Can Smoltz break the aging athlete trend of tarnishing legacy?

Early yesterday, John Smoltz agreed to a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, giving the 42-year old former Cy Young award winner a chance to show he isn’t finished yet. Tony La Russa's club is hoping he can still contribute down the stretch in a pennant race for the current NL Central leaders. There were reports that several teams such as the Dodgers, Tigers, Marlins, and Rangers were interested in possibly signing the former ace, but the Cardinals got him once he cleared waivers. Perhaps, the interest from teams around the league, even though they saw him struggle in Boston where he was 2-5 with an 8.33 ERA in eight starts, was because they believe he can come around after getting some more innings. Maybe the Cardinals feel that his Boston starts were more like a spring training exercise, to work out the kinks after missing most of the 2008 season due to injury. Smoltz missed most of 2009, and when he came back to a foreign league with different strike zones and hitters, h...