Smoltz done?

[bukie]

According to Will Carroll, the Braves are holding a press conference today to announce that John Smoltz is done for the season due to soreness and swelling after his last relief outing.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

This makes me really excited that I picked up Rafael Soriano yesterday.

[CuseCubFan69]

ESPN said that he will be there with Cox and Sherholtz GM) for a press conference. I don't know when today.

[Mizzou]

Teams don't usually schedule press conferences to announce season ending surgery. Sounds like he might be calling it a career.

[Jehrico]

According to FoxSports, he's hoping to come back in '09. I hate seeing great players tarnish their careers by staying around too long.

[fromthestretch]

According to FoxSports, he's hoping to come back in '09. I hate seeing great players tarnish their careers by staying around too long.

 

From a performance standpoint, he's not tarnishing his career. When he's healthy, he's still as effective as he ever was during his career.

 

From an "it-would-be-nice-to-have-a-fully-functioning-right-arm-for-the-rest-of-my-life" standpoint, he probably may want to call it a career. He's already had multiple surgeries on that arm, and he's on the wrong side of 40. Get it fixed and enjoy retirement.

 

Maybe he's hoping to close for a year or two to become the first 200 win/200 save pitcher.

[TruffleShuffle]

i hope he can make it back and pitch effectively, if only for a year or part of a year. he's one of the great pitchers of our generation, and a great postseason pitcher as well (albeit with terrible run support), plus he's made it through some adversity. good luck to him.

[Jehrico]

According to FoxSports, he's hoping to come back in '09. I hate seeing great players tarnish their careers by staying around too long.

 

From a performance standpoint, he's not tarnishing his career. When he's healthy, he's still as effective as he ever was during his career.

Agreed, except I doubt his ability to come back effectively again after major surgery at 41 years. He was a bit younger last time.

Edited June 4, 2008 by Jehrico

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I hate when fans argue the "don't stick around to tarnish your career."

 

You get 85 years on this earth if you are lucky. Why would you ever willingly choose to spend one not playing MLB baseball for a living, if the option was yours?

[shnsajax]

I hate when fans argue the "don't stick around to tarnish your career."

 

You get 85 years on this earth if you are lucky. Why would you ever willingly choose to spend one not playing MLB baseball for a living, if the option was yours?

 

=D>

[TruffleShuffle]

I hate when fans argue the "don't stick around to tarnish your career."

 

You get 85 years on this earth if you are lucky. Why would you ever willingly choose to spend one not playing MLB baseball for a living, if the option was yours?

 

not to mention that this is what he makes his money doing. when he retires, he can probably still make some money announcing, doing card shows, maybe if he goes into coaching, but his days of making mega-big dollars are essentially over. if the guy loves what he does and wants to keep making money doing it, go for it. nobody bitches when a computer programmer or insurance adjuster stays at his job into his 60s and 70s, even though his mind isn't as sharp as it used to be and he gets tired more easily.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

nobody bitches when a computer programmer or insurance adjuster stays at his job into his 60s and 70s, even though his mind isn't as sharp as it used to be and he gets tired more easily.

I burned out of both of those professions by age 30 (although I'm still plugging away at one of them)

[Yanksfan1523]

nobody bitches when a computer programmer or insurance adjuster stays at his job into his 60s and 70s, even though his mind isn't as sharp as it used to be and he gets tired more easily.

I burned out of both of those professions by age 30 (although I'm still plugging away at one of them)

 

Maybe you should go play baseball now! :lol:

[Jehrico]

I hate when fans argue the "don't stick around to tarnish your career."

 

You get 85 years on this earth if you are lucky. Why would you ever willingly choose to spend one not playing MLB baseball for a living, if the option was yours?

I never said he shouldn't stick around, I said I hate seeing guys hang around too long. I never felt that way until Jordan came back after his second retirement. He went out on top after hitting the winning short for the 6th and last title. I can't think of another superstar who has ever had such a picturesque ending. It was the most beautiful way someone who transcended the game like Jordan did could wrap up his career. It was the only appropriate ending to such a stellar career. It was disappointing when he came back with another team and was unable to even come close to recapturing that. That doesn't mean that I didn't think he should come back, just that I hated seeing him come back unable to recapture the glory we expected from him. Fans have every right to hate seeing their heros sucking when they get old. Who here enjoyed watching Sandberg put up an OPS+ of 83 while failing to get to so many balls in the field that he used to make easily? That's also not to say I would have hated not getting another year of Ryno at the same time.

 

Hating seeing someone hang around too long isn't the same as criticizing the player for playing as long as he's able. Let's not confuse the two.

[B]

ESPN said that he will be there with Cox and Sherholtz GM) for a press conference. I don't know when today.

I thought he retired or something.

[Brett]

Only pitcher to have 200 wins and 150 saves, right? I go back and forth on how impressive that is as an accomplishment. I'll probably always remember him for his 2003 season. Just plain ridiculous, and overshadowed by Gagne. 383 ERA+ ... how does that even happen?

[CoolHandLuke]

Isn't he a scratch golfer? He should retire from baseball and try to make money from his other love.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I hate when fans argue the "don't stick around to tarnish your career."

 

You get 85 years on this earth if you are lucky. Why would you ever willingly choose to spend one not playing MLB baseball for a living, if the option was yours?

I never said he shouldn't stick around, I said I hate seeing guys hang around too long. I never felt that way until Jordan came back after his second retirement. He went out on top after hitting the winning short for the 6th and last title. I can't think of another superstar who has ever had such a picturesque ending. It was the most beautiful way someone who transcended the game like Jordan did could wrap up his career. It was the only appropriate ending to such a stellar career. It was disappointing when he came back with another team and was unable to even come close to recapturing that. That doesn't mean that I didn't think he should come back, just that I hated seeing him come back unable to recapture the glory we expected from him. Fans have every right to hate seeing their heros sucking when they get old. Who here enjoyed watching Sandberg put up an OPS+ of 83 while failing to get to so many balls in the field that he used to make easily? That's also not to say I would have hated not getting another year of Ryno at the same time.

 

Hating seeing someone hang around too long isn't the same as criticizing the player for playing as long as he's able. Let's not confuse the two.

 

It seems to me that it comes from a fan's belief that they somehow own the player's legacy, that the player owes them something. I hate that attitude. If Jordan wanted to come back today to be the 12th man on the Bobcats, that'd be fine with me.

[Wheelimus]

Hell, to me I'm usually surprised at how easy most players fade away. If I were a MLB player I would do just about anything to hang on and make just one more team for one more season.

 

In fact, it surprises me that you never have players trying to talk teams into gimme September tours of duty to be glorified coaches/mentors. If I were in my 40's and had just a little bit left in me, I'd sure be hoping for one. I imagine a September spent mostly sitting on the bench in a MLB park would beat a September spent just about any other way.

 

Of course, if I were a HOF caliber player that would be different. I wouldn't want to extend my clock just to sit on the bench.

[circlecitycub]

Hell, to me I'm usually surprised at how easy most players fade away. If I were a MLB player I would do just about anything to hang on and make just one more team for one more season.

 

In fact, it surprises me that you never have players trying to talk teams into gimme September tours of duty to be glorified coaches/mentors. If I were in my 40's and had just a little bit left in me, I'd sure be hoping for one. I imagine a September spent mostly sitting on the bench in a MLB park would beat a September spent just about any other way.

 

Of course, if I were a HOF caliber player that would be different. I wouldn't want to extend my clock just to sit on the bench.

 

I agree. I think Julio Franco should try this in September so that he can play MLB when he's 50.

[Jehrico]

I hate when fans argue the "don't stick around to tarnish your career."

 

You get 85 years on this earth if you are lucky. Why would you ever willingly choose to spend one not playing MLB baseball for a living, if the option was yours?

I never said he shouldn't stick around, I said I hate seeing guys hang around too long. I never felt that way until Jordan came back after his second retirement. He went out on top after hitting the winning short for the 6th and last title. I can't think of another superstar who has ever had such a picturesque ending. It was the most beautiful way someone who transcended the game like Jordan did could wrap up his career. It was the only appropriate ending to such a stellar career. It was disappointing when he came back with another team and was unable to even come close to recapturing that. That doesn't mean that I didn't think he should come back, just that I hated seeing him come back unable to recapture the glory we expected from him. Fans have every right to hate seeing their heros sucking when they get old. Who here enjoyed watching Sandberg put up an OPS+ of 83 while failing to get to so many balls in the field that he used to make easily? That's also not to say I would have hated not getting another year of Ryno at the same time.

 

Hating seeing someone hang around too long isn't the same as criticizing the player for playing as long as he's able. Let's not confuse the two.

 

It seems to me that it comes from a fan's belief that they somehow own the player's legacy, that the player owes them something. I hate that attitude. If Jordan wanted to come back today to be the 12th man on the Bobcats, that'd be fine with me.

You're not getting it. There wasn't any criticism of the player. Players develop a legacy with the fans. As a fan, it sucks to watch a guy you hold very highly put in a neifi-esque performance. I hated watching Sandberg suck in 97. I never said any players owed us anything, just that it sucked to watch the good ones look like Macias or Neifi when they're old. Or maybe you do get it, and you enjoyed watching Ryno stink in 97, I don't know.

[illiniguy]

I hate when fans argue the "don't stick around to tarnish your career."

 

You get 85 years on this earth if you are lucky. Why would you ever willingly choose to spend one not playing MLB baseball for a living, if the option was yours?

I never said he shouldn't stick around, I said I hate seeing guys hang around too long. I never felt that way until Jordan came back after his second retirement. He went out on top after hitting the winning short for the 6th and last title. I can't think of another superstar who has ever had such a picturesque ending. It was the most beautiful way someone who transcended the game like Jordan did could wrap up his career. It was the only appropriate ending to such a stellar career. It was disappointing when he came back with another team and was unable to even come close to recapturing that. That doesn't mean that I didn't think he should come back, just that I hated seeing him come back unable to recapture the glory we expected from him. Fans have every right to hate seeing their heros sucking when they get old. Who here enjoyed watching Sandberg put up an OPS+ of 83 while failing to get to so many balls in the field that he used to make easily? That's also not to say I would have hated not getting another year of Ryno at the same time.

 

Hating seeing someone hang around too long isn't the same as criticizing the player for playing as long as he's able. Let's not confuse the two.

 

It seems to me that it comes from a fan's belief that they somehow own the player's legacy, that the player owes them something. I hate that attitude. If Jordan wanted to come back today to be the 12th man on the Bobcats, that'd be fine with me.

You're not getting it. There wasn't any criticism of the player. Players develop a legacy with the fans. As a fan, it sucks to watch a guy you hold very highly put in a neifi-esque performance. I hated watching Sandberg suck in 97. I never said any players owed us anything, just that it sucked to watch the good ones look like Macias or Neifi when they're old. Or maybe you do get it, and you enjoyed watching Ryno stink in 97, I don't know.

You can still enjoy it. They only thing that I didn't like about MJ coming back the second time is that it was with the wrong team. You know the NBA enjoyed it.