NL East: Braves call 11:30 a.m. news conference

The press gathering will be attended by John Smoltz, along with Frank Wren and Bobby Cox. Shoulder surgery for Smoltz will be confirmed, but it may also signal retirement for the 41-year-old hurler.

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution: After spending nearly five weeks on the disabled list with inflammation of the rotator cuff and biceps tendon in his throwing shoulder, Smoltz returned from the DL Monday night and blew a save against Florida in his first relief appearance in 44 months. Smoltz had moved back to the bullpen from his preferred starting role as a concession to persistent pain in his throwing shoulder. He had hoped he could get through the season by pitching in one-inning stints and by altering his pitching delivery and throwing sidearm.

Smoltz has had four right-elbow surgeries and had said in recent years that he wouldn't endure another arm surgery and long rehabilitation to prolong his career. But on Monday he backed away from those statements and indicated he would consider surgery and all other options.

The 1996 Cy Young Award winner has a 210-147 career record with 154 saves and 3,011 strikeouts in 3,395 innings, all with the Braves. Smoltz is also the winningest postseason pitcher in history (15-4) and owns the record for postseason strikeouts (194). He notched his 3,000th career strikeout earlier this season.

Beerleaguer: One of my favorite non-Phillies. Hat tip to Smoltz if this is indeed the end of his marvelous career.

Comments

[BobbyD]

WOW!

[J. Weitzel]

Meanwhile, Pedro picks up the win for NY (6 IP, 3 ER, 3 K). I'm expecting him to be a stabilizing force the rest of the season for NY, not dominant, but tough. All guile with Pedro anymore.

[Jonesman]

Huge news, but not all that surprising. His modified delivery did not look sustainable.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

What I said earlier: He might not make it in on the 1st ballot but he is definitely a HoFer. He'll likely be up against teammates Glavine and Maddux on the ballot so it should be interesting. Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez could retire as well so it would be a tough class to crack on the first try. Good career John.

[GM-Carson]

Weitzel- I am with you about liking Smoltz. I hated nearly every Brave over the decade+ run, but I always had a ton of respect and admiration for Smoltz. He's a Hall-of-Famer and a top class man.

[J. Weitzel]

It's hard to imagine Smoltz retiring. Maybe he won't. Nothing confirmed yet ...

[Matt]

Man, that Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz rotation in the 90's was amazing. Made Leo Mazzone look like some sort of guru. I think he was just lucky to have three Hall of Famers in the rotation at once. The real gurus were in the Atlanta front office.

[curt]

And so Moyer survives another challenge to his record as the only 50 year old starting pitcher ever. Two geriatic class acts.

[stjoehawk]

NEPhilliesPhan - Don't forget about Griffey & Frank Thomas. I wouldn't be shocked if this year was the last for either one. The 2014 class could be one of the best classes ever.

[from the district]

if this is the end it would set up a maddux, glavine, smoltz hall of fame ceremony

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Griffey: Yes
Thomas: No...too much time as a DH IMHO.

Honestly though, I wouldn't be surprised to see Maddux pitch next year...he's been pretty effective this season so there's no reason he can't keep going...I think he wants to get to 360 wins...and solidify his place as the best right hander of his generation.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Umm...didn't Satchel Page pitch well into his 50's...Moyer's got a ways to go to catch him.

[GM-Carson]

Satchel did pitch when he was 58, but that was following a 12 season layoff.

Frank Thomas is a DH, but a Hall-of-Fame DH in my opinion.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

I love him for his run in the mid-90s but his power numbers will always be suspect because of his era. Thomas was the most dangerous hitter in baseball for a 5 year period.

Personally I don't feel that DH's should make the Hall...this includes guys like Ortiz.

My test for the Hall:

1. Ask yourself: Is (blank) a HoFer? Yes or No.

If you have to really think about it and then start justifying it, I don't think they should go in.

This would have prevented some travesties in the Hall like Gary Carter and some of the Yankees that are there because of the Veterans Committee.

[curt]

Naw, old Satch was done at age 48, except for 1 joke appearance many years later. A mere child.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I'd say Thomas is a HOFer. I could see him maybe not getting in on the 1st ballot, if he's in a tough class, b/c he was DH, but he's gotta get in.

[Jimmie J.]

>>Satchel did pitch when he was 58, but that was following a 12 season layoff.<<

Satchel said he needed the time to build up his arm strength.

[GM-Carson]

Frank Thomas is a big, big man. I've never questioned his power numbers just because of his naturally immense size. And to be fair, he did play the field (1st base) for close to 1000 games in his career.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Thanks for the clarification on Page...I will admit that there are some gaps in my knowledge of historical baseball facts...not that many but some.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Jayson Stark (I think) was on Jody Mac once talking about the HOF and whether some borderline types like Tim Raines should make it and he made a good point (paraphrasing): Why do these types votes often increase with the years? For the most part, it should be easy to say "yes" or "no" for these guys. When you hear it's "X's last year of eligibilty for the HOF", that should be a sign of "he's not quite good enough" not "let me get my votes in for him now before it's too late!" If he wasn't good enough to vote for the 1st or 2nd time, why vote for him later?

[NEPhilliesPhan]

To GM-Carson: Don't get me wrong, I really like Thomas as a player but I feel he's borderline on the Hall. He'll probably get in and I won't be upset but I don't look at him and say "Wow...he's a 1st Ballot HoF."

If he wouldn't have stuck around for 500 HRs, I doubt he would get in.

Note: My comment concerning his power is what I feel others will think about him...his numbers will be somewhat unfairly judged because of his era. Personally, I tend to think players like him, Griffey, and Thome were probably clean.

There's a thought: Is Jim Thome a HoF? I love him but again he's somewhat one-dimensional.

[Casey]

No doubt in my mind that Frank Thomas is a Hall of Famer. If he doesn't make it in, I'll blame the 1994 strike that shortened his peak year. Still, he slugged .729 in 500 plate appearances and had an OPS+ of 211. He also played about 90% of the season in the field.

His decline has been long and painful (for him), but few have had more dominating peaks.

[curt]

However, I doubt Moyer can work past age 55, with a 55 mph fastball.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

On Tim Raines, I feel he is overlooked due to where he played (Canada) more than anything. If he had been a life-long Red Sox or Yankee he'd already be in.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I guess my post above is basically NEPhilliephan" "is ___ a HOFer Yes or no". Occasionally, you can take a closer look at eras/stats and realize someone might deserve it, but otherwise, you should know.

[J. Weitzel]

In other news, Ryan Zimmerman will require shoulder surgery at some point. Washington is a non-factor in the division, but still. Phils are a healthy, happy bunch and are starting to separate themselves. Very few reasons why they can't see this through to the end.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

~now terrified of jinxing Phillies injurywise~

[Casey]

Also, why not vote for designated hitters? It's not their fault that the DH rule exists, and that players of a certain type are encouraged to put away their gloves on half the teams in baseball. If Babe Ruth were a DH (and he would be in today's game) would you not vote for him?

[stjoehawk]

In 2006, Ryan Howard had what we'd all agree was a great season, finishing with an OPS+ of 167.

From 1991-1997, Frank Thomas never had an OPS+ below 174.

[MG]

If Smoltz is retiring, then kudos. Very good pitcher who did what was required for his team and really the only Braves' starter of the 1990s who seemed to consistently show up in the postseason year in and year out.

Smoltz's career numbers as a starter are good (not great) but the impressive postseason career numbers and his numbers as a closer should put him in the HOF.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Well Babe Ruth wasn't DH so that doesnt really matter.

Thomas is a HoF...but his lack of a glove his a huge negative. His numbers will get him in but it might not be on the 1st ballot.

[MG]

JW - I am psyched about how the Phils are playing but let's see where they stand after a rough couple of weeks in June. If they are still in first and up 2 or 3 games in the NL East the end of June, then I will really start to get excited about the playoffs.

[GM-Carson]

During the offseason I did a post on future hall-of-famers on my blog. If interested, check it out @ http://pabaseball.blogspot.com/2008/01/hall-of-fame-bound.html

[NEPhilliesPhan]

I did one on my old blog (which no longer exists) as well...I'll have to try and dig it up.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

GM-Carson: I responded on your blog, but its an intersting list...the only one that really threw me was Mussina. I just don't see it. He's never even been the best pitcher on his team for one.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

If Blyleven can't crack the hall, there is no way in hell Mussina should even be considered. No Cy Youngs (came in second once), only 5 AS selections, no 20 win seasons despite playing on several 100 win teams. Career Park Adjusted ERA 4.51

[GM-Carson]

Mussina was the best pitcher on his team when he was with the O's. I can see how he will be argued come Hall time, but imagine if he gets up to 260+ wins...that will be difficult to ignore.

[Jimmie J.]

I always had trouble accepting Willie Stargell as a HOFer. If you stripped away the HRs & RBI, how 'all-around' was he? Not the greatest fielder & slooow. All I heard when he was near the end of his career was how nice of a guy Pops was and what he did for the Pittsburgh community. Sorry, not good enough for me. A guy like Gary Carter (I was not a big fan) had more impact on the game as did potential HOFers such as Raines & Thomas.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

I point again to his Career ERA and Career WHIP...neither is dominant. He had the luxury on playing on some very good teams to rack up a decent win total but that doesnt make him a HoF.

Like Jim Edmonds, he is in the Hall of Very Good Ballplayers.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

If Jamie Moyer plays another year and gets up to 250+ wins...does that make him a Hall of Famer?

[GM-Carson]

NE- I understand your points. The players I listed were ones I thought would get into the Hall-of-Fame, not necessarily ones I think deserve to get in.

[Tray]

I believe Thomas has one of the ten highest career OBPs of all time. Pretty much a no-doubt Hall of Famer. I can't say whether he's a first-ballot or not; that stuff's always seemed stupid to me anyway.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

GM-Carson: NE- I understand your points. The players I listed were ones I thought would get into the Hall-of-Fame, not necessarily ones I think deserve to get in.

Fair enough...I apologize if I was coming off a little rude about it...arguing stuff like this is one of my favorite things to do.

Note: I looked again at Thomas's stats...he should likely get in...his run in the 90's was as incredible as I remembered it. He was probably the best hitter of the entire decade...Bonds and Griffey would be right there too.

[GM-Carson]

NE- I love debating this stuff too, but it's better to do in person because so much can be lost through translation via the internet (tone, facial expressions, sarcasm, etc.).

[ae]

no question whatsoever that Thomas is a Hall of Famer. I don't care how many games he played at DH, a guy with a .302/.420/.558 (that's the 13th best OPS and 16th best OPS+ in history) career line in well over 8,000 AB is in the Hall.

Mussina reminds me of Jim Bunning; Mussina obviously pitched far fewer innings because of the era he played in, but both were consistently good pitchers with long careers who never put up a truly dominant season. I suspect that he'll make it eventually, especially with his solid postseason resume (3.42 ERA in 139 innings, although only a 7-8 record).

by the way, NEPhilliesPhan, I'm not sure where you're getting that "Park Adjusted ERA" - 4.51 is the average league ERA over his career. Mussina had a 121 ERA+, which means he was substantially better than league average.

[The Theory]

Are some of you seriously arguing against DH players making the hall of fame? Really? That is as bad as the unspoken consensus that relief pitchers aren't worthy either. Hey, I've got a thing against managers, how dare they be considered for the hall of fame! All they do is sit on their toosh and eat sunflower seeds.

[J. Weitzel]

Bunning came to mind, too, in regards to Mussina. He'll make it for sure because he's a Yankee.

[ae]

no real comparison at all between Moyer and Mussina...

3620 IP / 3423 IP
236 - 181 / 258 - 148
4.22 ERA / 3.71 ERA
105 ERA+ / 121 ERA+
1.32 WHIP / 1.19 WHIP
3 Black Ink / 14 Black Ink
98 Gray Ink / 237 Gray Ink
33 HOF Standards / 51 HOF Standards
47 HOF Monitor / 114 HOF Monitor
(see for explanation)

[jeremy]

Frank Thomas' career OPS is .979. This is 13th all time. His career OPS+ is 157, 19th all time. Every person ahead of him on both lists is in the hall, will be in the hall, or had a shortened career. Frank Thomas has hit 520 home runs. His career batting line is .302/.420/.558. This should end the discussion with regards to whether or not Frank Thomas is a hall of famer, but somehow I know it won't.

[JD]

Bed Beard---"I guess my post above is basically NEPhilliephan" "is ___ a HOFer Yes or no". Occasionally, you can take a closer look at eras/stats and realize someone might deserve it, but otherwise, you should know."

Not saying this is right, but might that have something to do with who the eligible players are in any given year?