My morning routine today started in the same way it always has. I get up, turn the computer on, I check my Facebook, and my favorite sports news websites.
Little did I know, I would receive the jolt of my sports lifetime when I logged onto ESPN's website.
“John Smoltz Agrees To Contract With Boston Red Sox.” I was immediately heartbroken. I signed onto the Atlanta news website to confirm, and there it was.
January 8, 2009 now holds significance that I never saw coming. Sure, I heard all the rumors that it was a possibility. However, I fully trusted GM Frank Wren and team president John Schuerholtz to bring the icon back for the 2009 season.
After all, Smoltz is the face of the franchise. He is the longest tenured Brave, and the only link to the beginning of the 15-year division title streak. Many baseball types, myself included, thought that Smoltz’s career was over after the most recent shoulder injury last season.
The early reports of his throwing program indicated he was ready to come back and play ball again.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for the Braves front office to believe that the future Hall of Famer deserved a contract befitting of a legend.
Indications are that the Braves low-balled Smoltz which led him to this decision.
This is just the latest in an offseason full of peril for the Braves.
The problems started with the six-week long trade discussions for Jake Peavy, continued with A.J. Burnett spurning Atlanta for the Yankees, and it got a lot worse with the botched handling of the Rafael Furcal situation. Now, it has finally reached its' pinnacle with Smoltz leaving for Boston.
For years, the Atlanta Braves organization was the picture of professionalism and a model franchise. If you put all of 2008's winter gaffes together, you see a clear picture of front office incompetence.
The spin they placed on the broken down Peavy talks was that the Padres kept coming back to the table wanting more.
All indications were that San Diego desired a top prospect in addition to Yunel Escobar. The ultimate reason the deal never got done—yep you guessed it, Frank Wren.
Why would Wren go after the oft-injured Burnett when Derek Lowe, who surpasses Burnett in every facet of the game, was available for less money?
Burnett’s best seasons have been in contract years. The other years were mostly spent on the disabled list. Lowe has never been on the DL.
Rafael Furcal? Why would the Braves need Furcal?
They have Yunel Escobar at short. Unless you are trying to sign Furcal to move Escobar for starting pitching, it doesn’t make sense.
They tried to sign Furcal to play second base, while leaving Escobar at short.
After seeing everything that has transpired this offseason, I’m not so sure that I completely blame Furcal’s agents for the miscommunication that was alleged in those negotiations.
I’m sensing a pattern of ineptitude coming from the Braves front office. I can forgive one misstep. I can understand not getting every free agent or trade you try to acquire.
When there are multiple occasions, such as this, in a single offseason, it makes one wonder what is really going on.
There’s a reason Frank Wren has not been successful at his other stops. The Braves are finding that out first-hand right now.
He needs to redeem himself by giving Lowe whatever he wants. Then, he needs to trade for a right-handed big bat. Wren has spent next to nothing of the $40 million available to him this winter. It’s time to get started.
Had they gotten started two months ago, the Braves would not only have a formidable pitching staff—they’d still have a legend.
Goodbye John Smoltz! It was fun while it lasted. And it ended much too soon.
Much like the relevance of your former employer.
14 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Joseph Durst 5 months ago
I've been a Braves fan my entire life and I hope Smoltz goes to Boston and beats Atlanta in game Seven of the World Series. The Braves organization deserves nothing less....
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Joel Barker 5 months ago
I agree. This is a very sad moment in time for Braves fans. Smoltzie was done wrong and there is no possible way for the Braves to put a positive spin on this one.
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James Hulka 5 months ago
Joe, the Braves weren't getting to the World Series in 2009 anyway. Yes, it's a sad day, but I can't put as much blame as you can on Wren. Smoltz got paid $11 million to sit on the bench last year, then complains that the base salary the Braves offered was $3 million less than the Red Sox and that was why he was leaving. As for Wren's other stops - one-year in Baltimore (been screwed up with that ownership since the day Angelos bought that team) doesn't quite count. Last I checked, Wren did trade Renteria for Jurrjens and Hernandez - I didn't see too many people complaining.
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Richard Marsh 5 months ago
I am certainly not a Braves fan at all. I spent 14 years watching you guys beat the Mets up like red headed stepchildren. However as a Baseball fan I was always impressed with the big three and when they all go into the HOF on the first ballot it will come as no surprise to anybody. I saw the handwriting on the wall the first time Glavine left soon to be followed by Maddox. It was only a matter of time before Smoltz had to go. This organization has absolutely no class at all. These three pitchers gave this team more than a decade of the highest success possible. Their string of playoff appearances may never be equaled. So how do they show their loyalty, by undercutting their core of great pitchers. Frankly this latest move is a disgrace to Braves fans everywhere. Even at their present ages, I'm glad to never have to face them again. I just wonder if a Brave fan out there can tell me the big three's overall record against the Mets It should be ugly from my point of view. Just curious.
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Joseph Durst 5 months ago
The big three went 68-38 against the Mets. Smoltzie also had 24 saves against them.
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Barbara Robinson 5 months ago
OMG - I did not think the record against us was that lopsided. Anyway, I am a lifelong Mets fans but I always admired Smoltz as a real class act along with the other 2 dream wreckers. This does not rank up there with the Seaver trade as a clueless GM action/non-action but it certainly does not reflect well on the Braves mgmt. At least he's in the AL now. Good luck Smoltz. Please give the Yankees what the Mets have been treated to for too long!!! LOL
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John Cate 5 months ago
I always did like John Smoltz. Twenty years ago, when I was 16, I was sick that summer and all I had to do was watch the putrid Braves lose on TBS. That was Smoltz' first full season. He pitched great (and Lonnie Smith had a Hall of Famer's season), but the Braves still lost over 100 games and Smoltz had to settle for a 12-11 record. They worked him half to death, he threw over 200 innings even though he was shut down the last month of the season with tendinitis.
I'm glad to see him join the Sox. I hope he has one more good year left in his arm, and maybe he can get that second ring to make up for all the ones the Braves of the 1990s choked away. I liked the sound of what Joseph said. It would be justice if the Braves make it to the Series and Smoltz shuts them out in Game 7.
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Deborah Turner 5 months ago
I,m sorry but all I ever heard was how these guys would play for free they love this game so much. John has spoken so graciously of the Braves,Bobby Coxetc,etc. I have got to believe it's for the money only. If they truly loved baseball and their team after so many years they could play out their time and retire from a club they so called loved so much. I still say it"s GREED. These guys are not traded,they chose to go and it all boils down to MONEY> Smoltz has got to be financially secure for a lifetime and more.Look at Tom Glavin and of all teams the METS and where is he now.........I really don"t know the whole story and if the Braves screwed him socially then maybe ok, but if it was les money then he thinks he's worth then shame on him.You think school teachers put up with all they do for the money? No it"s the love of what they do and these sports figures are getting so out of hand they need to start being ashamed of themselves for taking as much as they do anyway. The love of the game is such a clique. Maybe the Braves need to start from scratch and get back where they use to be. There are plenty of great players waiting to take their places for alot less money. I say give it a try nothing else is working.P.S. I still haven"t forgiven Andrew Jones either........
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Deborah Turner 5 months ago
I am a avid Braves fan and I am sick. No I cannot quote stats like you guys but I do know that the game has not been the same since Otis Nixon,Lonnie Smith, Sid Bream etc etc.I have watched the big 3 and yes they were great,but they all ahve to go sometime and let in new blood. I just never thought smoltz would go out like this.I agree 3 million dollars isn"t a great deal of money in this day with people making 45million and so on but, when Smoltz pitched his ass off and he did he was paid for his great work. Let's face it you cannot continue to keep a 15 million dollar salary when you can"t preform at that level. I do not know what the Boston contract was for, but feel Smoltz was on his last year anyway with injuries and such and if he loved this game as much as he always claimed to and he always spoke so graciouslly of the Braves,Bobbie Cox and team,it's sad that money had to be the cause of him playing out his career with his starter team.Maybe the Braves did screw him I don't know I still think it's all about the MONEY> When these guys first started they were so thrilled and I have been watching the Braves so long that I remember when Steve Avery was with the Big3 and they all said how they would play this game for free they loved it so much.Like I said I do not know the whole story but I am so sad at this. Who's next. Chipper Jones??????
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Kevin Markum 5 months ago
So the Braves should become like the Yankees in the sense that they invest in "old-things that don't work anymore". John Smoltz is not a premier free agent anymore. I love that guy as much as the rest of you, but the fact is that he isn't worth a 5.5 million dollar gamble. Maybe it'll work out for him, but at this point the Braves are better suited to a guy like Lowe. Smoltz is not a 30-something with a major surgery, he is in his 40's.
That's the problem with us Braves fans, we let the fact that our favorite players are aging get in the way of reality. If we land Lowe, our rotation next season will in fact be just as good or better than last season:
Lowe
Jurrjens
Vazquez
Campillo
Hanson/Glavine
Oh...and Lowe won't get injured after four or five starts to where we have to plug-in James Parr or Jo-Jo Reyes. Do you really want to see Charlie Morton that often again? I love John Smoltz, but it was his time to go. Treat this as a retirement, not a free-agent departure.
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Joel Barker 5 months ago
My point was that to allow such a fan favorite to leave the organization at the end of his career is just wrong. If anyone was worth spending an extra $3 million on it's John Smoltz. Especially when you have the money. Which the Braves actually have this time around. I dont care if he is injured. You do whatever you can to ensure he retires as a Brave. That said, The Braves can redeem themselves by giving Lowe whatever he wants, signing Kawakami (Which is very close to happening now), and getting a power hitting OF to hit behind Chipper. In other words... field a competitive team while keeping Lowe out of New York or Philly. That'll come close to making up for allowing the teams icon to sign somewhere else.
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Kevin Markum 5 months ago
My point was simply...what do you do if John Smoltz continues to try and pitch past when he should? We don't even know if he'll get to start with Boston....something could happen to that shoulder in spring training.
Based on your advice, I suggest adding Lowe now that we have Kawakami and making sure we get Adam Dunn. I've heard many don't want him...but we need that 40 homers of his in the OF. Consider this lineup:
CF - Blanco
SS - Escobar
3B - C. Jones
LF - Dunn
C - McCann
RF - Francoeur
1B - Kotchman
2B - K. Johnson... (you could lead him off or bump him to the 7 hole too)
With this rotation:
Lowe
Jurrjens
Vazquez
Kawakami
Hanson/Glavine/Campillo
...fellas...I like that roster...how about ya'll?
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Joel Barker 5 months ago
I like that roster a lot. The Braves REALLY need Lower. Getting him would be HUGE! I am one of those Adam Dunn detractors. I like his 40 HR's, but those 130 K's a year bother me. Plus that lineup is extremely Left-handed. I would prefer and Right-handed power hitter. In other words it would probably have to come via trade as there aren't any free agent big boppers from the right side.
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Joel Barker 5 months ago
Oops... Not Lower... lol... Lowe
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