JOHN SMOLTZ GOT LIT UP…BY THE NATIONALS

Zach Hayes is traveling today, and asked me to fill-in, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on John Smoltz's debut and start a discussion about it. Here goes... Smoltz took the mound at Nationals Park with the Red Sox looking to secure a sweep in the Nation's Capital. He was tasked with neutralizing an underrated Washington offense, which ranked ninth in the majors with...

In the summer of 1986, the Sox signed Tom Seaver. The guy didn’t have much in the tank at that stage, and we already had young Roger Clemens mowing down batters like his name was John Deere, but it was Tom F@#king Seaver—a living legend, Mr. Mets himself—on the Boston Red Sox! And that was enough to add yet another bit of magic to that fateful season. I vaguely remember watching...

by Andrew JohnsonFiled under: Red Sox, MLB Injuries, MLB TransactionsWASHINGTON -- "We have too many Johns on this team," cracked a heard, but not seen, Red Sox player as a horde of media crowded around John Smoltz's locker the day before his first major league start of 2009.There is (Jon) Lester, the once and future ace. There is (Jonathan) Papelbon, one of the best closers in the...

AP photoCalm down Red Sox Nation.So John Smoltz didn't pitch a no-hitter after not pitching in almost a year.And he wasn't lined up for his first win of the season either, however after his first inning blunder of allowing four runs, Smoltz calmed down and pitched back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth, showing he did had control at the end against the Washington Nationals...

((HT: Washington Post/Viera))John Smoltz joined the Boston Red Sox in the hope of a reinvention. He has been a starter, a closer and a starter again. He has learned to throw sidearm. And in this latest incarnation, he was looking for a fresh start with a new team. "This is not the old or the new, or the done," Smoltz said on Wednesday. "This is just a new chapter." But the honeymoon...

It was a rocky first inning in a Boston Red Sox uniform for John Smoltz, who gave up four runs on four hits in the frame. On the other side, Jordan Zimmermann, who was born almost a year to the day after Smoltz was drafted by the Detroit Tigers had his way with the Red [...]Post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

The NESN broadcast just showed a good example of Nick Johnson fragility. With one out, John Smoltz hit Johnson on his left shin. A couple of batters later, Johnson is on third, and you can see an egg on Nick’s leg where Smoltz hit him. Smoltz is not doing well so far. Ryan [...]

John Smoltz is anxious on the eve of his first Red Sox start.

Time "absolutely stood still" for John Smoltz as game time approached. He sped through his warmup faster than planned. His phone was overflowing with 71 text messages. Try as he might to downplay his Boston Red Sox debut -- a 9-3 loss to Washington on Thursday night -- there was no way he could avoid the magnitude of the moment.

On June 4, 1985, the Detroit Tigers chose John Smoltz with the 574th selection in baseball’s amateur draft. Precisely 353 days later, Jordan Zimmermann was born.

WASHINGTON — Time "absolutely stood still" for John Smoltz as game time approached.

Washington fans, watch John Smoltz closely Thursday night when he makes his first start in a Boston Red Sox uniform. He is the last dinosaur, the one surviving member of a species that dominated the pitching mounds of major league fields for more than 20 years. Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux - as lyrical and historic a trio as Tinkers, Evers and Chance - should go down in baseball lore...