Congrats John Smoltz – You are Amazing!
200 Wins
154 Saves
2838 Strike Outs
3.26 Career ERA
• 1992: NLCS Most Valuable Player
• 1996: National League Cy Young Award
• 1996: National League TSN Pitcher of the Year
• 2002: National League Rolaids Relief Award
• 2005: Major League Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
• 2005: Major League Roberto Clemente Award
1995 World Series Champion
And the best post season pitcher in baseball
Another Rubber Match!
Smoltz vies for milestone vs. ex-mate
05/24/2007 1:00 AM ET
By Jeff Lutz / MLB.com
John Smoltz looks forward to the day he and Tom Glavine can both wear Braves hats together again. Not on the field, but in the Hall of Fame, where both pitchers will probably be inducted on the first ballot.
“This organization feels that the hat he’s going to wear is going to be an Atlanta Braves hat,” Smoltz said of Glavine. “This organization feels, and deep down everybody who has been here knows, that he is an Atlanta Brave. But he just isn’t right now.”
Smoltz can boost his Hall resume Thursday, when he looks to pick up career win No. 200 against his good friend Glavine and the Mets in the finale of a three-game set in Atlanta, a series that’s tied at a game apiece.
It’s the third time this season Smoltz has met his former fellow Atlanta ace, but added importance comes with this one. In addition to Smoltz’s potential milestone, Glavine is looking to continue his trail toward 300 wins, entering Thursday with 295.
More importantly, though, the pitchers just want to win. Smoltz remembers his first win, but none after that. He probably won’t remember No. 200, either, unless it comes against his buddy Glavine, who happens to play for Atlanta’s biggest National League East rival.
“The only thing [beating Glavine] does is give you a better memory,” Smoltz said. “I couldn’t tell you who half my wins are against from a significance standpoint.”
That’s because, to Smoltz, they’re all significant.
“I think Smoltzie thrives every five days, no matter what,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said.
Both pitchers have thrived since Glavine left the Braves as a free agent to sign with New York before the 2003 season. Since then, the pair have combined for 89 wins, as well as 89 saves—all by Smoltz, who spent four years as Atlanta’s closer.
The Braves’ pitching was the key in their record 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005. That’s why Glavine and Smoltz, though no longer teammates, will forever be linked, even after their duels become only memories.
“I think that, for us,” Glavine said, “the friendship that we have, and knowing we’ll be friends long beyond baseball, there are a lot of things we’ll have the opportunity to tell stories about. The matchups that we’ve had this year will certainly only add to that.”
Pitching matchup
NYM: LHP Tom Glavine (5-1, 3.43 ERA)
Glavine hasn’t lost since April 7, going 4-0 with four no-decisions. He has pitched exactly six innings in eight of his 10 starts this season.
ATL: RHP John Smoltz (6-2, 2.85 ERA)
Smoltz is 1-0 in his two matchups vs. Glavine. He earned a no-decision in their last meeting, when on April 22, he allowed six earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Player to watch
Braves outfielder Andruw Jones has torched his former teammate, going 16-for-40 against Glavine with four homers. Jones said Wednesday that his exploits at the plate and in the field accounted for “about 15” of Glavine’s 242 wins as a Brave.
Braves are up 5-2 on the season series after pounding Jorge Sosa (as predicted). Let’s get another!
James looks to rebound against Mets
By Jeff Lutz / MLB.com
The battle for first place in the National League East continues on Wednesday night as the Braves host the Mets in the second game of a three-game series at Turner Field. The Braves, losers of four of five games before Monday, took the series opener and sit 1 1/2 games behind division-leading New York.
Atlanta sends 25-year-old left-hander Chuck James to the mound. In his last outing, James did not earn a decision, allowing three earned runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in Atlanta’s 4-3 loss to Washington. James has pitched at least five innings in eight of his nine starts, but has pitched more than six just once.
“Chucky has been throwing well,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “His changeup has really been effective the past couple of games.”
James has hit both extremes in his career starts against the Mets. Last September, James held the Mets to one hit in eight innings in the finest outing of his young career. In his only other two starts against the Mets, however, he has combined to allow 13 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.
New York starting pitcher Oliver Perez is looking to stay hot, coming off consecutive wins in his two longest starts of the season. He pitched into the eighth inning on Friday in beating the Yankees, five days after allowing two hits and a run in 8 1/3 innings against the Brewers. Perez has found success despite dipping strikeout totals. In his last three starts he has fanned 11, compared with 28 strikeouts in his three prior outings.
Pitching matchup
ATL: LHP Chuck James (4-3, 4.15 ERA)
Wednesday’s outing put James in a comfortable position—he sports a career 7-3 record at Turner Field and is 12-5 with a 3.30 ERA in night starts.
NYM: LHP Oliver Perez (5-3, 2.90 ERA)
Perez has won back-to-back starts for the first time this season. He has beaten Atlanta twice this season, and pitched his only complete game of 2006 against the Braves last September.
Player to watch
New York shortstop Jose Reyes doubled and homered off James as part of a three-hit day in the Mets’ 7-2 win over Atlanta at Shea Stadium on April 21.
BRAVES RULE
Take that.
2 games to go, might as well break out the BROOMS NOW
5-2 on season series
5 ER through 3ip for SOSA as Predicted
TATOO Firmly applied and no need to erase.. LOCK IT IN, ROCK IT DOWN.
BRAVES RULE… BRAAAAAVES RULE
Sweet I moved back up the charts. Last I looked I wasn’t on the first page.. but now, once again I am #2 on the google charts under “Brian Smith”
Someday that photographer will meet his match.
Til we are officially out of here. Can’t wait. Michigan you are so 2005.
Living on the streets and in storage units is so 2007.
I can’t wait til I
-never have to wait on a CMU football player again
-never have to wait tables again
-never have to work for tips again
-never have the option of going to Rubbles again (ban temporarily lifted for Thursday to see Chris’s band play)
-have trees in my yard (that’d be nice)
-move out of Michigan
-move back to NY
-am closer to my friends
-am closer to my family
-don’t have to drive through Canada to get home
-get a new job that I’m excited about
-make a new circle of friends wherever we end up living
-find a new tennis/disc golf/guitar hero partner
etc
We’re up 4 to 2 on the season series. We’re down 2 and a half in the standings.. So let’s just sweep em. We even get to hit off Jorge Sosa in game 1? Sweet. Mets are going down. Maybe Andruw Jones will actually not strike out for once.
Davies to get NL East battle started
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
Throughout the early portion of the season, the Braves have proven to be the only team capable of beating the Mets. Because of this, Atlanta enters its latest showdown against the National League East leaders with a definite sense of confidence.
“Any time you play in your division, it’s going to be interesting,” Andruw Jones said. “You want to play your best and always try to go out there and win the series.”
The Braves took two out of three in the first two meetings between these two National League East rivals. Coming off a 10-game road trip in which they lost six of their last eight, the Braves enter this three-game set still within striking distance of the first-place Mets, who entered Sunday owning a 2 1/2-game advantage.
“We’ll play them anytime we’re supposed to,” Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur said. “We look forward to it.
“They’re a great team. They play hard, and they play fair. It will be a fun series, and hopefully we’ll come out swinging.”
Last week was a frustrating one for the Braves, who lost three of four to the last-place Nationals and then dropped two of three to the powerful Red Sox.
As for the Mets, they entered Sunday night’s game against the Yankees having won 13 of their first 18 games in May. Two of the four losses they’ve endured against the Braves this year have come in games started by John Smoltz.
The marquee pitching matchup of the series will come on Thursday, when Smoltz and his good friend Tom Glavine match up against each other for the third time this season. Smoltz, who will be gunning for his 200th career win, has led the Braves to a victory in each of his three previous career matchups against Glavine.
Kyle Davies will oppose former Atlanta teammate Jorge Sosa in Tuesday night’s series opener. One of Davies’ finest outings this year came on April 8, when he limited the Mets to two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.
After winning a career-high 13 games for the Braves in 2005, Sosa came down to earth last season. The Braves designated him for assignment in July, and a few days later traded him to the Cardinals. Since returning to the Majors with the Mets on May 5, the erratic right-hander has provided three solid starts, allowing two earned runs or less in each of them.
“He’s a good pitcher,” Jones said. “Just sometimes, he gets in trouble and doesn’t use his head too much.”
Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP Kyle Davies (1-2, 5.17 ERA)
If not for the four unearned runs he surrendered in the fifth inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Nats, Davies would likely have won a second straight start. The right-hander has shown improved control in his past three outings, and he believes he has finally found a good feel for his changeup. Davies issued 11 walks and combined for just eight innings in his final two April starts. In his past three starts, Davies has totaled 18 1/3 innings and issued just six walks.
NYM: RHP Jorge Sosa (3-0, 2.25 ERA)
Sosa had his best start of the season on Wednesday against the Cubs, becoming the fifth pitcher in Mets history to win his first three starts with the club. He relied heavily on a quirky slider that has three different breaks, allowing just one hit in seven innings. Sosa will face his former team for the second time in his career, losing the first meeting despite allowing only one run in six frames.
Player to watch
Mets third baseman David Wright has overcome his early-season struggles that limited him to a .244 batting average and .311 slugging percentage in April. Entering Sunday, his May statistics included a .333 batting average, .681 slugging percentage and six homers.
Braves management will not change with sale
Associated Press
NEW YORK —The sale of the Atlanta Braves from Time Warner Inc. to Liberty Media Corp. was approved by baseball owners, with the companies set to transfer the team later Wednesday.
The sale was agreed to by the corporations in February, and baseball officials said in March the transaction values the team at $461 million. The companies wanted the deal completed Wednesday because of changes in tax laws that start Thursday.
The baseball team, a group of craft magazines and approximately $1 billion in cash were to be transferred to Liberty in exchange for about 60 million shares of Time Warner.
Atlanta’s current management team will remain in place, with Terry McGuirk staying on as club president and John Schuerholz as general manager.
Ted Turner took control of the Braves in 1976, and Time Warner acquired the team in 1996 when it merged with Turner Broadcasting System.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Planning still going well, Rsvps still rolling in…
We’re up to 89 RSVPs now!
Can’t wait to party down with all that are planning to come. Friday night to Sunday morning. Yeah baby.
If you are reading this and haven’t emailed us yet.. just do it. You can just post a comment to this to if you want.. Or just tell us in person. Or just tell someone who will tell us. We’re pretty lax about it, but if we don’t hear from you soon we’ll be hunting you down!
40th birthday edition: Q&A with Smoltz
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
John Smoltz spent the early parts of his career with the Braves pitching in the shadows of Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. As time has elapsed, he has gained the same sort of legendary status and given reason to believe that he will indeed one day join them in the Hall of Fame.
With his 40th birthday on Tuesday, Smoltz joined a club that also includes Maddux and Glavine. The veteran Braves hurler joins an increasing group of pitchers who are proving they can still get outs after they enter their fifth decade of life.
Smoltz’s Hall of Fame credentials are strong. He is two victories away from being the first Major League hurler to record both 200 wins and 150 saves in a career. His all-time record of 15 postseason wins is a product of the fact that he helped the Braves capture an unprecedented 14 consecutive division titles.
Smoltz recently sat down with MLB.com to reflect on a stellar career that began in 1988 and look ahead to a future, during which he may find himself playing on the PGA’s Senior Tour.
MLB.com: When you began your Major League career in 1988, did you envision that you would still be pitching at 40 years old?
JS: I always thought I would get to 40. I really did. I knew the desire would be there. I just didn’t know if the body would be there.
MLB.com: Was there ever a point when coming back from any of the four elbow surgeries that you had, that you had to battle the “it’s not worth all of this” mentality?
JS: After I came back from Tommy John surgery in 2001 and had to go back on the disabled list, yeah, I was ready to hang it up. I was thinking, “I don’t know how much of this I want to go through with.”
MLB.com: There are still some who wonder if you are a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate. What are your thoughts when you hear this?
JS: I love to hear people argue over that because it’s amusing to me. I love to hear their pros and cons. I don’t have any say over that. Nor is that what drives me to do what I do. I’ve lost a million one-run games that I’ve pitched well. What does it mean? It’s just part of the game. Sometimes it works out your way and sometimes it doesn’t.
I’ll be judged by the [Braves] organization that has kept me here for so long, and that’s all I care about.
MLB.com: Why have you been able to continue being a successful power pitcher?
JS: Genetics. You can’t make yourself a power pitcher. It would be different if I was throwing 84 [mph] most of my career and then all the sudden jumped up to 92 [mph] because I figured out some great workout or some great secret. It’s all about genetics and then maintaining my body through good flexibility and good workouts. I’m always listening and adhering to things related to my body.
MLB.com: While you were growing up in Michigan, you idolized Jack Morris. What were your thoughts when at the age of 24, you nearly matched his mastery during that 1-0 loss to the Twins in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series?
JS: I think back to that day and think, “How did I survive with just two pitches?” But it happened. I was wild. I threw hard. I had a real good slider.
MLB.com: From a confidence standpoint, was that the most important start of your career?
JS: It was for me. I always dreamed of pitching in Game 7 of the World Series. No matter how many times I did it in my dreams or how many times I did it in my mind, you’ve still got to prove it to yourself that you can do that.
MLB.com: You’ve won more postseason games than anybody in history. Is there one playoff start that you believe was undoubtedly your best?
JS: I’ve had a lot of great games that have gone unnoticed because of the game number, or at which point of the postseason that it was played. I remember opening up in Los Angeles (in 1996) and pitching Game 1 of that Division Series and going nine innings in a 1-1 game and seeing us win, 2-1, in 10 innings. To me, it set the tone for the entire series.
I’ve had a lot of individual games that were, per se, greater than Game 7 of the (1991) World Series. But none of them greater than the moment of Game 7.
MLB.com: Why do you think you have formed such a strong friendship with Tiger Woods?
JS: I don’t know the answer to that, other than we have compatible personalities. I really respect what he does and I think it’s vice-versa with him. I’m no way or nowhere near the category that he’s in. But I think we both have the ability to respect what perseverance means.
Friendships don’t usually attract opposites. Your interests usually coincide. Both of us have a strong desire to be the best at what we do.
MLB.com: Do you still believe that you will be capable of competing on the PGA’s Senior Tour?
JS: Yes. Unless my body makes it that I can’t chase my ambitions. There’s no doubt in my mind that I can make it. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to make it. I also had no doubt as a little kid that I was going to make it in the big leagues.
MLB.com: You have said the game of golf has helped improve your mental approach as a pitcher. Is there any aspect of baseball that could benefit you if you do play on the Senior Tour?
JS: I’m not going to be as talented as the guys who are there. But because of all the years in baseball, I’ll have as much mental toughness as the guys who are there. Plus, I don’t need it for financial security. I’m doing it just to see if I can do it.
MLB.com: Will the game ever see another starting rotation as formidable as the ones that included yourself, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine?
JS: There probably will be and have been some rotations equal to what we went through, but not for this long, and not ones in which each guy just keeps getting better. Maddux just kept getting better. I’ve got a ceiling and I’ve gotten pretty close to that ceiling.
Where the ceiling gets eliminated is when you give me one game to win or the postseason. Then I’ve got a chance to raise my level. But short of that, I would never be able to sustain that during the regular season.
MLB.com: Did each of you become better pitchers based simply on the fact that you were together for so long?
JS: I know I did, and I would have liked it to have continued because I think I would be even better than I am today.
MLB.com: Why didn’t jealousy ever get in the way of the strong friendships that you continue to share with Maddux and Glavine?
JS: I was never going to let jealousy be a part of it. I’m very secure in who I am. For them to answer it, they’d have to answer it themselves. Of the three of us, it would have been the hardest for me because they were head and shoulders above me.
I was the guy in the back seat and those guys took turns driving, and it was fine for me. I may have some blind spots to some aspects to my life. But for the most part, I think I’m pretty objective. I understand my place in the game. I have humility and I just love to have a good time.
With them, how could you not have a good time?
MLB.com: Do you regret that you had to spend three and a half seasons as a closer? Or do you truly believe it was the best role for your arm coming off of Tommy John surgery?
JS: I don’t know if that was what was best for me. I don’t regret it. If it was best for the team for those three and a half years, then great. But I don’t regret it.
MLB.com: How should history remember the streak of 14 consecutive division titles that the Braves captured?
JS: It will never happen again. I hate the fact that people will try to find negatives in there. Winning just one World Series shouldn’t take away from what was done, because it will never happen again.
MLB.com: Some of your closest friends include Woods, Maddux and Glavine. You were part of a run of 14 consecutive division titles and now you have a chance to pitch past your 40th birthday. Do you ever consider yourself to be one of the most fortunate people in the world?
JS: I’m very blessed. I’m very lucky. That’s why I try to show it.
I’m officially giving my two week notice tonight
SWEET!
Unemployment, storage unit living, and couch hopping, here I come!
Woohoo!!
Separation Saturday!
EASTWLPCTGBHOMEROADRSRASTRKL10
Atlanta2412.667-13-711-5181150Won 58-2
NY Mets2213.6291.58-814-5182133Lost 17-3
Philadelphia1719.47278-79-12187175Won 35-5
Florida1619.4577.510-116-8176185Lost 14-6
Washington1025.28613.55-105-15105173Won 12-8
Was gonna say: Remind me to try and not connect through Philly when I fly again. That airport is the worst. First I’m delayed in Albany by a half hour. Then when we finally land in Philly I have, oh, about 3 minutes to catch my connecting flight.. so I walk as fast as I can from concourse C to B only to find out that it wasn’t necessary cause now we’re delayed from 8:15 to 8:45. whatever. at least I have a minute to calm down and use the facilities. So once the plane finally arrived they needed to deboard and clean it for our flight. After what was probably a half hour and multiple airport personnel going back and forth something doesnt appear right. They start boarding but we soon realize that no one is actually getting on the plane as passengers just starting lining up on the other side of the ticket gate up until the actual plane. Finally they tell us that there was no power to the plane and they needed to completely refill before they could restore power. At this point people that started to try to board just turned around and went back to sitting around the gate area. Urgh. Finally 15 or so minutes later we were able to board the plane. Then of course, in true Philly fashion, once we were able to start taxiing, it took another 20-30 minutes to actually get up in the air. Philly is the worst. I should have been home around 1am.. It’s like past 330am. Don’t they know that I have to work 9 hours tomorrow on my feet all day? Oh well, no reminder necessary, I’m going to try and avoid Philly at all costs.. but like they say, sometimes you get what you pay for.
You can’t stop me. I’m air-mailin’ myself. Yeah buddy.
Grace Theresa was born this morning at 4:09 AM weighing in at 6 lbs 14 ozs spanning 20 inches!
This is the greatest day in dialing history. I just called a number out of the complete blue that I had for a tentative location for a LONG TIME friend and low and behold I was able to receive him on the phone within a matter of seconds. I can’t express how excited I am to hear his voice again and to reconnect with him. I’m completely ecstatic right now and can’t wait to talk to him again when its a non-sleepy time. I’m the dumbass that called DL at 2:30+ in the morning during the sleepy time but I can attest to disrupting a nightmare of his and I will take credit for that.. wow.. I just can’t believe it.. so happy!
Today we’ll just let the pictures do the talking..
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