Loading ...Over the hill and off the team…
When the Boston Red Sox signed John Smoltz, they thought they were bolstering their rotation. When the Oakland A’s signed Jason Giambi, they thought they were adding power to their lineup. Friday, both teams found out they thought wrong and sent two baseball greats packing.
"Yea, you're done for the day John, shower up...and while you're at it, clean out your locker."
Friday afternoon the Red Sox announced they were designating the eight-time All-Star for assignment – which is a nice way of saying he was released by the team (that’s right, Cy Young award winner John Smoltz was cut by a team). The future Hall-of-Famer’s numbers were far from that, to say the least. In eight starts, Smoltz was showcasing a 2-5 record, with an 8.32 ERA. Smoltz was coming off shoulder surgery this past January, and apparently, he isn’t fully recovered yet. In his final start with Boston, Smoltz was lit up for eight runs on nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings – all part of a 13-6 loss to the AL East leading New York Yankees. The Atlanta Braves, the L.A. Dodgers, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers all have been rumored to be interested in giving the 42-year-old pitcher another shot.
But Smoltz is the least of Boston’s problems anymore. The aforementioned game was part of a series that ended with the Yankees sweeping Red Sox Nation and increasing their division lead, at the time, to 6 ½ games (now down to 5 ½). Their bats have cooled off and their once dominant-from-top-to-bottom starting rotation is broken up and changing each day. Not to mention the release of David Ortiz’s name as a steroid user on that “anonymous list” that was made back in 2003. Ortiz, who is denying any wrongdoing to his grave, is now the second member (Manny Ramirez) of those championship Red Sox teams back in 2004 and 2007 to be accused of steroid use.
"I'm dead serious when I say this...steriods had nothing to do with my career or why I have been plagued with injuries recently - you got it?!"
Speaking of steroids, Jason Giambi’s return to Oakland was cut short roughly around the same time Smoltz was packing up his things. The five-time All-Star, and admitted steroid-abuser, was released last week due to injuries and his performance…or lack thereof. The A’s announced they would be moving him to the DL and cut him this past Friday.
As if that wasn’t enough, A’s GM Billy Beane handed out forms at that press conference so that media members could not only hear, but read and see for themselves just how bad Giambi had been playing. The form stated the reasons, backed up by the numbers, as to why the two were parting ways. Beane let reporters know it had everything to do with getting younger players time and with the 38-year-old’s production at the plate. The A’s MVP in 2000 put up some poor numbers this season – hitting .193 with just 11 home runs…I guess maybe steroids do affect players’ performances. No teams have reached out to Giambi as of now, but after a few cycles, he will probably try and take another run at playing in the Bigs.
everyone needs to stop crying about steroids, its like beating a dead horse. Also, don’t think steroids are the reason for his poor performance. He is just getting very old, this happens at the end of careers.