FanIQ News: John Smoltz and Rocco Baldelli are close to signing with the Boston Red Sox

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1/8/09

John Smoltz and Rocco Baldelli are close to signing with the Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox response to the Yankees signings of Teixeira and Sabathia? John Smoltz and Rocco Baldelli. It might be a long year in Red Sox Nation.

submitted by

tpowell25

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Read Article: (mlb.mlb.com)

According to league sources, John Smoltz is heading to Boston.

The righty plans on calling the Braves, the only team he has pitched for, on Thursday morning to let them know about the deal. Smoltz is coming off of shoulder surgery and could be in the Red Sox rotation by June.

More than likely, this is a result of the Braves not being able to land any free agents or key players through trades so far this off season. Smoltz knows his days are numbered and he probably wants one more push at a world series title. Hopefully this is a slap in the face to Braves GM Frank Wren and he realizes that he needs to get off of his butt and do something.

The Braves have failed miserably so far at trying to sign a big name pitcher or two to top off a rotation that is very thin thanks to injuries to Smoltz, Hudson, and Glavine. So far, the "big" acquisition so far has been Javier Vazquez. Yea, that won't cut it.

With Smoltz gone and Hudson out until sometime around the all-star break, the Braves pitching staff will look like an all-star rotation in a triple-A game. Wren is looking to make a splash via trade, but if he doesn't hurry up, we could see a fire sale in Atlanta soon. Would Chipper be next?

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1/8/09

Heyhey1970

5	It's too bad that Smoltz probably won't finish his career with the Braves. As far as the Javi Vasquez signing goes, didn't the Braves see how bad he was in big games for the White Sox. That deal was strange.

1/8/09

Heyhey1970

5	It's too bad that Smoltz probably won't finish his career with the Braves. As far as the Javi Vasquez signing goes, didn't the Braves see how bad he was in big games for the White Sox. That deal was strange.

1/8/09

elevenbravo138again

1	Baldelli is actually a decent move if he stays healthy he can have a Grady Sizemore kind of season.

1/8/09

Keeter

1	Smoltz has long been 1 of my favorite pitchers.....even as he would mow down my Cubbies !! I hope he get a chance to pitch relatively healthy this year, so that he can go out 'on his terms'. As for the Red Sox winning the Series, I wouldn't mind seeing them lose the Series to my North-Siders !!!!

1/8/09

Keeter

1	By the way, I wonder what Doyle Alexander is doing these days ??!! (for those that don't know/remember, Doyle was traded by Atlanta to Detroit for Smoltz. Doyle went 29-29 with the Tigers over 2+ seasons, and retired in 1989.)

1/8/09

tpowell25

Heyhey1970 wrote:

It's too bad that Smoltz probably won't finish his career with the Braves. As far as the Javi Vasquez signing goes, didn't the Braves see how bad he was in big games for the White Sox. That deal was strange.

Vazquez was supposed to be a secondary signing. Bait to show other pitchers in the league that the Braves were improving their rotations so they looked more attractive. After Vazquez signed, the Braves thought they would land Peavy, Burnett, or maybe Lowe. They definitely didn't expect Vazquez to be their #1 signing of the off season.

Before Wren failed miserably (it's not all his fault, but as a pissed off Braves fan, that's how I vent), the plan was to have Vazquez, Jair Jurjjens, and Jose Campillo as 3, 4, and 5 when Hudson and hopefully Smoltz returned from injuries. And they were really hoping that Burnett was going to be signed too, giving them a formidable rotation. Now, it's rock bottom. The Braves will have to let go of some very good minor league talent in order to get a decent rotation for this season.

1/8/09

primo

1	so how long will smoltz pitch next season? i say a third of the way. and where will they put him? starter? reliever? will he be the closer? i just think that is a bad signing for boston. somehow this deal made brian cashman look smarter than theo epstein

1/8/09

larrystarstruck

1	It really is a shame but then again I can see why the Braves are a little gun shy right now after surgery. Look at all the money we gave Mike Hampton and he spent most of that contract at home nursing injuries.

1/8/09

snbslugger

I like these moves.

Look, the Sox were one game away from the World Series last year. You can't expect them to match the Yankees move-for-move, because the Yankees missed the playoffs, are opening a new ballpark, and are desperate to show they aren't returning to those WONDERFUL 1980's Yankee teams.

The Sox are still talented and have removed a distraction in my former idol Manny "Mail It In" Ramirez. They have solid pitching, and when your largest position question is who's going to be catcher, that's not a bad situation to be in. Jason Bay is going to have the most productive season of his career in 2009. I'm not that concerned, and I doubt the Nation is either.

Besides, Rocco Baldelli has a mitochondrial disorder. Who's going to bet against a Jedi?

1/8/09

Pat

primo wrote:

so how long will smoltz pitch next season? i say a third of the way. and where will they put him? starter? reliever? will he be the closer? i just think that is a bad signing for boston. somehow this deal made brian cashman look smarter than theo epstein

"The deal Smoltz appears set to sign with the Red Sox is for $5.5 million over one season, with attainable incentives that could bring it as high as $10 million"

So the deal is worth $5.5 mil, lasts only 1 year, and the only way they pay more for him is if he performs well enough to make it worth it.

So... how is this a bad deal? $5.5M is a drop in the bucket. He'll be their 4th starter, and even if he plays 1/3 of the season and only gets 5-6 wins, he's worth it.

Somehow, your comment made you look... well... certainly not smarter than Cashman.

1/8/09

hskrdave

2

1/9/09

Ryanlaxbull13

0	Smoltz needs to go back to closing and the Red Sox need to get Papelbon into the rotation. It will extend Smoltz's career and Papelbon will give the Red Sox and dominant power pitcher in the everyday rotation.

1/9/09

snbslugger

Ryanlaxbull13 wrote:

Smoltz needs to go back to closing and the Red Sox need to get Papelbon into the rotation. It will extend Smoltz's career and Papelbon will give the Red Sox and dominant power pitcher in the everyday rotation.

No. There is no need to move one of the league's most effective closers into the rotation with the kind of depth the Sox have in the rotation. I like Paps right where he is; coming out of the pen to "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" throwing straight gas and a filthy split in the 9th inning.

This Smoltz deal is practically zero risk and if his arm falls off, you've got Buchholz, Masterson, or a bunch of other guys who can come in and be a 5th starter.