Sports Page Atlanta

The shoulder tightness that caused John Smoltz to miss his scheduled start on Friday, will now, most likely, land him on the DL to begin the 2008 baseball season. But, that’s not all bad news for the Atlanta Braves. Bobby Cox feels that the timing is perfect, as he’d rather see Smoltz miss the first week or two than go down in the middle of the season.

There’s also another good reason for the Braves to be happy. With a few younger players out of minor league options, placing Smoltz on the DL will allow the Braves to carry one of them on the roster, protecting him from having to make it through the waiver process. The protection will only last until Smoltz returns from the DL, but that could give the Braves enough extra time to mull things over and even contemplate a trade.

If Smoltz lands on the 15-day DL, the Braves would plan to bring him back to start April 6 in a Sunday afternoon home game against the New York Mets. That’s the first date the Braves would need a fifth starter, because of an April 1 off day.

As DL stints go, Smoltz’s temporary absence would be far easier to absorb now than at midseason. “It’s perfect,” manager Bobby Cox said of the timing.

A Smoltz DL stint could be backdated up to nine days into spring training, provided he doesn’t pitch in a Grapefruit League game in that period. If he pitches later this week, it will be in a simulated or minor league game.

photo credit: jspatchwork

This entry was posted on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 9:10 am and is filed under Atlanta Braves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.