What can we take away from John Smoltz’s debut with the Sox last night? Smoltz said himself that he was “very encouraged”, and Tito too seemed pleased after the game. That may seem a little odd when you look at the results of his first Major League since having shoulder surgery last June. He went five innings, and gave up five runs on seven hits, earning him a loss and an ERA of 9.00. But you can’t just look at the final box score. If you take away the first inning, Smoltz’s performance was rather good: four innings, one run, three hits, no walks, and four Ks. This was Smoltz’s first game ever not with the Atlanta Braves, and you can’t really blame him for maybe being a little rattled right off the bat. And it’s not the first time he’s struggled in his first appearance following a long layoff: in his first game as a closer in 2002, Smoltz gave up eight runs in two-thirds of an inning. In his first game returning t o the starter’s role in 2005, he went 1 2/3 innings and gave up six earned runs. Smoltz called this start “déjà vu…Three or four years ago, I heard he same doubt. It quickly changed, and that [first] game gets forgotten. The patience will be just from the nice little stretch here to get myself acclimated to this team, and you'll see what happens when I get in my groove.” It took one inning for him to get into the groove we’ll hope to see for the remainder of the season. He settled in after the first inning, and needed only 57 pitches to get through the next four. His command was solid, and his fastball averaged 91.7 mph. Keep in mind, Smoltz is 42 years old and coming off his second major surgery in his career (Tommy John surgery in 2000). No one knows how Smoltz will come back after his rough debut better than the man himself, and I too feel very encouraged about what is to come from this future Hall of Famer in a Boston uniform.
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