The Red Sox designated righthanded starter/reliever John Smoltz on August 7th, after he put up a 8.33 ERA in 8 starts in his return from shoulder surgery. With the Cardinals' righthanded relief man woes, aww hell, let's get John Smoltz.


Point six-eighty-nine.

That's John's OPS-allowed through pitches 1-15 this season.

Point eight-fifty-six.

That's John's OPS-allowed through pitches 16-30. The trend goes up from there.

John Smoltz has the distinction of being both a top starter and closer in his career, perhaps a Hall of Fame career. Unfortunately, his first 8 starts with his new team went terribly, leading to a DFA and departure from the rotation. I, and I'm not the only one, am under the impression that it was a mistake to keep him in the rotation for so long. Looking at his numbers categorically, it's apparent that he shouldn't have been pitching three or four times through the order.

John's peripherals are still there, even if his velocity isn't. His K/9 is a healthy 7.43, BB/9 at 2.03, and K/BB at 3.67. His FIP is at 4.93, not as horrendous as his ERA implies. These numbers tell me that Smoltz can still pitch, but it depends on the situation he's put in that will determine if he has success. He can strike people out, but probably not for the course of an entire game.

Tony is a magician when it comes to putting players in situations to succeed. With Smoltz, he would know that limiting his exposure will increase his effectiveness, or at least that's what I'd hope he'd realize. He'd also know that Smoltz is a veteran with playoff experience, a gritty hard-nosed gamer who won't pansy around out of the bullpen. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I think Smoltz would fit in here, both as a player and a personality.

Claim John Smoltz from Boston and demote Brad Thompson to open up a roster spot. You shore up your righthanded relief without any real downside, as Smoltz couldn't be much worse than Brad. If he sticks, he sticks. If he doesn't, well, we're in the same position we were before. Smoltz would stick, though, and I guarantee he'd be on the post-season roster.

Your thoughts? I'm all ears.