Today’s Topic: Farewell John Smoltz…..thanks for the memories…..now beat it you greedy bastard
Mood Music: The Times They are a Changing by Bob Dylan
It’s a cold, hard realization, but unfortunately I’ve come to the conclusion that you can’t expect anything out of athletes these days. I’ll preface the following comments by saying that I obviously have no idea how I would react if large, large sums of money were dumped into my lap before I even had a chance to do anything professionally. Below is the definition of prima donna (as defined by dictionary.com):
prima donna – a temperamental person; a person who takes adulation and privileged treatment as a right and reacts with petulance to criticism or inconvenience
One more definition that pertains to this rant while I’m tossing them out:
loyalty - A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection. Often used in the plural: My loyalties lie with my family (or team).
John Smoltz is a hall-of-fame pitcher. No doubt. John Smoltz pitched for the Atlanta Braves organization from 1987 to 2008. Unbelievable. Wait….what do I mean pitched? Huh? John Smoltz is now a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Holy Shit, how in the world could that happen? The Braves really screwed the pooch on that one right? Wrong. Let me give you a little more insight into Smoltz’ career and why I don’t blame the Braves for his departure…I’m just chalking it up to typical prima donna behavior or lack of loyalty. (see the above definitions).
Smoltz will be 42 years old in May. He had bone chips removed from his elbow in 1994. In 1998 and 1999 he missed about a quarter of his starts due to time spent on the DL. He missed the entire 2000 season after having Tommy John surgery. He was ineffective as a starter in 2001 and made the transition to the bullpen. Injuries hampered him a little in 2003 and 2004. His return to the starting rotation in 2005 was a success, but tapered off again after he couldn’t get it done last year. Can you blame the guy? He was 40 effin’ years old.
Here’s the point of all that:
Despite immeasurable (that’s ridiculous as baseball is a statistician’s wet dream) success, John Smoltz is now a 41 year old pitcher who has been hurt on and off since 1998 (10 years folks); the Braves are at a crucial point in franchise history as they are almost barren of any players that were around when the team enjoyed its historical success (meaning they have lost the swagger of a team that exudes confidence from performance); fans are getting restless because nothing of significance has been done in the off-season; and now they fail to keep John Smoltz around because the guy chose to take a better offer from Boston and everyone seems to think that the Braves are complete assholes for letting him walk.
Did I miss something? Please take a look closely (again) at Smoltz’s age, and recent injury bug (5 arm surgeries over his career as well). Now, before you say that a few million dollars is a drop in the bucket for a team to spend to keep a player, ask yourself:
When is enough enough? Honestly. Because the ONLY reason Smoltz would leave Alanta is money. Does he really need any more money? My God. Wait, he wants to play for another championship. Really? He would uproot his family for the chance to have 2 championship rings instead of just 1? Well, that’s selfish on any number of levels. And for those of you that consider it a slap in the face by the Braves, understand this:
The Braves offered Smoltz 2.5 million for the season, with incentives pushing it to over 5 million if he was on the active roster for the first 60 days. 60 days. That’s approx. 12 starts. A season is 162 games. Pretty attainable I’d say (and not an unreasonable expectation by the Braves…if a guy can’t make it 60 days, does he really deserve to make 5+ million a year anyway? Not to mention the fact that they have no idea what they’re getting from Smoltz.) Possible other incentives (including reaching 200 innings) could have pushed his pay to around 12 million for the season…which would surpass the Red Sox’s offer of around 10 million total (if incentives were attained).
Let’s just agree that up front money was the issue. Smoltz was offended by the Braves’ offer and took a better one. Period. I wish him all the best (actually no, no I don’t. I hope the Red Sox tank).
Smoltz is another disappointment in an industry that’s now predicated on money (from the players’ perspective), rather than loyalty or the will to win. Players are now jostling for their time in the spotlight, not out of greed for displaying their skills, but so that they can soak up as much of their “deserved” paycheck in the brief-by-all-standards career of Major League Baseball.
It’s just a massive disappointment when one of the guys that I thought was a stand-up player, proves that he is also susceptible to the ridiculous greed of modern day baseball.
I say Good for the Braves. Take a stand. Players need to realize that whether they’ve played 1 or 20 years, they are still playing baseball for a living. My God. Last week I was caulking cracks in a warehouse floor (and probably making less in that 8 hours of work than Smoltz makes throwing 1 pitch). Seriously. It’s ridiculous.
The other thing that’s unbelievably ridiculous is that Smoltz was offended by the Braves’ offer. Why? Does he deserve a lifetime achievement paycheck? I don’t understand. It’s truly amazing that a baseball team is actually logical about the way they try to spend money on a player (with regards to what they might actually get in return) and he’s pissed because he thinks he deserves better. Get over yourself John. Really.
By the way, Chipper Jones is a great player, one of the best switch hitters ever, but please Chipper….just shut up. I really don’t give a shit what you think about the Smoltz situation. You’re just worried that you’re getting older (and injured almost every year now as well) and they might get rid of you. Well, here’s a piece of advice…get ready, cause it’s coming when you decide that you’ve earned the right to trash an organization that put you on the map. Get over yourself Chipper. Really.
That’s it for today. I can’t wait to hear what you all have to say about the Bravos. Many more thoughts on this to come. I’ll talk at you all again later.
“ your old road is rapidly agin’. Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand for the times they are a-changin’.”
11 comments
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January 12, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Brien
Wow, where do I begin? Smoltz (arguably the face of the franchise, Chipper, the other) decides to leave the Braves. If you wanted to make it a clean divorce, what things would you say to make it seem like it wasn’t your fault? The first thing I would say is that the offer from Team B was better. The second is I would act insulted that Team A only offered me X amount of dollars. Smoltz, for whatever reason, has decided he no longer wants to be apart of the organization, and is trying not to look like the dickhead. He is trying to save face, and in this case, by placing the “insult” on the Braves organization. Who gets ridiculed more often in cases like this…clubs or players? Answer: Clubs. So fans, readers, regular Joe’s are going to believe what Smoltz says because generally the Clubs are the insensitive “businesses” that don’t care for players only their performances.
I think the realization that Braves fans have to accept is that they are officially rebuilding. There won’t be another string of Division Titles in the near future. There just isn’t enough talent, depth, or experience to lead this club to those goals. Maybe Smoltz saw that and wants a chance to win again, even if that means selling out the organization he has been a part of for 20 years. We hear all the time about how great a competitor Smoltz is in all sports. What I don’t understand is that if that is the reason for leaving, why not say that? If he said, “I am signing with the Bo Sox to have a go at another title”, would that be slighting the Braves organization? To some degree, yes, but at least he would be honest. Because now I feel like he has slighted the Braves organization and fans more by not giving a reason for leaving and then trying to make it sound like the Braves insulted him by a crummy offer.
We all know how this story is going to play out. Smoltz will not start out in the rotation, enter it in May (when Beckett breaks a finger nail) and will pitch to a 10-2 record. He will lead the Red Sox to the AL East title, and we will have to listen to Joe Buck question Frank Wren and the Braves on what a valuable piece they let go from their club. So as much as I would like to see Smoltz get his come-uppins, it’s not going to happen.
January 12, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Stan
Man, it’s been an awesome few weeks for the teams I pull for….first, Clemson drops a nail-biter to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. This one I can handle b/c we were actually in the game. Next comes the Braves/Smoltz debacle that I haven’t fully processed yet. I can’t decide who I’m let down by more in that deal; Smoltz or the Braves, but in either case, I’m saying f*ck it. The Braves haven’t done shit in years and refuse to make moves to get back into competition and with the state of the game (and professional sports), players are going to go where they are gonna be paid the highest amount (see CC Sabathia). It’s a never ending cycle that will ruin the game if left unchecked (see salary cap) and the worst part is yet to come…Chipper is the next to go. Lastly, my Carolina Panthers sh*t the bed in unrivaled fashion on Saturday night and I had the unfortunate experience of seeing it live. I can tell you that in the hundreds of sporting events I’ve been to, I don’t recall a worse performance by a single member of either team than Jake Delhomme had in that game. By the third interception, it just became funny in a sick kind of way and I’m pretty sure the guy in front of me was searching for Jake’s home address on his phone by the 4th quarter. We were outcoached, outschemed & outplayed by (argueably) the worst team in the playoffs, which renders an otherwise awesome season a moot point. Needless to say, my sports world has not started off the way I hoped it would in 2009.
January 12, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Paul E.
I’m with Stan in that honestly, I haven’t really processed it yet. I try to keep telling myself that it is, after all, just a game, and I think I do a pretty good job of keeping it in perspective. But, for the past 20 (TWENTY!!!) summers my mood has been, at least in some small part, dictated by how the Braves are doing. And by extension, Smoltz has played a pretty active role in that. But as you said Will, nobody has ever offered to dump piles of money in my lap to play a game, so it is hard for me to say how I would react one way or the other.
Loyalty is a tricky mistress. Say Dabo Swinney spends the next 10 years at Clemson just killing it. Say he wins 2 or 3 ACC Championships in that time, maybe a BCS bowl or two as well. Then say Nick Saban retires in 2019 and Swinney has the chance to go “home” to his alma mater, Alabama. Some would argue that if he stayed at Clemson then Swinney is being disloyal to Alabama, the school that gave him a scholarship and a grad asst job and his first paid coaching job and got him started in the business. Others would say that his loyalty would/should lie with Clemson, the school that gave him his first head coaching gig at a time when not many people outside of Pickens County, SC knew who the heck he was. And I think both groups would have a valid point.
My point is, Smoltz’ loyalty is probably pulling him in several different directions. Hell, if you want to get down to the nitty gritty, the Detroit Tigers were the team that drafted him in 1985 and gave him the chance to be a professional baseball player in the first place. Maybe he “owes” them something. Then again, the Braves stuck with him through several major injuries and surgeries. But let’s not act like the Braves have given Smoltz all of this money over the years and have gotten nothing in return. Smoltzie gave the Braves plenty of quality starts and saves and earned his paychecks over the years.
Maybe, just maybe, Smoltz first loyalty should be to himself and his family, and he owes it to himself and his family to get as much guaranteed money as he can in the short time he has left. And, to be honest, the idea that he wants to give himself his one best last chance at another title doesn’t seem all that despicable to me. He’s a competitor, he wants to win, and if he can get a couple extra million guaranteed while he’s at it, it’s hard for me to say I wouldn’t do the same thing.
I know one thing, the first time I see him in a Red Sox uniform it is going to sting…bad. Worse than seeing Maddux in a Cubs or Padres uniform, even worse than seeing Glavine in a Mets uniform. It’s gonna hurt. But MY loyalty is with the Braves. So, I’ll wish him luck and hope we see him in October. In the mean time, I’m gonna move on and pull for whomever we put on the field.
January 12, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Brien
Paul, I can sort of follow your Dabo analogy here, but I’m not sure how that is similar to the Smoltz deal? I mean does Smoltz have family in Boston, is he from Boston, did he play college ball in Boston, or high school ball? I’m trying to find how his loyalty can be to that franchise, city, or state. From that perspective, it seems like his loyalties lie in winning and in money. Now, I’m not saying that is true, but I don’t see what other loyalties are pulling him in that direction, unless it’s just boredom in Atlanta.
I’m not saying Smoltz owes the Braves his guaranteed residence in Atlanta, but on the same token, the Braves don’t owe him a huge salary, or whatever guarantees he was looking for. I mean if anyone owes the Braves anything, it’s Hampton, and that Judas left town with over $100 million, maybe 30 wins and a shit ton of chewed up David sunflower seeds from sitting his feeble ass in the dugout. That’s a different story, however, I just don’t think Smoltz has handled this in the best manner.
January 12, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Paul E.
Yeah, I admit the analogy was a bit of a stretch, but I’m saying that going to Boston may represent loyalty to his family in terms of the guaranteed money as opposed to incentive related possible money. If he knows in his heart that he only has 1, or at the outside 2 seasons left, maybe he has some desire to pad his bank account as much as possible with the guaranteed money that comes with the Boston contract as opposed to the Braves offer which appears to be heavily incentive based. So no, he has no ties to the city of Boston (that I’m aware of). When I say going to Boston represents loyalty to his family I’m assuming he’s sharing these ritches with his wife and kids (and probably eventual grand-kids and great grand-kids for that matter). Could it have been handled better? Sure, by both parties. But again, we as Braves fans have gotten more than our money’s worth out of Smoltz (compared to, like you said, Hampton), and I’m trying just to consider us fortunate to have had him for as long as we did.
January 12, 2009 at 10:41 pm
zconnoisseur
Here’s the deal. I don’t blame Smoltz for leaving (this is Willo by the way). If he’s leaving for money, that’s cool. If he’s leaving for a chance at a Championship, also cool (still a dick, but his prerogative). Here’s my problem:
Don’t hang the Braves out to dry while selfishly choosing your own path.
The more I think about this whole thing, the more I get pissed off at John Smoltz. There’s just no way around it. Just finish your damn career in Atlanta you selfish prick. You see, now Smoltz not only gets to leave town for more money and a possible shot at a championship, he also leaves the Braves’ fan base in disbelief (while leaving most fans bitter with the organization) and the Braves have to try and pick up the pieces while being scrutinized to the nth degree.
I agree Paul, that he earned most of the money that they spent on him over the past twenty years and then some. I’m of the opposite opinion from most fans though, in that I believe that HE owes the Braves some loyalty, not the other way around. There are so many times when the Braves could have just cut ties with John Smoltz, gotten whatever they could in return, and moved on. My God, they didn’t want another relief pitcher when he opted for the bullpen in 01….they wanted a damn starter. But what did they do? They stuck with the “face of their franchise” and gave him a shot at being a closer. Yes, it was successful, but what if he had sucked? It was taking a chance either way you look at it. Then, he wants to become a starter again. He always said that he wanted to finish his career as a starter if he could. Now, the Braves get to jump through a few more hoops to get him back in the starting rotation and try and find a closer…which, let’s be honest, they still haven’t done. If Smoltz had stayed in the bullpen 2 things would’ve probably happened:
1) he might not have gotten hurt again
2) the Braves had a good shot at winning another Championship
but alas, the organization allowed Smoltz to get what HE wanted and he returns the favor by doing what? Leaving Atlanta to go to effing Boston.
Eff Him and I hope he throws his effing arm out warming up for his first start (oh wait, he’s already done that 5 or so times….maybe I’ll just hope he’s the 5th starter and suffers through thousands of boos every time he takes the field). I know that it will be the first time I’ll agree with Yankee fans. Can’t wait to see them boo his ass. (sorry for the animosity, but the more I think about this thing, the more pissed off I’m becoming)
January 13, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Brien
Will, you might be a little over the top here with the animosity. I do agree that if anyone has been loyal, it’s the Braves. They did go out of their way (although it worked) to find places for Smoltz and to accommodate Smoltz’s wishes. Ideally, I think we all agree that Smoltz should have stayed loyal and stuck with the Braves. That didn’t happen. The one person that I think he owes an explanation to is me (the fan). Ultimately, I want to know why he left Atlanta. I understand, he said his deal with Boston was better, blah blah, but I’m not buying that. From what I believe he has $3.5 million more guaranteed money. Unless, he is pulling a Hampton with the Sox, where he knows he won’t be able to pitch this year and will just inherit a free $5.5 million while eating sunflower seeds on the bench, there has to be more. I feel like after all of the hours and commitment I have given the Braves, I am owed an explanation from Smoltz. Don’t sugar coat, don’t point fingers, don’t beat around the bush…just tell me so I can have closure and move on.
January 13, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Paul E.
As an aside, now that we’re getting back towards baseball season, I wanted to remember to recommend a book to all you baseball fans. “Three Nights in August” by Buzz Bissinger (the same guy who wrote “Friday Night Lights”) follows Manager Tony LaRussa as he guides the Cardinals through a late season series against the rival Cubs. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever watched a baseball game and thought to themselves, “hey, I could be a manager, that’s easy.” LaRussa isn’t really presented as a hero, or anti-hero, but he is painted in a decent light owing to the fact that Bussinger had his full cooperation and that he might actually be a somewhat decent guy. Instead, LaRussa is more of a conduit through which the narrative flows. It could just as easily have been about Bobby Cox or Joe Torre, and the story would have been very much the same.
Essentially it is about the nuts and bolts of managing a baseball team…when to hit and run, when to pull your starter, when to put on a defensive shift, etc. But Bissinger does an excellent job of making it less tutorial and more historical in its explanation of the evolution of the game. He also gives the reader the opportunity to really meet some of the players and assistant coaches, and explain how their each of their personal histories, skill sets, and personalities make managing a baseball team more than just turning in a line-up card and chewing sunflower seeds.
If you are a real fan of the game, both of its past and its present, I think you’ll agree with me and give the book about a 4.5 out of 5.
Sorry for getting off topic, we can get back to the Smoltz bashing now. But I will say that I was thinking about this book in relation to Smoltz and realizing that all professional athletes, hell, all people, have their own personal reasons for doing what they do. Smoltz is probably no different.
January 13, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Brien
In related news, Braves sign Derek Lowe and Kenshin K. from Japan. 1) D. Lowe? After they missed out on Burnett, everyone knew that the Braves would over spend to get Lowe, which I believe they did (4 years, $60 million). Is he really that good? His last four years with the Dodgers he has gone 12-15 (2005), 16-8 (2006), 12-14 (2007), and 14-11 (2008). He has averaged over 200 innings per year, which is good, but are they paying him just to eat innings? I mean $15 million a year so he can hover around a .500 record. Shit, Chuck James went 10-10 a few years ago, and probably got paid only 750,000. I have nothing personal against Lowe, but the Braves needed to get some pitching and they failed to do so big time. What pisses me off the most is the Braves actually had available funds to buy pitching. You have the money to buy pitching and you wind up getting Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe, and Kenshin K. Really? Who is your ace? Who is the guy you count on to get you a win every start? Sorry, but I just don’t have very much faith is the rotation.
January 13, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Jake
HHMMM – all I have to say is that last week will go down as the worst sports week I’ve had in a long, long time.
Smoltz
Moreno/Stafford
Watching the MNC game with a bunch of Gators
Tebow stays
Of all these, I can’t get over the Smoltz thing the most. I just don’t get it. To completely up and go when all you have to do to make close to the same amount of money that Boston offered is prove your worth?
January 21, 2009 at 2:38 am
bish
I don’t know if the mood music is proper for this one. Maybe a better fit would be “Cry baby, Cry” -The Beatles. There is no doubt that Smoltz is old enough to know better, and he should cry for this.
We have been batting this around for a bit now, and I think we are all on different sides of the fence. We all know where you stand Will. I have to agree with most of what you say. However, I don’t think that upfront money was everything here. I think the unspoken is the fact that the discusion was never made, or wasn’t made in the right time to sit down with Smoltz. I can only gather from Chipper’s statement that, John was waiting for a sit down, and a proper offer. When that wasn’t done in a timely manner I think it sent him in the red. When Smoltz is hot under the collar he makes bad decisions, and dramatic choices. That is why this didn’t come together in the end. Pour judgment, emotional choices, and in the end you get two parties that are negatively effected.
The result of this for Smoltz is not going to be good. I don’t see him making it through that troubled 6th we all know so well. If they are smart in Boston, and they are, they will use him in middle relief. They won’t and John will remind them time and time again why he is not the ace they thought he was.
I love Smoltz, I hate this crossroad, I hope the BSox’s blow and Smoltz gets shelled. I also hope that Chipper will learn to take the high road and be calm and smart about what he talks about with the media.
Overall, I just look forward to seeing the boys out there in the spring, playing America’s game… with Smoltz or without him, we are still the best baseball organization in the MLB. Our team needs us now more than ever. I’m in for a game when we all get a chance to slow down a bit. Yall keep in normal and I’ll see you soon. -bish