Could Smoltz Wear A Different Uniform Next Year
by gondeee on Sep 9, 2008 11:11 AM EDT
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PrintIn an interview with Jay Busbee of Atlanta Magazine and the blog Right Down Peachtree, John Smoltz fired the first shot in what is sure to be a long winter of contract discusssions... and he didn't hold back:
"I say this for the first time, without reservation, if I’m going to bust my butt and if I feel like I’m good enough and it doesn’t work out here, I will be pitching somewhere else … My dream scenario would be to pitch in the playoffs again, and that’s coming from a guy who’s been in 13 of them. (Smoltz missed the 2000 playoffs with Tommy John surgery.) To me, that’s what I’m about. So if the door gets closed here, it’ll have to be explored somewhere else."
He later clarified his statement a bit more with this comment:
"Make no mistake," he said a few minutes later. "I am absolutely, 100 percent committed to playing the rest of my career for the Atlanta Braves. But this can’t be my only option … I may not be in the [Braves’] plans. It’s no given right, where I’ve spent 21 years here and [so] they owe me whatever I want."
This is going to be a hotly debated topic during the off-season and even before the off-season, starting right now. With this shot from Smoltz, the race is on and each party will likely have their say. The reality is that the Braves may choose to go young and not retain Smoltz or Tom Glavine, or they may choose to spend money in other areas and on younger and healthier players. It will be interesting to see what Smoltz and Glavine will be asking for in a contract -- guaranteed money, incentive-based deals, or just a low minimum.
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Smoltz has always worn his mind on his sleeve. I don’t blame him for the response and his emotion, because he is one of the fiercest competitor’s I’ve seen, and he knows that baseball is a business as well.
That being said, Atlanta: do not let him depart. I don’t know about exercising the option for next year (which the article says some have suggested), but make sure he’s in a Braves’ uniform if he decides to play.
Sounds kind of like . . .
. . . A season or two ago, when he alluded to not minding if he were traded to possibly the playoff-hopeful Tigers, or when he made himself vocal about why it was taking a little longer than he expected to get his extension. Kind of wishy-washy, maybe not the best time, but the guy’s now divorced, and hopefully is not expecting to make a billion dollars because he’s got a family to feed.
Smoltzie’s not stupid – he knows that this is going to spark many debates of loyalty vs. moving on, fans vs. Liberty, young vs. old, saving money vs. fan alienation, and so forth. But the outcomes of all of it are more beneficial to him (financially) than harmful. And the biggest factor in it all is his health, and how he feels come February/March of next year, and if he can even pitch anymore, whether it be as a starter or a reliever.
If the previously mentioned somewhere here allegations that Smoltz and/or Glavine felt remorseful for unexpectedly cashing in on injury-plagued seasons, and would be willing to give it another shot, albeit under low-guarantee/high-incentive/milestone deals, personally I see no harm in it. Heck, throw Hampton under that umbrella too. But to be fair to the Braves, if any of them come back asking for a king’s ransom, nix it. Like many here, I am in favor of some rebuilding and moving forward without highly-expensive veterans. And all three seem too risky now for giant money, IMO.
Losing Glavine to someone else again would sting, but we’ve done it before. Smoltz on the other hand would be a blow; but if he’s as old-school and honorable as he preaches, then he’ll be very reasonable with the organization, and maybe we won’t have to worry about seeing him suit up for anyone else.
No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.
He better be in Atlanta...
if he’s pitching. I will be one very sad, very angry fan if he’s not. I cannot imagine that he would expect a huge guaranteed amount.
Smoltz' 09 is a medical question
If John Smoltz is well enough to pitch in 2009, he should pitch for the Braves. We may not know until June, so maybe that’s when we should negotiate with him as a free agent. I doubt if he’ll be well enough to start regularly for a full season and stay healthy. If he is well enough to start during the second half of the season, he should be paid half his usual. If he can only pitch out of the bullpen in the second half, the pay should be less. If he can work himself up to contributing in August-September, then maybe he can get help us into October in 2009 or morel likely 2010. To be more specific about appropriate pay you’d have to know how the insurance works. After the claims the Braves have filed on their rotation in recent years, who knows what the premiums would cost?
Glavine is not worth any financial risk at this point. We wasted $8 million on him last year. He should be offered a minor league deal (so he doesn’t push a prospect off the 40-man protected roster) with the minimum salary if he proves ready to pitch in 2009. Glavine pushed for top market value for his own salary and others throughout his career, so let him live by those principles now.
I think this will be a non-issue.
We will sign both Smoltz and Glavine back with low value-incentive laden deals. Homeboy upstairs finally gave Smoltz market value 2 or so years ago, so i can’t that being an issue. I think both he and Glavine will be very accomodating, Glavine especially because his Braves reunion did not go as planned.
I also think the money will be there, simply b/c i can’t see the Braves blowing all that available cash on high dollar free agents. Maybe they will, but history says they won’t. I really hope that we can get a couple starting pitchers (in addition to S & G), but at what price? I feel like i’ve said nothing of value, where’s that pic with the office space guys beating a dead horse?
cut the cord
i hope the braves will have learned their lesson from this season. you know, the one where you pay 10 mil and a very good draft pick for a few games of a mediocre tom glavine. the braves don’t need these old guys, and unless they are willing to sign incentive based contracts, it’s not worth it at all
I don’t think it’s as simple as just signing for the minimum (or close to it) with lots of incentives. If Smoltz becomes a FA this winter as it appears he will, the Braves must offer him arbitration or lose the right to negotiate with him until May 1. The lowest they can offer him is arb is 3/4 of his current salary, which is almost certainly in excess of what they’d be willing (or should be willing) to pay. So most likely there will be no arb offer.
Now maybe waiting until May 1 isn’t so bad – if he’s not going to be ready until then, can’t hold up for a full year, etc. That might end up working out very well – but there would be no guarantees. If another team made Smoltz an offer during the winter, wouldn’t he have to at least consider it?
And that’s really all he’s saying. He’d listen. If the Braves don’t want him back, he’d have to. And he may not know whether the Braves want him back (in fact, the team may not know) until that window of opportunity with another team closes.
Smoltz should stay a Brave or retire.
He’s not going to get much on the FA market because of injury concerns and he should have some loyalty to the ATL franchise so it would make sense to sign a cheap deal with lots of performance-based incentives and options.
i don’t think he’s going anywhere. he’ll probably get something like a 4 mill base with incentives, and thats that. if wren lets him go anywhere, injury or not, he should be strung up from the fucking chickfila cow in left field.
Following the Braves...one long hard drink at a time.
only positive is: if we let smoltz walk, we get a draft pick. hmmmmmmm
Following the Braves...one long hard drink at a time.
Actually...
…we have to offer him arbitration and he has to decline it and sign elsewhere in order for us to get a draft pick. I doubt Smoltz would decline arb if we offered it to him, seeing as it would certainly net him enough money to stay.
i’m well aware we’d have to offer him arb. but someone like john smoltz would have offers on the table, and could probably get more in the market than he could via arb
Following the Braves...one long hard drink at a time.
Even...
…with his shoulder being as bad as it was and still no guarantee that he’ll actually play at all next year? I realy don’t see anyone besides the Braves offering the kind of money that arb would net him. Either way, I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell he’s with anyone but the Braves next year.
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