John Smoltz

John Smoltz seems to have permanently stalled in his comeback.

So here's what I think: Smoltz should shut himself down for the year and if he wants to have another go of it in 2010, that's his decision, assuming any teams would take him. But as it stands his 1-4 record and bloated 7.04 ERA make me miss Dice-K even though Matsuzaka went 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA. But Dice-K was injured and he'll recover. Smoltz, to me, just seems incapable of rounding back into form, despite occasional flashes of the old, er, young Smoltz.

Theo Epstein signed Smoltz as a low-risk, high reward gamble. Unlike Brad Penny, this one didn't work out. It's time to move on. This late in the season, a guaranteed loss every five days is unacceptable.

THE BOSTON RED SOX BLOG

The Red Sox [team stats] did not sign John Smoltz to see how he’d do against the Washington Nationals in June, so getting carried away by his first start tonight would be missing the point. He could pitch like the Hall of Famer he will one day become or he could pitch like you’d expect a 42-year-old coming off shoulder surgery to pitch.

So just as the Sox were not relying on Smoltz for the early months of the season, tonight’s 85-90 pitch outing is a mere tuneup for the months ahead, when the days shorten and chatter about magic numbers grows louder.

BostonHerald.com

Jason Bay, RBI machine

As he passed the office of Red Sox [team stats] manager Terry Francona yesterday morning, rehabbing right-hander John Smoltz poked his head inside and said, “I’ve found my changeup.” Replied Francona: “Good. We can use it.”

Smoltz wasn’t kidding. After weeks of tinkering with the pitch, he now believes he has found the right combination of grip, release and arm slot that is required to make the changeup a part of his repertoire once he is activated off the disabled list.

The question now is when that will take place.

Alright, so we've gone across the league, both leagues in fact, coast to coast and looked at a dozen pitchers who have a great chance of having their names make 'The List' this season. There may be one day the entire season where they could be of value to you, but that's our goal here - to identify that day. But certainly there's more than a dozen under analyzed, under appreciated arms out there, so let's take a division by division approach and try and find some more diamonds in the rough that we may have missed our first time through...

Up first, the American League East, which was originally touched upon in Part I of this series...

Closers may be the most intriguing breed of baseball players. They are highly debated, analyzed, ridiculed, and speculated on. Their biggest contribution to a fantasy lineup (Saves), they have little control over. They warm up, get ready to pitch, and when their offense scores a run to put their team up 4, they sit down and go back to spitting seeds while a guy, possibly just as capable, making a fraction of what the closer makes, trots out for the 9th inning. If you tried to describe fully, the modern MLB closer to somebody who had never heard of the concept, they'd look at you like you were crazy.

Just a few random news & notes (with links) to start your fantasy baseball week...

Smoltz was scratched from his start on Friday, two days after developing soreness in the muscle between his neck and shoulder. The Braves simply want to make sure that it doesn't linger or become a recurring problem during the season. 

Huge props Jake.
It should have been back to back Cy Young awards for the Friars, but I have no doubt you will make up for that and earn another one in 2008.