Smoltz: ::Sigh::.... What Could Have Been

Well, I fail.

I remember last year around this time, getting all hyped up for the return of John Smoltz to baseball and his first game as a member of the Sox. I was positively giddy, and I rode that giddiness almost all the way through his tenure on our pitching staff. I'm sure you all remember how that ended.

Yes. I was wrong. I thought Smoltz was going to work out, or at the very least give us more than he did. On occassions, he suffered from poor run support. More often than not, he suffered from poor control. Hey, don't blame me for wanting him to succeed so badly with my favorite team that I was willing to overlook how bad he was. He's a future HOF'er. I wanted to see the man pitch. Is that really a sin?

Cutting this short, baseball's "Smoltz Reclamation Project," which started and failed in Theo Epstein's hands, is more than likely coming to an end. While he hasn't officially announced his retirement yet, Smoltz has accepted a position as a TBS analyst. I sort of think this means that he hasn't gotten any offers and he knows he's all done. You hate to see HOF'ers go out like this.... after trying and failing to regain their past successes. Still, I regret not being able to see him pitch live. Oh well. Best of luck, Smoltzie.