Wright are making roughly (within $1m) that much next year, for instance.

I'm with J Leeds on this one; Schuerholz is probably just waiting to make sure Smoltz doesn't hurt himself in September, and will pick up his option at that time.

if im the cubs and he is a free agent, then i go after him

Am I the only one who thinks Smoltz is being a big jerk here? The Braves have been a remarkably successful franchise for a decade and a half. Give the guy who built those teams some credit. He's been talking to the media way too much this season about being how he wouldn't mind being traded, etc.

Show some loyalty to Cox, if nothing else.

speaking of Smoltz, who the heck is going to be the Cy Young Award winner in the NL this year? No one, repeat no one is up to the task. Has there been a worse year candidates wise since 1982 in the AL?

In the AL you've got Santana and Halladay, with Santana being a very worthy candidate. Phew! What a mediocre year for starters.

Has there been a worse year candidates wise since 1982 in the AL?

There was a perfectly fine candidate in the AL in 1982 but the writers demonstrated that year and the next that they were loathe to vote in significant numbers for anyone who failed to top 75 on the radar gun consistently.

speaking of Smoltz, who the heck is going to be the Cy Young Award winner in the NL this year? No one, repeat no one is up to the task. Has there been a worse year candidates wise since 1982 in the AL?

I'm a fanboy, but I think Zambrano's the favorite right now. He leads the NL in wins - which is a positively Steve Carlton-like accomplishment with this year's Cubs - and strikeouts, and he's 6th in ERA. Webb could beat him - he's one win behind and he's 0.09 away from leading the NL in ERA; get both of those and I think you'd have to be considered the favorite.

According to THT, Webb's got an ERA+ of 158, which is better than the last two NL Cy Young winners, although neither of them led the league. Actually 158 would be the lowest NL-leading ERA+ since 1991, when Glavine had a 153.

I think Zambrano is going to win it. He's leading in wins and strikeouts as of right now. His walks are up but he's pretty unhittable. A strong month and he wins it in my opinion.

"A strong month and he wins it in my opinion"

agreed .. say 5-0 and 19 wins with 200+k and near 3 ERA. But, man!, not distinctive. One of those forgotten, forgetable Cy Young winners.

Zambrano's only 25. He's younger than Papelbon by 8 months and has already 3 excellent years in the big leagues not including this one. There are very few pitchers in baseball I'd rather have over the next decade. If he does win the Cy Young this year, there's a good chance that it won't be his last. I doubt he'll be a forgettable Cy Young winner.

That said, I still wouldn't trade Jose Reyes for him.

How's Doyle Alexander been doing lately?

Flags fly forever.

"The Braves franchise has played continuously since 1876..."

You can go back even further than that. As one of the charter teams of the National Association, they've actually been playing continuously since 1871, the only present-day MLB club that can make that claim. The Chicago White Stockings/Orphans/Cubs have been in existence for just as long, but they suspended operation for two full seasons [1872 & 1873] in the aftermath of The Great Chicago Fire.

And as just another interesting little tidbit of trivia, it is the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves/Bees/Beaneaters/Rustlers/Red Caps/Red Stockings who are the direct descendents of the first professional baseball club, the famed 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings, and not, as is widely believed, the Cincinnati Reds.

How's Doyle Alexander been doing lately?

Flags fly forever.

You mean that one division flag that he helped win for the Tigers, or that World Championship flag that his two losses and 10.00 ERA in the LCS helped the Twins get?

"Am I the only one who thinks Smoltz is being a big jerk here? The Braves have been a remarkably successful franchise for a decade and a half. Give the guy who built those teams some credit. He's been talking to the media way too much this season about being how he wouldn't mind being traded, etc.

Show some loyalty to Cox, if nothing else."

I agree with that feeling but at the same time Smoltz is very competitive and can get cranky. Odds are this things blows away in no time. It certainly seems that despite whatever the annoyances are theres no org he'd rather be in.

Also, is it just me or do the Braves, for a team thats been shitty for a good part of the last 50-60 years have a lot of stars who are seen firstly as Braves? Aaron, Matthews, Spahn, Sain, Neikro, Murphy... it seems like starpower than most teams in a comparable spot (ie, yeah i know theyre not the Yanks or Dodgers) have but it could be all in my head. The Cubs might be up there too as far as usually being losers with stars....Dawson, Sandberg, Banks, Grace, 6 years of Maddux and i know im blanking on a few more

"Combine this year with 2005, and it certainly looks like everyone who mocked Smoltz for going back to the rotation were dead wrong."

(raises hand)
i was dead sure his arm was going to blow out. Nice to see Hampton, Thomson and from the looks of things Hudson have stepped up and taken care of that role for him

"I suspect that trading Smoltz would mark the collapse of the Braves once and for all."

The fact that this and the Andruw thing have hit the wires recently does disturb me. I remember us being the absolutely most quiet org in baseball. I was really shocked that JS didn't tell Andruw thateveryone else in that locker room was right next to him on waivers as a procedual thing.

OTOH i can see JS being so quiet as to not even think its somethign te players should think about.

Anyway, despite only one ring i feel incompehensbily blessed that i grew up with one of, if not the, the best-run and one of the most sucessful organizations in all of sports history