John Smoltz to the Red Sox?

Buster Olney reports here that John Smoltz is close to a deal with the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox, who have been busy lately (landing Baldelli yesterday, which is a great move), have recently liked the idea of stockpiling starting pitchers and, according to Olney's sources (which we discussed in the previous post), will continue that trend this year by signing Brad Penny and now Smoltz.

Why would Smoltz do this at the age of 41? He has pitched his entire career with the Braves. He has won a championship and been a part of a dozen playoff teams. Why uproot your entire life for one season hundreds of miles from where you have spent the last twenty years?

One reason could be the money. Perhaps the pitcher wanted to keep his career alive and the Braves figured they were going to be a year or more away from contending anyway and didn't want to throw a lot of money his direction. Then Boston would make sense.

Another reason could be for one last chance at another championship. Boston will always contend in this era of their organization because it is well run and intelligent with their personnel handling. Tampa would have been closer and probably could have swung the $5 million he will reportedly get with Boston. But he may know what many of us suspect in that Tampa will have a hard time repeating what was a Cinderella story. The Red Sox are no Cinderella. More like a Sherman that keeps marching. Oops. That's not a reference the Fan should have made with a story Atlanta fans might read. Apologies in advance.

The one problem with Smoltz choosing Boston (if he has indeed done so): He will be facing much tougher lineups in the American League with the DH and no letup at the bottom of the order. He could be setting himself up to fail at the tail end of his career, which is not a good idea this close to those who will be deciding his HOF status in the next decade.

One thing is true if this story is indeed reality, the Red Sox have clearly given up on Clay Buchholz. It would not be a surprise to see him traded in the near future.