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?


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Posted in Injuries | 6 Comments »

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6 Responses to “Smoltz Out Longer, Pedro Retiring?”

  1. By Akshay on May 20, 2008 | Reply

    That sucks for Pedro, I hope his father gets better. But…a 78 year old dealing with cancer, doesn’t bode well. Good luck to him though.

  2. By JB in ATL on May 20, 2008 | Reply

    I want Smoltz to just chill as long as he has to so we can have him back for at least the second half… that is if we can actually get him back this season.

    Good point about whether or not Metro fans will actually care about Pedro. I think they’ve moved on.

    Take it easy and enjoy this “double header” (ha ha) we’re in for today.

  3. By Colin on May 20, 2008 | Reply

    I’m with on you Smoltz, JB. We’ll just cross our fingers and remind ourselves that he’s not Mike Hampton.

    It can’t be good for Pedro and his family – I definitely hope they work everything out. When it comes down to it, Pedro knows his family is more important than the game.

    I’ll be at game one today, so say hi if you drop by.

  4. By Akshay on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply

    That sucks for Pedro, I hope his father gets better. But…a 78 year old dealing with cancer, doesn't bode well. Good luck to him though.

  5. By JB in ATL on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply

    I want Smoltz to just chill as long as he has to so we can have him back for at least the second half… that is if we can actually get him back this season.

    Good point about whether or not Metro fans will actually care about Pedro. I think they've moved on.

    Take it easy and enjoy this "double header" (ha ha) we're in for today.

  6. By Colin on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply

    I'm with on you Smoltz, JB. We'll just cross our fingers and remind ourselves that he's not Mike Hampton.

    It can't be good for Pedro and his family – I definitely hope they work everything out. When it comes down to it, Pedro knows his family is more important than the game.

    I'll be at game one today, so say hi if you drop by.

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