NEW YORK Pedro Martinez may or may not know what happened to John Smoltz at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, but there’s a lesson here for aging pitchers everywhere especially the ones who fantasize about winning the war against time.

While Pedro toils in the Phillies’ minor league system, preparing for a comeback that no one can fathom (other than to have a last laugh on the Mets), Smoltz was buried for eight runs in 3 plus innings in the Yankees’ 13-6 flogging of the Red Sox.
Actually, buried is too gentle a description of what happened to this future, first-round Hall of Famer. Smoltz effectively was sent into retirement in the span of 22 batters, 13 of whom reached base, including home runs by Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon. By the time Smoltz was mercifully removed by Terry Francona, his ERA was 8.32.
Yankee fans couldn’t even bring themselves to boo Smoltz; out of pity he was forgiven for his trespasses, including wearing the hated Sox jersey. A few kind souls behind the third-base dugout even stood and applauded Smoltz, perhaps sensing they were watching a great career come to an end.
Smoltz seemed past the point of defending himself, telling reporters after the game, “I know I can’t continue to do what I’ve been doing. This is a results-oriented business. This organization expects things that I’m not providing.”
He’s right, of course. The Sox have a small but growing crisis on their hands, suddenly trailing the Yankees by 3 1/2 games. Smoltz and Brad Penny have both overtaxed the bullpen, and with Tim Wakefield on the DL with sciatica, Boston is counting on Clay Buchholz to somehow outpitch CC Sabathia on Saturday in front of a national TV audience.
Smoltz was supposed to assume some of thee pennant-race burdens; he was GM Theo Epstein’s pet project. The former Braves’ right-hander was coming back from a complete reconstruction of his shoulder. Just like Pedro’s divorce from the Mets, Smoltz left the Braves with enough ill will to motivate him through months of grueling rehab.
The goal was to re-create that inhuman arsenal from a decade ago. Smoltz built a resume of 212 wins and 154 saves on the strength of a 96-mph fastball, a 90-mph splitter and a power slider that broke so late and with such ferocity he could’ve thrown it 80 times a game and never gotten hurt.
But that wasn’t the Smoltz who took the mound against the Bombers on Thursday night. Smoltz had been getting slapped around by American League hitters for most of his first seven starts, but his deficiencies were magnified tenfold by the Yankees’ lineup.
Maybe it was the adrenaline surge in the ballpark that brought Smoltz down; the Stadium was sold out for the first time since opening day, and the scent of the playoffs was everywhere. Or maybe it was the Yankees’ lineup that was too much for Smoltz, fresh off a three-home run battering of Roy Halladay.
More likely, though, it was Smoltz who sabotaged Smoltz, offering himself up for sacrifice with a fastball that, through time and trauma, had been reduced to barely 90 mph. Even at that velocity, Smoltz might survived. But there was no life to his heat, nor was there any mystery to his slider.
Instead of breaking down and away from right-handed hitters as if it had been caught in a wind shear, the pitch now only rolls gently through the strike zone. Smoltz looked creakier and less explosive in his delivery, generating virtually no torque from his legs. He looked 42, sadly, every minute of it.
So if that was Smoltz’s final breath, he walks away with numbers not unlike Bob Gibson in 1975 (3-10, 5.04), Warren Spahn in ’64 (4-12, 4.36), Gaylord Perry in ’83 (7-14, 4.64) and Steve Carlton in ’88 0-1, 16.76).
Count the dignified, professional Smoltz as one more warrior who hung on just a little too long. Someday he’ll be able to honestly answer the ultimate, end-game question was it worth it? but in the meantime, Pedro is the one who should be thinking twice about pushing his luck.
Granted, he’s five years younger than Smoltz, but he’s coming off similar invasive shoulder surgery. Pedro lost his best fastball years ago, and drew so little interest from scouts that the only deal he could make was for $1 million and an immediate redirect to the Phillies’ minor league network.
Martinez struck out 11 in his first rehab assignment this week; everything looked great, according to the Phillies. But the real test comes later in August, and that’s assuming there’s even a spot for him in the Phillies’ rotation.
Of course, Pedro isn’t likely to heed anyone’s warning. The warrior in him won’t let go, especially because he has a chance to wound the Mets (as if they could possibly bleed any more). But Pedro surely knows there’s a risk.
It’s not just the possibility of re-injury that’s the least of his worries. It’s pride that’s at stake. It didn’t take any deep forensic analysis to decipher the look on Smoltz’s face as the Yankees started crashing through the gates in the third inning, Johnny Damon homered, Mark Teixeira doubled, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez blasted fly balls to deep center.
By the fourth, Smoltz was helpless, hopeless. The Yankees scored eight runs, sending 13 men to the plate, prompting him to say, “No one should’ve had to watch that.”
Was it all worth it? It probably was the wrong night to ask, but then again, Smoltz probably already knows the answer.