John Smoltz - playing for the Red Sox?!

Originally Posted by Bruzee

This has to be one of the sadest headlines I've read on ESPN. It is right there with Glavine signing with the Mets a few years back. I grew up watching both of them play at Fulton Co Stadium. This absolutely breaks my heart, and I would have loved to see him retire a Brave. Shame on you Atlanta for not paying this guy, despite the age and injuries. This never would have happened if John was still the GM.

It is sad, isn't it? I actually think it's far worse than the Glavine situation (even though he did go to a division rival). The thing I don't understand, is that we have so much money to spend this offseason, but yet we don't open up the vault for Mr. Braves? Honestly, Smoltz was an icon not only in Atlanta, but in all of the Majors. I have a tendancy to agree with you that if John Schuerholz were still the GM, this wouldn't have happened.

And speaking of the GM situation, what a tough offseason for Wren. I loved the Renteria trade (back in 07) that yielded us Jair and Gorkys but losing out on Peavy, Smoltz, Burnett and Furcal (all within a few months) is pretty inexcusable. Now I'm fairly confident that we'll overpay for D. Lowe (because we need a legit #1 starter) and probably sign Andruw Jones back. It's going to be an interesting (and realisticly underwhelming) season in Atlanta.