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.
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.
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.
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."
When John Smoltz was a free agent last week, I looked over some of his numbers with the Red Sox and thought that his dramatic decline in performance the second time through the order was due to the fact that he's 42 years old and his arm was out of juice. Of course, Smoltz put that line of thinking seriously in question Sunday with his five shutout innings and nine strikeouts in his debut with the Cardinals. So what gives?
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
Every Hot Stove season, each team reshapes its roster in an attempt to better themselves. After each transaction, whether a free agent acquisition, trade or something else, writers and bloggers everywhere provide knee-jerk reactions on each particular move. Though the majority of the analysis is educated, it's still just conjecture. Today, we'll take the long view and look back at some of the maneuvering this past offseason and see how it played out on the field.
The Cardinals on Wednesday officially announced the signing of John Smoltz, the former Cy Young Award winner who was released after getting battered in the Red Sox rotation.
Smoltz, who will wear No. 30 and join St. Louis for Thursday's game.
"We feel that this is an opportunity to strengthen our pitching staff," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a prepared statement. "When you have an opportunity to bring the expertise and experience of a future Hall of Famer to your club, it's easy to see why we are excited about the prospects of what John Smoltz can do to improve our team's chances as we approach the stretch drive."
Smoltz, 42, is 212-151 for his career, with 154 saves and a 3.30 ERA. He went 2-5 with an 8.53 ERA in eight starts for with Boston and was designated for assignment on Aug. 7 before being released on Aug. 17.
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.
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. 
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
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.
When John Smoltz was a free agent last week, I looked over some of his numbers with the Red Sox and thought that his dramatic decline in performance the second time through the order was due to the fact that he's 42 years old and his arm was out of juice. Of course, Smoltz put that line of thinking seriously in question Sunday with his five shutout innings and nine strikeouts in his debut with the Cardinals. So what gives? 
The Cardinals on Wednesday officially announced the signing of John Smoltz, the former Cy Young Award winner who was released after getting battered in the Red Sox rotation.
