John Smoltz completed his 21st major league season Saturday night when the Cardinals were swept out of the NLDS by the Los Angeles Dodgers. As of now, the 42-year-old hurler does not plan on it being his last.
Smoltz told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he'll need some more time to fully evaluate whether or not he'll come back to pitch in 2010, but his initial thought is that he will.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
The St. Louis Cardinals may have beaten themselves in getting swept by the Dodgers, but Game 3 left us with a classic question. Was Vicente Padilla's strong pitching performance all him or the opposing lineup's doing? On this particular night, there was probably little the Cardinals could have done to stop him.
Padilla brought the raw stuff of an ace to the hill, touching 97 mph and sitting around 93-96 most of the night. Most importantly he was able to locate his fastball inside to righties with some running action.
Wednesday night, while John Smoltz was in the middle of his worst start with the Cardinals, he could be seen constantly trading balls with the home plate umpire, clearly unhappy with something. After the game ended, he said it was because he felt the balls were improperly rubbed down, causing them to be more slippery than normal and preventing him from getting a proper grip.
The story could've ended there, but apparently Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan have been reading a little bit too much Raymond Chandler lately, because they got their Phillip Marlowe on and after some investigating, are charging the Reds with a larger conspiracy.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Johan Santana had never seen the Metrodome before the Twins took him from Single-A in the Rule 5 draft.
"When I first got there," Santana told FanHouse, "my first impression was, 'How can you play baseball in a place like this?'
"I came from Single-A and from Venezuela, and we don't have any of that stuff. ... I couldn't figure it out. How could this thing [the roof] be up in the air? And then it feels like you're in a bubble. And then you play baseball."
John Smoltz will miss his next start with tendinitis in his right shoulder, MLB.com beat reporter Matthew Leach is reporting today on his blog. The Cardinals are downplaying the injury, saying that they want to get Smoltz some rest and that he'll take his spot back the next time the rotation cycles around to him.
With a huge lead in the NL Central, it makes sense for the Cardinals to be cautious with Smoltz, who's been fantastic in St. Louis. In four starts and 22 innings pitched, he's struck out 28 batters and walked just one, allowing 18 hits and just eight runs in that span. With his age and arm issues, giving him some extra rest seems like the right thing to do.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
By now we all know of the greatness of San Francisco pitcher Tim Lincecum. He's the best pitcher in baseball this season, with a 2.34 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 233 strikeouts in 200 1/3 innings. But there's another hard-throwing young kid in the Giants organization that, like Lincecum, has a shot to be one of the league's best very quickly. He's a guy you want to burn that No. 1 waiver priority on, in case he sticks in the rotation for the rest of the season. He is Madison Bumgarner.
Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
On Thursday in Philadelphia, one of the game's best pitchers from years past squared off against arguably the game's best pitcher of today. Who would win the battle of old versus new? It turns out fantasy owners were the big winners.
Tim Lincecum struck out 11 batters, which isn't even close to a season high for the kid, and walked one over seven innings while allowing two runs, but all that got him was a loss.
Pedro Martinez, making his fifth start with the Phillies, moved to 3-0 on the strength of a nine-strikeout, no-walk performance. He threw 62 of his 87 pitches for strikes and looked completely dominant after a first-inning homer by Eugenio Velez.
All three teams faced near must-win games Wednesday, and all came through -- late.
Chicago, which would have fallen eight games out in the AL Central and 4 1/2 behind second-place Minnesota, rallied against Twins closer Joe Nathan with four runs in the ninth for a 4-2 victory.
"Hopefully we start playing better and have a little more fun, at least have a little more fun," [Sox manager Ozzie] Guillen said. "You think we're out [of post-season contention]. People think we're out, just go out there and enjoy it. Hopefully things turn around."
John Smoltz completed his 21st major league season Saturday night when the Cardinals were swept out of the NLDS by the Los Angeles Dodgers. As of now, the 42-year-old hurler does not plan on it being his last. 
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
Wednesday night, while John Smoltz was in the middle of his worst start with the Cardinals, he could be seen constantly trading balls with the home plate umpire, clearly unhappy with something. After the game ended, he said it was because he felt the balls were improperly rubbed down, causing them to be more slippery than normal and preventing him from getting a proper grip. 
John Smoltz will miss his next start with tendinitis in his right shoulder, MLB.com beat reporter Matthew Leach is reporting today on his blog. The Cardinals are downplaying the injury, saying that they want to get Smoltz some rest and that he'll take his spot back the next time the rotation cycles around to him. 
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
