Likely to become reality this morning.
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where did you hear this?Comment -
Press conference at 11:00Originally posted by JRS21386Comment -
Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!Comment -
Yeah i just read that... man thats unfortunate... what can you do though? He's got bad shoulder problems and he's getting old... i mean he just can't handle it anymore... i love smoltz i wish him the best in whatever he chooses..Comment -
you guys know where I can watch the press conference online?Comment -
Smoltz
My grandpa and his grandpa lost their jobs in the mines in Minnesota way back,went to work at the car plants in Michigan together,his grandpa stayed,mine came back in a couple years.Maybe if mine would have stayed I could have played baseball for more than a month in high school each spring.
I heard he's really a bible belting born again Christian that's ultra conservative.I guess his wife didn't like it and they are divorcing.He always seemed like one of the nicer guys in sports to me.Comment -
Article is on FoxSports.comOriginally posted by JRS21386
Braves' Smoltz to have surgery, eyes '09 return
Associated Press
Updated: June 4, 2008, 10:36 AM EST
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz will have season-ending shoulder surgery, but he hopes to return in 2009.
The Braves called a news conference before Wednesday's game against the Florida Marlins to discuss Smoltz's ailing shoulder.
Smoltz and general manager Frank Wren declined comment until the briefing, but the pitcher said on his radio show that he will miss the rest of the season.
"I'm having surgery with the hopes of pitching beyond this year," Smoltz told 790 The Zone. "We're only kidding ourselves if we try to mess around any longer."
Still, the decision to have surgery raises serious questions about Smoltz's future. He turned 41 last month, and it would be highly improbable for a pitcher to come back from a major operation at his age.
Smoltz had only returned from the disabled list on Monday, hoping to make it through the rest of the season as a closer after starting five games this season.
His loss was a huge blow to an Atlanta team already dealing with a rash of injuries to its pitching staff. The Braves went into Wednesday's game 3 1/2 games behind Philadelphia in the NL East.
"Not having him at all for the rest of the season is devastating, flat out devastating," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "Going into this season, I said there's one guy on this club we cannot do without. That's John Smoltz."
The right-hander is the only pitcher in baseball history with 200 wins and 150 saves, and he reached another milestone this season with his 3,000th strikeout.
While on the disabled list, Smoltz changed his pitching motion, going to a three-quarters motion to ease the pain in his shoulder. He came on in the ninth inning of Monday night's game against Florida with a 4-3 lead but gave up three hits and two runs, blowing his first save chance since 2004.
Manager Bobby Cox said the pitcher was "pretty sore" the following day, and Smoltz apparently decided that it was futile to continue his comeback even though he's long indicated another surgery would probably end his career. He's already had four operations on his right elbow, including Tommy John surgery that kept him out for all of 2000.
"I've always said that if it gets to that point, I don't know the value of coming back," Smoltz said Monday. "At the same time ... the right choice will be made. It won't be made emotionally."
Smoltz won the NL Cy Young Award in 1996 and has more postseason wins (15) than any other pitcher.
But he's been plagued by injuries throughout his 21-year career. Smoltz had his first elbow operation after a strike ended the 1994 season, another arthroscopic procedure that limited him to 26 starts in 1998 and ligament replacement surgery that cost him an entire season two years later.
Coming back from that procedure, Smoltz switched to the bullpen, hoping it would relieve the stress on his elbow. He had 154 saves during his three-plus seasons as the closer, including an NL-record 55 in 2002.
Then, after yet another arthroscopic operation on his elbow, another change.
Deciding that pitching every fifth day would be better for his arm, Smoltz returned to the starting rotation. He pulled off the unprecedented move, going 44-24 over the last three seasons. But his shoulder began to bother him last season, leading to another stint on the DL, and the discomfort persisted this spring.
Smoltz started the season on the DL, then went 3-2 in five starts before going out again.
Read this article at:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8202710/Braves'-Smoltz-to-have-surgery,-eyes-'09-return click to print this page
© 2008 Fox Sports InteractiveComment -
He is washed up
Best for AtlantaComment -
He'll be back if surgery is succesful.Comment -
gotta agree with pavy here. They will put him on the roster and find ways to use him. He still has it.
Watch for Atlanta to make a move this season for a big name, young starting pitcher. May come pretty soon.
Reyes is getting better and has the potential to be very solid. Every time they send him back to AAA he becomes the superman pitcher of the AAA league. He will start doing well in the majors. Campillo is has a 1.79 ERA and some of the best slow stuff in the league along with a 92 MPH fastball. Why Glavine doesnt get shelled every time out is beyond me. A lob to the outside part of the plate. Hitters havent adjusted to this after 20 years?
We need to make a trade for a starting pitcher and send Glavine on to the golf course permanently.
Jurrjens is a phenom.Comment -
We need to make a Gasol type deal like the Lakers where they got him for practically free.Originally posted by WileOut
PS. I can't believe we got Texeira for practically free too.Comment -
schuerholz can pull anything off. We have the best deal maker in the major leagues. Although he is not the GM anymore they promoted him but I'm sure he still has his hand in the player moves.Comment -
this guy is a bum. i hope they severe his arm and toss it in a dumpster. he's cost betters millions over the years as well as foreclosures. i have to pull over on the side of the road and tell the highway dept i'm outta gas so i get a freebie. that's how much he buried meComment