Smoltz Blasted as Red Sox fall to Yankees: Hope You Aren't Surprised

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher John Smoltz should have never joined the team. He should have retired with the Atlanta Braves after last season, which would have allowed him to be inducted into Hall of Fame with longtime teammates Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in 2013.

But he passed up this chance because he thought, even at 42 years old, he had something left in the tank, and could be a valuable asset on a contender.

Despite his Hall of Fame resume and his reputation as a big-game pitcher, the Red Sox made a mistake. Why? Well, as his start against the New York Yankees showed, he clearly has nothing left.

Red Sox first baseman Casey Kotchman lined a two-run homer in the third inning to give Smoltz a two-run lead to work with. Predictably, the lead didn’t last long.

Here is what the first four hitters of the bottom of the fourth inning did against Smoltz: Jorge Posada doubled, Robinson Cano singled, Nick Swisher walked, and Melky Cabrera clobbered a three-run home-run. Just like that, the advantage, albeit slim, was gone.

Smoltz entered this start allowing the opposition to bat .325 against him. Left-handed hitters were hitting a staggering .405 against him. Those numbers only increased against the Yankees. Their lefties were 9-for-13 against Smoltz over the course of his outing. All four hitters that reached to begin the fourth frame batted left-handed.

After recording an out (a deep flyball off the bat of Derek Jeter that center-fielder Jacoby Ellsbury tracked down before running into the wall), Smoltz allowed a single to Johnny Damon, a lefty, and a double to Mark Teixeira, another lefty. He intentionally walked Alex Rodriguez, then his outing was over.

Perhaps, if the Red Sox front office is sensible, his career as a starting pitcher with Boston is over.

Billy Traber, a former Yankee who was recently signed, relieved Smoltz and promptly deepened the wound. With two outs, Jorge Posada clocked the second pitch he saw deep to center-field for a three-run home-run. His blast broke the game wide-open and capped off an eight-run inning.

Smoltz’s final line read: 3 1/3 innings, nine hits, eight runs, and four walks. That’s as bad as it gets.

Boston tried to climb out of the deficit, but their run in the top of the fifth inning was answered by New York’s two runs in the bottom of the inning, and their single runs in the sixth and seventh. The Yankees led by nine, and had scored thirteen runs on eighteen hits.

The Red Sox made the final score semi-respectable, plating two in the ninth. Ellsbury singled in a run. Dustin Pedroia, who, to my surprise, hit just the first opposite-field home-run of his career earlier in the contest, singled in another. The two runs didn’t matter, though. It was a rout, and a particularly embarrassing one at that.

Boston’s offense has always been potent, but entering this season, perhaps their biggest strength was pitching. They had depth other teams could only imagine. They had six, seven, even eight starting pitchers they thought were capable of successful seasons.

Now, their pitching is a disaster. Starting pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield are on the disabled list, and Brad Penny and Clay Buchholz have been far from dependable. Essentially, the Red Sox have two starting pitchers worthy of starting: Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

This sums up the Red Sox pitching woes: excluding Beckett and Lester, the other six starting pitchers are a combined 24-22 with a dreadful 5.86 ERA. So much for their depth.

Boston has to make some changes. They need pitchers that can pitch. Unless they want to prolong their struggles, they have to makeover the back end of their rotation. To start off the renovation, their first order of business should be to release Smoltz and bring up someone who can actually pitch beyond the fourth inning without self-destructing.

I have always liked Smoltz, having followed him during his prime with the Braves, and think he is one of the best pitchers of his or any era. But now he’s a washed up 42-year-old with, according to a scout, “only one major league pitch, a slider.”

The Red Sox can’t keep sending him to the hill every fifth day; if they do, they will see this result over and over again.