Some stuff

John Smoltz is going to have shoulder surgery, which will knock him out for the season. He’d been on the DL, and was going to try to tough out the season in the bullpen. He came back and blew a save, giving up a couple runs. Now he’s shutting it down and will likely be calling it a career. He has a record of 210-147, 154 saves, 3,011 strikeouts, and a career ERA of 3.26. What might be most special was his ability to pitch in the postseason, where he was 15-4 overall with 4 saves. His ERA was 2.65 with a k/bb ratio of 194/67.

You gotta think that he’s a probable Hall of Famer. I remember seeing him in a game on the 4th of July at Turner Field. He was a closer then, and as soon as the 8th inning ended, the stadium just started going crazy. Everyone was yelling, “Smoltz! Smoltz!” and the scoreboard was flashing his name. He strode in from the bullpen in the outfield, and it looked like Achilles taking the field of battle. You knew that no one was beating him.

I saw him again earlier this year pitching against the Nationals. He was still dominant, and pitched six innings, giving up five hits and a run, but striking out 5. His ERA at the time was 0.82, and he even got an RBI in the win.

So a tip of the cap to a great pitcher and a great career.

...But he’ll never be quite as good as Doyle Alexander.

A lil’ bit of Aaron Crow on YouTube.

Calvin Medlock last night. He got hit hard in an inning and 2/3s of work, giving up 2 earned runs.

Medlock’s been pretty bad this season posting a 4.55 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 27.2 IP. He’s struck out 18 and allowed 17 walks.

The two most impressive players to watch were both Richmond Braves. Cuban defector Barbaro Canizares knocked the piss out of the ball all night, including a line drive home run to straight away center on a night when nothing was carrying. Even his two outs were absolute rockets. He squares up the ball nicely and displayed his power to all fields last night. It’s too bad he’s still stuck at AAA at age “28” (he’ll turn “29” this year). He wasn’t able to defect from Cuba until ‘03 (after having been docked a year of competitive baseball as punishment for a previous attempt at defection). After a couple of years in Nicaragua, he’s only in his second season with the Braves.

Braves’ stud pitcher Charlie Morton did not disappoint. He threw eight innings of one hit baseball and struck out 13(!). The only hit was notched by the first Bulls batter, who hit a pathetic dribbler down the third baseline that somehow stayed fair. For the rest of the night only two more baserunners reached—one on a walk and one on a throwing error by the Ecksteinian Brent Lillibridge. Morton’s physique and delivery are very similar to Homer’s. He doesn’t have the velocity Homer has, but he can change speeds effectively. His fastball was everywhere between 85 and 92 MPH. His season line in 74 IP is 5-1 with 1.71 ERA, 14 ER, 68 strikeouts to 24 BB and a .179 BAA. Strong to quite strong.

I think this is the first time I have ever seen the Bulls without a true stud prospect on the roster. No Delmon Young, Rocco Baldelli, Elijah Dukes, Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Joey Gathright, B.J. Upton or even Jorge Cantu or Wes Bankston, although Justin Ruggiano and Joel Guzman should both be back in the majors at some point, if not for the Rays.

Washed up former major leaguer award goes to Sal Fasano who’s really fat. Yes, even fatter.

Per Fay, the Reds have narrowed down their choices, and they don’t include Crow:
Brian Matusz (College LHP, San Diego)
Buster Posey (College C, Florida State)
Gordon Beckham (College SS, Georgia)
Yonder Alonso (College 1B, Miami and favorite of Thundering Turtle)

in it’s earliest incarnation, but I’d never seen proof.

Saw this video linked at Deadspin. A much younger, paler George appears about one minute in.