The New Smoltz

John Smoltz seems like the kind of person who bores easily. He's always been a tinkerer -- he experiments with different arm angles within a single at bat, and seems to come up with a new pet pitch every spring (remember the knuckler several years ago?). He's still experimenting, but now it's a concession to age rather than boredom relief.

He's ditched the splitter that, once he gained control of it ten years ago, elevated him from a fireballer to an elite pitcher. He knows the strain it puts on his arm, and that his next major injury is likely to spell the end of his career. So now his repertoire consists of fastball-slider-changeup, with the occasional curve mixed in. This means the days of 13-K games are likely gone for good, and we will surely miss them, as there's nobody else on the staff capable of blowing away hitters the way Peavy did to Langerhans last night.

But the good part is we may be able to keep Smoltzie around longer, and if the defense backs him up the way they did last night (last night being an Andruw Special), we'll get used to the New Smoltz.