Mazzone Bomb: John Smoltz Cheated

…has he lost his damn mind?

This certainly will do no favors for the vaunted Atlanta Braves pitching staffs from that era. My guess is that this nugget of information will receive some national attention for a small time period and then be relatively forgotten. However, this could serve to undermine that dominance if other media members begin exploring possible infractions that influenced the dominant performance by the Braves during that special run of championships.

But I will say this – a bit of pine tar on Smoltz’s shoes is nothing in comparison to the steroid abuse going on when he played. So, if anyone raises this, I am going to tell them to have a nice hot cup of STFU.

You really think this is a big deal? Please.

I’m as well surprised, shocked, by the nonchalant manner that these cheating acts are disclosed. I know Smoltz is notorious for asking for new baseball…

If this thing blows up (which I have my doubts that it will), it is probably more indicative of the era than the Braves.

I know this is probably some kind of willful denial, but the way that’s worded makes it seem more like a joke than anything else.

I mean, is Leo really that far gone as to go, “Hahaha, we cheated, it was good times!”

That would be like Bonds or Clemens going, “Yeah, dude. Roid ’em up, win awards, break records. It was so much fun!”

The reason baseballs are doctored is to get extra movement on the pitches. Of all the guys in the Braves’ rotation over those years, the pitcher who LEAST relied on movement was Smoltz himself…he was primarily a fastball guy, with a split-finger and hard slider as extras. I remember thinking, in fact, that he was probably the only guy on the staff who could throw a ball straight – I don’t think Maddux or Glavine could even if their lives depended on it. But the split doesn’t need any extra help – it dives by itself… and while Smoltzy wasn’t the only one throwing that pitch (far from it), he may have been one of the hardest throwers using it (IIRC).

To underscore the point, think about the current crop of pitchers out there: backdoor sliders, cutters, the Venters slider, etc. Pitch movement is all the rage today – more so than in the 90’s, when Greg Maddux was inventing new ways to do it. But Smoltz? Doesn’t really make a lot of sense unless he’s claiming that the slider was enhanced. But again, I don’t know that his was any more severe than what we see today.

Finally, if pine tar was the substance of choice, then I could see a couple of problems: (a) stickiness impacting the release of a pitch; (2) the discoloration of the baseball. If that were happening, other teams would be all over that.

Oughta be an interesting pre-game show on the radio tonight… Leo’s a regular.

If this is considered cheating then pretty much every pitcher has probably cheated, it’s just it’s one of those things that nobody really talks about. Whether it’s pine tar, resin, tobacco juice, or suntan lotion, pitchers have been using foreign substances, to get a little bit of extra grip from time to time, for decades now.

Mazzone’s not going to be getting any friendly calls from any pitchers any time soon for putting this in the spotlight, but it’s certainly not going to stop the practice of pitchers doing it.

away from the team for his son’s surgery

Things like sign stealing aren’t technically illegal. Players just try to grap an edge whenever they can.

So much of a pitcher’s livelihood is based on trivial circumstances which will cause a player to bend the rules. Apparently Smoltz used a bit of pine tar in the playoffs. I don’t think any less of the man. Kenny Rogers clearly had pine tar on his hand in a World Series game and no body did anything about it.

Leo Mazzone is drunk, like all the time.

I hate Leo fucking Mazonne. Always have. There’s not a more overrated coach in the history of sport. Jesus, what an idiot.

Dumbass. Seriously. Fuck you.

If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.

Considering he pitched in the era where more than half of the ops>800 club juiced.

Every era of baseball has had some dirt – today it’s the fact that the mlpba has avoided gameday blood hgh, unlike the nflpa.

just said on MLBN " I have never doctored a baseball. I have no idea what Leo is talking about". I believe John.

He was back on this morning. Got pretty irate and kept saying that the whole thing was taken out of context and that it was just some guys joking around. Instead of just saying that he was joking around to Smoltz on that occasion about how touching his shoes would lead people to believe he was touching his shoes to get tar when in fact it was just coincidence, he just got mad and said it was no big deal. He did say that if guys couldn’t get a grip (in the cold mainly) that he’d tell em to grab a bat and get a little sticky. He was adamant that nothing wrong was done as nothing was put on the ball.