On Wednesday, the venerable Marty Noble posted his usual weekly mailbag, and in a question regarding the potential availability of John Smoltz he replied,
Few personnel moves the Mets could make would please me, personally, as much as the addition of Smoltz. He’s a class act and a joy to cover. I’d like watching his slider, too. But, to me, adding Smoltz would be akin to signing Ben Sheets. Incentive-laden contract or not, he’d come with issues. And the Mets have enough potential starters with issues. They need innings, about 200 of them.
At a soon to be 43 years old and plagued with several injuries over the years, the Mets shouldn’t even be looking at John Smoltz, but according to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog the Mets ARE interested.
According to people connected to the team, the Mets also have interest in free-agent RHP John Smoltz, who could compete for the back-of-the-rotation, but also pitch from the team’s bullpen.
Are they kidding me? Or is this just an early April Fools Day joke?
Smoltz compiled a 3-8 record with a 6.35 ERA while splitting the season between the Red Sox (8.32 ERA) and the Cardinals (4.26 ERA).
Considering the many question marks the Mets currently have in the rotation and the bullpen (yes, the bullpen too.), I just don’t see how Smoltz could help the current situation. Two to three million dollars thrown at Smoltz would be akin to simply soaking the loot in kerosene and setting it ablaze.
Plus who really wants to hear Gary Cohen remind us every time he takes the mound, that he and Tom Glavine are best friends? I think we’ve all had enough of that banter.
