Smoltz Out Longer, Pedro Retiring?

Written by Colin on May 20, 2008 – 9:35 am

John Smoltz has experienced some more pain than expected here recently in bullpen sessions, and has said that he may be out much longer than initially expected.  What does this mean for the Braves?  It means that not only do they have rotation issues for the rest of the season, Smoltz may not be able to contribute in the bullpen as much as they’d like.  That said, the bullpen has been quite good lately.  Smoltz would only make it better.

The question arises, if he gets healthy and helps from the bullpen, would he switch to the starting rotation if we made it to the postseason?  He’s a competitor and would want to contribute as much as possible.

In other news, the NY Daily News is reporting that Pedro Martinez is contemplating retirement at the end of the season due to the failing health of his father.  Pablo, age 78, is dealing with cancer and the emotional toll is weighing heavily on the family, as well as himself.  In an admission of the toll the heavy schedule of baseball on family life, Pedro told the News “I haven’t been there for them. I just realized that between last year and this year I haven’t been there for my family, my parents… After this season, I’m going to go back home and think about it and I’m going to decide.”

The question with the Pedro situation is - will the Mets and their fans really miss him?  He hasn’t quite been the electric starter he was with Boston, so one has to ask - does this even matter?

Tags: John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez
Posted in Injuries |