Smoltz, Lugo And Penny: Three Former '09 Red Sox Having Success in The NL

For 13 years, the American League has dominated its National League counterparts, including 13 straight All-Star game victories and 9 of the last 13 World Series rings. Arguably, the 21st century's most dominant team is the Boston Red Sox, as the only team to win multiple World Series trophies in this young century. During the 2008-2009 offseason, the Red Sox signed four "high-risk, high-reward" free agents: John Smoltz, who had been an elite pitcher and also spent his entire 20 year career before Boston with the Atlanta Braves; Brad Penny, another former elite pitcher whose injured shoulder had signifigantly hindered his career; Takashi Saito, an All-Star closer in the Japan League and with the LA Dodgers; and Rocco Baldelli, the Rhode Island kid with potential who keeps receiving physical and mental blows from his mitochondrial disorder that causes extreme fatigue, and multiple injuries. As of September 10, only Baldelli and Saito remain on the Red Sox roster. S...