John Smoltz gets his wittle feelings hurt. Imagine that.

I propose a celebrity death match for charity – Smoltz vs. Bradley. I’ll take the plucky fellow from Kentucky. (Plucky. Kentucky. There’s a nickname in there somewhere – don’t know if it fits on a shirt though.)
Oh, and nice column – spot on!

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The Braves are not running the baseball equivalent of a Section 8 program. Call it what you want, financial or performance motivated, but they’ve paid Smoltz and Glavine plenty over the years, provided them both with a big stage and a more than competitive environment. FW said the biggest problems he ever has are w/ ageing stars. Smoltz and Glavine both diminish their luster by carrying on the way they are.

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Awesome read. Bottom line with Smoltz and Glavine is that we could not afford to pay millions for double digit innings pitched. He wanted how much from us to pitch? And he hasn’t even thrown a pitch this year? That right there is comedy. Once his strong point, Smoltz is now blind to reality by his competitiveness. HOF pitcher but would make a terrible GM.

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Thank you MB for saying what needs to be said. Smoltz needs to grow up and stop whining already. He left the Braves, and Glavine – what gives him the right to bash OUR team – jerk. I think you are right on MB.

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Mr. Bradley, I know theres a lot of people on here who do not like the AJC for many different reasons, mainly because of that one guy who is not DOB. I am not one of those people. But I sure do hope the you are not a paid journalist for the printed paper of AJC, because your last posts (with TP & Smoltz) are not paper material. I have a problem with journalist who print their opinions (Even though I agree with you about TP and even more so about Smoltz, he need to just STFU). That kind of writting is “blog” material, and I know that those both are. Anyways great reads!

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its very simple the two of them are not interested in the braves but adding to their records. the most playoff wins, and victory number 305.

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Well done, Mark. Smoltz and Glavine see loyalty only as they describe it. Glavine, go back to New York where you favored money over family. Smoltz, you have a history of being a cry baby. Ask his neighbors

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For a normally good, entertaining, and insightful journalist, this was a pathetic column. Immature at best, making you no better than your subject, I fail to see the point other than a long-delayed counter jab. I also believe that Smoltz may have jumped the gun based on emotion and a lack of facts, but you as a journalist should be familiar with this problem, and thus be more readily able to forgive than most of us. For a truly level-headed opinion and some thoughtful insight, I suggest you read your esteemed colleague’s (DOB) column on Glavine-Gate.

Then again, you have put out like 872 columns this week. So maybe you’re just delirious?

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Mark, Well if its in the instance where its the opinion portion, that’s fine, but if it were to be reported as actual “news”, that is absolutely ridiculous. I know (not personally) a few people who have tried to pull that off at The Chicago Sun Times (which is an awful paper if you ask me) which resulted in firing.

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Mark,
While it is true you are paid for your opinions one would hope that there would be some degree of maturity instead of infantile diatribe. If you have a bias (and obviously you do) say so up front instead of making it seem your “opinions” are evenhanded. They have not been in the present discourse.
Again stop being a shill for the Braves and service the readers.
Please!

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Great article! I love both of these guys for the history they’ve created here but at the end of the day, I’m a braves fan. Both Smoltz and Glavine left Atlanta at one point for more money so give me a break about loyalty.

And while I’m at it, great job Frank Wren. The guy’s had two very tough decisions to make this year, including the off-season, and he handled them both very well. Playoffs or not, I’m excited about watching this team make a run.

Apropocious!

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Good read, MB

Thanks for calling Smoltz out for being the big whiney baby that he is. It’s nice to see someone in your position, not be a butt-kisser to head cases like Smoltz.

Note: MB, were you just a little bit embarrassed, when John OTC nailed you on “apropos”? LOL

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Once Somltz says more than “no comment” on Glavine he is fair game for Bradley and any other person that wants to write about him.

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No I see why Bush carried Georgia

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1) I like “Apropos.” Second cousin of Aphrodite, great-nephew of Zeus, right?

2) Good article. Can’t imagine someone like Hank Aaron, a classy guy and the anti-smoltz in terms of public relations skill, ever making comments like this.

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Can’t imagine someone like Hank Aaron, a classy guy and the anti-smoltz in terms of public relations skill, ever making comments like this. (TED STRIKER)

Really?!?!? How about when Hank Aaron does his annual call to Terrence Moore to whine about not getting enough credit from Bobby Cox for the drafting of Chipper?

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Great column, Mark. Really like the wittle word in the title. That really bewittles the overglorified, overdeified, overlionized one. And you just know Smoltz is sitting in a hotel room somewhere reading this online with steam coming out of his ears.

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Good column, Mark. Two more days … it’ll all be over. Tom hasn’t blasted anyone … yet. I would be surprised if he did. He was always a class act

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Does anyone else think Smoltz will be pitching against the Braves in a couple of weeks? That should be interesting.

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I didn’t get the memo about not buying tickets. I want to see Hanson and McLouth on the field. I’m pretty sure I would rather watch those two than any of Tommy’s remaining games. Thanks for making the season more exciting Wren!

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It’s kinda funny that a couple of guys who have realized over 100 million dollars for playing baseball can get theri panties in a wad for how they are treated but then both of them have made decisions to go where more money is waiting. I thought when they went on strike they said they had to because it’s a business! Business works both ways fellas! It’s laughable that they get there feeling hurt because the Braves don’t kiss their asses the way they think they deserve. Grow up!

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Smoltz and Glavine need to realize that loyalty goes both ways. The Braves made both of them very rich men, and both took off for more money late in their careers, when they really didn’t need the extra cash any more.

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WOW…AN AJC WRITER TELLING IT LIKE IT IS ABOUT JOHN SMOLTZ. I WAS A BIG FAN OF HIS OVER THE YEARS BUT HE BLEW OFF THE BRAVES BECUASE BECUASE THEY WOULD NOT GIVE HIM ENOUGH $$$$$$, AND BECAME A BIG CRYBABY AT THE SAME TIME
THE BRAVES HAD PAID HIM $130,000,000 OVER THE YEARS…HE SHOULD HAVE PITCHED FOR THE BRAVES FOR FREE.
AS FOR LITTLE TOMMY I GOT MY FILL OF HIM BADMOUTHING THE BRAVES FOR “MAKING” HIM SIGN WITH THE METS.
I WAS GLAD THEY WERE AND NOW I’M GLAD THEY’RE GONE

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Thanks Mark, I for one appreciate the insight. I used to be a huge Smoltz fan, only “real” Braves jersey I ever bought was a number 29. His act began to wear thin for me a few years ago. The grandstanding he has done this year about how the Braves mistreated him has been the final straw for me. If he had not been running his mouth and whining from afar I doubt you would have felt the need to expose your mutual past. I for one think it provides a great snapshot. While people like John Smoltz run around crying about how he and his buddies are underappreciated, I am trying to hang on to a job I need to pay next months mortgage.

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Sounds like you got your wittle feelings hurt and have been stewing about it for 12 years.

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I agree with you, Bradley, that Glavine was done. However, this is the same team that brought Phil Neikro back for one final start after his successful American League sojourn. It would have hurt nothing to run him out there once and prove he can or cannot get big league hitters out.

As for Smoltz? Oh yeah, he’s more Petty than King Richard.

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I think someone has already said it best…You’re an A$$!

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MB,

Did you have a similar relationship with Terry Forster?

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Bradley, You are such a loser and a hater.
Who is stewing now?? Looks like you do a pretty decent job of harboring resentments as well Look in the mirror. Typical hypocritical critic.

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People, get a grip. Bradley didn’t say Smoltz sucked or that he didn’t mean a lot to the Braves and the city of Atlanta. He said that he can be a crybaby. I agree. Notice that Glavine hasn’t said anything to the media other than the statement released through his lawyer. I highly doubt that he appointed John as his spokesman, either. And months and years down the road, you won’t hear Tommy taking cheapshots from afar like Smoltz, either. That’s what professionalism is all about. I like Smoltz as much as anyone, but he flew to Boston on a jet like everyone else, not with his own set of angel’s wings.

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Another reason I like your columns is that you have better spellers here. That other AJC blog is full of misspelled words and the thoughts there do not run deep like the ones here. “Apropos”, for instance . . . you would never find apropos on the other blog. Imagine an AJC writer that doesn’t deify a Baves player or assign him a cute little nickname! Yes, Bradley, such is the stuff of Pulitzer prize winning journalism. Tell Luckovich there is a new sheriff in town. Better yet, draw him a picture. Keep up the good work!

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You know darn good and well, that Smoltz, like myself went to Dictioary.com to look up apropos.

For all the others out there, that are IQ challenged like myself. Here ya go.

ap⋅ro⋅pos   Show Spelled Pronunciation [ap-ruh-poh]
–adverb 1. fitting; at the right time; to the purpose; opportunely.
2. Obsolete. by the way.

–adjective 3. opportune; pertinent: apropos remarks.

—Idiom4. apropos of, with reference to; in respect or regard to: apropos of the preceding statement.

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Err err I misspelled dictionary. You can see now that I wasn’t joking about my low IQ.

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Mark

I like most Braves fans love the teams of the 90’s I grew up watching those guys so there is a fondness that will always be there. However if those guys didn’t win I wouldn’t have liked them nearly as much, so the point is if your not winning I don’t really like you. The Braves owe me and the rest of the fans more than they owe Smoltz and Glavine, and here it is June and neither of these guys have pitched one inning in the bigs. The Braves made the right choice and for me Smoltz is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth by acting like a baby.

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I like MB, but I find this a little classless. I’m not so sure Smoltz is the one who gets his feelings easily hurt.

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I will never understand why some of these people read your articles, Mark. They seem to read your stuff just to spite themselves.

I enjoy your writing. I think this piece shows a personal side of Smoltzie that not everyone sees.

And for the record; I will always appreciate what the great trio did for Atlanta in the 90’s. But it’s 2009. Let the rebuilding continue.

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Willy: 1) What Aaron said about Cox and Chipper was true, based on Aaron’s personal knowledge. What Smoltz said about Glavine and the Braves was the opinion of a (currently) overpaid minor league pitcher in a different organization in a different city who had nothing to do with the decision.

2) One phone call in forever is not actually “annual.” It’s one call during ALL the ages of time, from the era where dinosaurs walked the earth till gladiators fought in ancient Rome to the time we actually live in now.

3) If you knew Hank Aaron, you’d know the man simply doesn’t ‘whine.’ I’ve interacted with him in situations where less gracious people would have complained to the high heavens and he was cool as a cucumber.

4) I too dig the frequency of Mark’s writing. While you and I may disagree on the point of Aaron, it ain’t no big deal. I’d buy ya’ a drink but it’s hard to email a martini.

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I didn’t count up all of the comments but it seemed pretty even in favor of MB or Smoltz.

A super competitive athlete of the highest caliber, which Smoltz and Glavine both are, always has a hard time coming to grips with the end of their careers (just ask Brett Favre). Was the release of Glavine a performance based decision? Yes…I think we can all agree that having either Hanson or Medlen in the rotation over Glavine was better for the the team. Was it a financial decision? Of course it was, that $1M pays half of McLouth’s salary this year. Was it handled properly by FW? Absolutely not. There has to be a better way to treat one of the icons of the Braves. I’m just not sure how you do it.

Besides, the Braves tried the old guy rotation last year and it burned them. I think Wren was secretly hoping both Glavine and Smoltz would have called it a career after their failed efforts last year so he didn’t have to deal with these PR headaches. And they really should have so they could have gone into the HOF the same year with Maddux.

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“The next time I heard of a sports psychiatrist was in 1991. Atlanta Braves’ pitcher John Smoltz would require his doctor to be seated behind home plate, where Smoltz could see him every pitch. The story was Smoltz couldn’t pitch unless he had a visual on his human security blanket. It worked; he helped pitch the Braves into several World Series during the ’90s and is a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame.”

Hey Braves fans, I’m for whatever works…But you gotta admit that our boy Smoltz is very fragile emotionally, and pretty much of a creepy weirdo.

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Bradley – Great column! So nice to read an original sports column. Weren’t you concerned your lack of communication with Smoltz would affect your ability to do your job? He was a Hall of Fame pitcher with the team you covered, but you only had limited access?

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Clearly Bradley has a quota to fill in terms of print columns and blog postings as this one was petty and unnecessary. Your history with Smoltz is irrelevant and inconsequential. Why don’t you do what most sportswriters do and keep your grudge to yourself until its time to cast a Hall of Fame ballot in which case (if you get to vote) you would have your chance to leave him off and exact your revenge.

While baseball is a business and the leaders can do whatever they want, Glavine did not need or warrant being treated the way he was and Smoltz is simply being a friend by saying what he said. If the Braves changed their minds and decided to move on without Glavine despite him doing everything they contractually mandated, that’s fine and that’s all they needed to say. But to throw things out there about his performance during his minor league rehabs being insufficient or his speed on the radar gun was too low and that’s why they decided not to bring him to the majors—that is baloney and anyone reading that with an ounce of sense knows it. At that point, it became Wren and company trying to cover their behinds from a p.r. standpoint. Wren and company looked stupid and petty—-just like Bradley does for writing this posting.

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Mark,

Why is it that after I read one of your articles, I feel dumber having done so? Maybe it’s because your asinine comments don’t resonate with true Braves fans. But enough about you Mark, let’s discuss this article. Tom Glavine and John Smoltz are class acts. However, you sir, are an asshole. In my opinion, this fact precludes you from making judgment calls about individuals that brought this town its only world championship. Right move or not, this move was handled with a complete lack of sensitivity by the Braves. Tom Glavine won 2 Cy Young awards for this team and was essential to the ‘95 Championship. The Braves should have handled this with more class. As a fan, I’m disappointed in the front office (McClouth trade excluded).

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I think in 1993 when the baseball strike happened, Tom Glavine said it was just business. Well, I guess you can say this was just business too.

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Now that all the golden boys are gone, the Braves can finally move on. For all their wins the Braves still only had one WS championship. Now the Braves need to retire Cox, and bring in a new batting coach.

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Quite honestly Smoltz has always been my favorite Brave and I have to admit there is some validity to his anger towards the team. They could have handled things differently. I am not saying the team is wrong for going with the youth movement and working away from the old work horses of the past. I mean they have to retire some time!

However…Smoltz was upset because the Braves didn’t offer him what he thought he was worth so he left. That I don’t have a problem with…it happens all the time in MLB. But the way they treated Glavine is what I take issue with. I mean he busted his hump to get rehabbed and was finally ready according to himself. And they just cut him. To me that just isn’t right and that is not the way you treat a hall of fame legend. Especially one that is just an all around great guy.

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Smoltz owned the town for a time. Now, he is in beantown. He should enjoy the beans and focus his energies there.
And now, Francoeur . . . Chipper said Schafer had a hole in his game- by that definition what would Francoeur have? And why hasn’t Chipper pointed it out? The last at-bat with the bases loaded pretty much tells the Francoeur story. Wild, undisciplined and out-smarted again and again by the pitcher. If the pitcher works to beat the batter, shouldn’t the batter work to beat the pitcher? Matching wits is not Frenchy’s strong suit. That suit is at the cleaners.

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Mark: That piece was trash, same as your last one. It’s also a reminder of why I don’t subscribe to the tabloid known as the AJC. I wouldn’t want to read your trash regularly.

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Again, I am dismayed by the vitriol spouted by the old core Braves – Smoltz, Glavine, Jones, etc. Glavine’s contract forced the Braves to make a decision. Let’s see – pay Glavine a million dollars for one start where he proves that he no longer can pitch in the majors. Mind you, this is after paying him millions last year for (2) wins.

One million dollars in salary pays for a whole year of TWO lower tier players such as Jordan Shaeffer and Charlie Morton. Tom Glavine, in his career, has earned $128,000,000. The Braves didn’t owe him ANYTHING more.

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So I love John Smoltz and even though I am not a huge Glavine fan (remember he was the leader of the baseball strike in 1994)I recognize he has been a huge part of the Braves organization. That being said, I believe they are both acting like primadona’s(a temperamental person; a person who takes adulation and privileged treatment as a right and reacts with petulance to criticism or inconvenience). It is always about the dollar for these guys and by these guys I mean all sports heros. I will exclude Chipper from that because he actually took a pay cut one year to stay in Atlanta and to leave some money out there for othr players. Smoltz and Glavin both are at the end of their careers and they need to realize that the fans and the management love them here in Atlanta but it is time to move on and look for talent that will make the Braves contenders again.

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You are right on the money with this column

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MB, I respect you and appreciate your ability and efforts. However . . . grudges for over a decade? How silly that seems for anyone.

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You think Smoltz is upset now? Just wait until he pitches poorly in Boston. After the media gets through with him there he’ll carry a grudge for the ages.

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I would hope that Smoltz would mind his business in Boston and his new wife and let the Braves do what they have to do. His opinions are no longer needed here anymore.

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Funny when I hear guys on the radio talk about the million dollars being no big deal. I hope to earn a million dollars in the next 15 years. They are talking about paying him that for one start. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

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Right on, MB! If guys want to be treated like kings for their WHOLE career, they should perform like kings for their WHOLE career. The fact of the matter is, neither one can reliably pitch anymore so they’re being treated like guys who don’t know when to quit. Sandy Kofax, Barry Sanders, and Jim Brown never sucked money out their teams when they couldn’t play at a Hall of Fame level. What’s with these guys who can’t see themselves for what they NOW are?

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Oh, yeah. Why is Smoltz picture always on the front page? We need to see a picture of Hanson or McLouth.

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GLAVINE AND SMOLTZ DESERVED TO BE TREATED WITH GREAT RESPECT FOR WHAT THEY DID ON THE FIELD HERE. THEY BROUGHT A LOT OF SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS. DITTO MADDUX. LOYALTY IS WHAT GREAT COUNTRIES, COMPANIES, ANG TEAMS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BUILT UPON. THE BRAVES OWNERSHIP POST TURNER IS PURE CRAP. HONESTY IS ANOTHER CUSSWORD TO THE OWNERS. PEOPLE, ESPECIALY THOSE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH POSITIVELY, SHOULD BE GIVEN MORE RESPECT. I HOPE THE BRAVES DO WELL. I HOPE THAT ALL THE PRINCIPLES (INVOLVED WITH THE SABOTAGING OF THE BRAVES) FROM TIME WARNER AND THE CURRENT OUTFIT GO BANKRUPT PERSONLLY AND CORPORATELY WOULDN’T BE BAD EITHER. I USED TO HAVE TIME WARNER CABLE. AWFUL.

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Glavine treated unfairly? 1 million to pitch how many minor league games? The Braves paid them both for all of their services over the years and owe them nothing else! The more I hear them spew this garbage, the more I am glad neither wear a tomahawk on their chest! What could be handled better is the way these two jerks expect the Braves to mortgage today and tomorrow just to worship them and what they did once in 1995! And that to a strike shortened season!

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Mark, I love your column! So true!!!!! Smoltz is a whiney baby. Glavine should have seen it coming as he is “old” in the world of MLB. Glavine ditched us to go to the Mets and I have never liked him since. What goes around comes around. Was Glavine upset that there was another million dollers that he missed out on? Smoltz left the Braves to go play for Boston so he should just shup his big fat mouth. There really isn’t any loyalty in baseball anymore….all about the money on both sides of the table.

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Great article MB- interesting insight to ramifications on being a sports journalist. One of the hardest things in life is to deal with another man’s ego. Especially, the one’s which aren’t kept in check.

I do feel bad for Glavine. Would’ve been nice to see his career end here on a good note but I do understand (even appreciate) the front office decision.

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This is so much deeper than picking a side. There were no winners and no losers here. In some ways, Glavine’s release was karma for putting the union and his pay scale above the Braves a few years ago. In others, it’s just another ham-handed decision by Frank Wren.

I think that the whole issue is that, yes, it could have been handled better. The baseball part of the decision is easy, Hanson will likely be a better pitcher for the Braves this season — and that really left no room for Glavine. The way Glavine’s contract was set up, it would have cost us $1M to have him pitch a single farewell game, and another $1M to keep him around long enough to see if he could still pitch in the majors. Economically, it just wasn’t worth it.

However, it’s a shame that economics have played such a role in this (or any) sport. Gone are the days when Hall of Fame players spent their entire career with one team. Of course, the same economic model results in corporations owning teams instead of owners willing to look past the money involved.

With the possible exception of the day Chipper takes off his Braves’ uniform for good, Glavine’s release marks the end of an era in Braves’ baseball. I think Smoltz was right in saying it could have been handled better — but Glavine’s departure in the first place was one of the reasons it ended when it did.

The page is turned, the bridges are burned. I just hope everyone involved remembers the good, no great, times we had here for more than a decade — and that we can all celebrate the ‘Big 3’s’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony with another World Series championship with the team we’re starting to put on the field today.

Later,

Don!

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haha, good stuff Mark.

You are a truth machine in GOOD TIMES BAD TIMES.

Can’t stand Glavine though…will never forgive him and all the other spoiled brats for striking back in the 90’s (He was the ring leader), and then LYING about going to NY (it was for the money, not the wins). He’s a piece of crap.

I like Smoltz, I wish the braves had re signed him.

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Smoltz is a joke! the fact is the Braves are better off with out him and Glavine, they needed to get younger and stop paying so much for guys who may not or in both cases will not pitch a complete season. The reason that they haven’t made the playoffs the last three years is that they were paying more for guys on the DL, instead of investing in the future. Smoltz and Glavine have had great hall of fame careers, but the fact is this is a business, Boston could take a chance on Smoltz, the Braves couldn’t. I m waiting to see what he has to say if Boston releases him if he doesn’t not only pitch well, but great.They are loaded with pitching, and if all things are equal i m sure they will go with a younger player. He will blame the Braves and Wren I m sure. John grow up and be thankful that you had a great career, and that you and Tom are not struggling like the common people who have helped put money in your bank account.

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Ndadome
Ted Striker
The Real Gumby
old fart

Mark,
These are the names of the people who like your writing style and Point Of View.
Amazing, isn’t it?? Are they real?

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My only issue with this is: why didn’t you write about Smoltz’s ’softness’ back when he was the issue? That would’ve helped us fans put things in perspective a little better.

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I appreciate Smoltz’s zeal but as a fan i agree we ned to move on. i appreciate everything Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine did for our team.

there seems to be a double standard with Glavine (and I love Glavine). when he went to the Mets, he was doing what was best for him. Now the Braves are doing what’s best for the franschise and all of the sudden history and loyalty are paramount. i ain’t buying it.

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For the record, the whole deal with the Mets in the first place was because Braves management shut the door in his face during the negociations. Since our town has so few media outlets relative to other large cities (namely one paper two sports radio stations and a small sports magazine that is afraid to play the role of the New York Post I’m looking at you Score ATL) we don’t get a lot of digging done and even our hardball questions don’t do much hammering on the boys at the top of the decision making pyramid.

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Both Smoltz and Glavine are spoiled jerks! Their crybaby comments about the organization ‘….forgetting all they’ve done for it’ is assine. What about the millions of dollars that organization and the fans have paid them, simply to use their God-given talents to work every fourth day for 7 months a year? Both of them should have been required to work in a coal mine for two or three years before ever being allowed to play baseball! Neither of them apparently understand that loyalty is a two way street. Good riddance on both counts.

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I have to agree. Since Smoltz has left the Braves organization I have heard him over and over complain about the Braves and what they are doing. He seems more like a spoiled, mouthy brat then my kids do at times. Hes a professional and he should really be paying attention to his own team and leaving everyone else handle theirs.

If the Braves thought for one minute that Tom Glavine could still pitch in the Bigs then he would be here with Altanta making his start. I have to watch now and see what all the other scouts watching Glavine will say. How many offers will there be for a 43 year old starter throwing 80MPH fastballs and needing badly to hit the corners and get the calls.

Check back for updates to the Glavine Saga. To bad they just dont know when to leave the party.

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Maybe the Braves can take that million and get rid of the $2 tix increase they charge if you walk up to buy the day of a game. I mean WTF is that?

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VERY well done, MB.

baseball is a business, and while i don’t agree with all Frank Wren’s moves, at the end of the day his job is tied to performance and he is doing what he thinks is best to make this team a winner. why people are crying over lack of loyalty to tom glavine of all people is beyond me (he left US to play for the METS! the METS!!).

i love john smoltz but he needs to STFU.

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Public Service Announcement to any former, future & current Braves players:

YOU ARE NOT BIGGER THAN THE TEAM

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This is the same Glavine that dumped the Braves for a few dollars more w/ the NYM’s correct? After that, he wants the Brave’s to treat him like a prized pitcher? And the same JS that left for more $ also? Why would either think they deserve “honored” status when they didn’t want to be a part of the Braves? A**Holes

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First MB you have it backward the team told him he was closing b/c I have never read anywhere that Smoltz didnt want to start. I dont know where you get off saying He told him he want to closer other than the first year of rehab. Second this was a guy that took less money and restructured his contract to help this team. So i guess it is ok for a player to help the team and be loyal to it but the other way around is wrong?

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Wish Smolts played football!!

Be nice to see him get hammered like Unitas when he hung-on too long in San Diego!!

Here’s hoping there’s rotator-cuff news in John’s future. I’d like to see his arm fall completely off!!

GOOD RIDDANCE to the whining bitch!!

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Now, Mark, if you’d only rip Francoeur to shreds…

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Sometimes When I Pitch

by John Smoltz

You ask me if I’m sensitive

And I choke on my reply

I’d rather glower from afar

Than to let you see me cry

Cuz who are you to dog me

On what I say or do?

Dr. Lewellen told me that I’m as good as you

And sometimes when I pitch

My jock begins to itch

And I think of how your column hurt my pride

I wanna glower til I die

Til we both break down and cry

I wanna glower till the fear in me subsides

Baseball and all its strategy

Leaves me battling with my mind

And through my insecurity

Some bitterness I find

I’m just another pitcher

Still injured by the truth

A hall of fame first ballot

Still trapped within my youth

And sometimes when I pitch

My jock begins to itch

And I think of how the Braves have hurt my pride

I wanna glower til I die

Til we all break down and cry

I wanna hold Tom till the fear in me subsides

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Smoltz and Glavine both think the Braves were obligated to keep on paying them to play based on their PAST performances. The bottom line is who would you want as your 5th starter Hanson or Glavine? Get over it! We appreciate what you did but your time is done.

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bushwacker,

Come again? Was there a point to your drivel?

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MB, you and Smoltz don’t like each other because you’re so much alike. Both of you carry enormous grudges and emote like school girls at a sleepover party. If Smoltz took 4 hours to complain how long did it take for you to launch your retort? Who won that pool? You’re an Atlanta sports reporter and you avoided one of the greatest pitchers for the Braves since 1997?? Wow…

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Smuck Foltz!

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JEERS & CURSES is the only thing Tommy Boy deserves…HAHAHAHA, I wish I could have been the one to break the news to him.

GO back to NY you back stabbing spoiled brat.

This punk is a total politician.

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It sometimes hurts to find out that our heroes were jerks all along, but in Smoltzies case, most of us had figured it out. Good job, Mr. Bradley.

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puppydawg,

That’s a very juvenile thing to say…I did LOL though.

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A couple funny things.

1. Bradley has “wittle” feelings too and that was the total point of this blog.

2. Although the point of this was to point out the shortcomings of an athlete to make Bradley feel better, it has evolved into something more compelling. I understand the business aspects and can see both sides of the coin in releasing Glavine. Firstly, loyalty never won anyone championships. Sentimental favorites don’t necessarily get the job done.
I think you guys that view a million dollars in today’s economic climate of a professional baseball franchise as a crap ton of money are sorely misguided. Obviously, it’s much more than the majority of us make! When was the last time YOU were expected to win 20 games pitching for a baseball team?! You can’t compare what we do and what they do! However, it’s relative with professional sports and that’s the context it has to be taken in.
It was not a million dollars for one start. He would have been expected to perform several more times. THat was simply the benchmark insentive to receive the pay out. In my opinion an organization that releases an individual that was performing adequately in their rehab JUST before they would have to pay the meager amount of a million bucks is bush league. It’s also that type of penny pinching and wallet watching that keeps this organization at the .500 level under this ownership. It’s appalling.

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I didn’t think Smoltz’s comments were over the top at all. Pretty fair criticism to me. Kind of feels like Mark wanted a reason to rip Smoltz, which is the same thing he is accusing Smoltz of doing to the Braves.

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Forgot one more funny thing…

You guys that say Smoltz (not Smolts or Smoltx) should have “kept his mouth shut”…WTF do you expect him to do when he’s posed a question by reporters. It’s not like he stood on the top deck of the dugout in Boston to tell anyone who would listen! He was asked a question and answered it!

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Season ticket holder here…for almost twenty years. Big Smoltz fan. Big Glavine fan. Not a huge Mark Bradley fan…but Bradley is absolutely spot on. John was a great guy, but also had his fair share of “spoiled rotten pro athlete” (ask his ex and his neighbors). Not sure where John’s moral outrage was when Glavine took the money and went to NY…I guess that financial decisions are justified on his buddy’s side and not from management? John was a great player and a good guy…wish him well…also wish he would shut up and pitch.

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Mark nailed this one. Smoltz does look petty on this front. And did when he whined in the public……..oh the last 2 or 3 times when things didn’t go his way. Love the guy for what he did for the organization and city, but the organization and city did a TON for him.

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Don’t make me choose between the Braves and Smoltz. I don’t think I could. Smoltz was always the poster boy for Braves baseball, and he was the one guy that brought fire to the team. I miss having him on the team everyday, and whether I think he’s right or wrong with what he’s saying, he’s earned the right to speak out about his former team.

Smoltz, if I were the GM, you’d be on the Braves… but I still would have released Glavine. Sorry buddy.

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Glavine says that the Braves didn’t take into account what he had done for organization; well, all I’ve got to say is “welcome to the real world, Tom”. There are very few businesses who will keep you around (employed) just because of what you did in the past (making $50K a year vs $1M+) – it’s what you can do today or tomorrow that will keep you around. I just don’t understand how players like Smoltz and Glavine can whine so much when they make millions a year. They will make more in one season than I will make in several lifetimes – and then they COMPLAIN – Let’s see them in the “real world”.

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I guess I really don’t understand where athletes have so much to say how terribly they were treated at the end of their career. When they hold out for millions of dollars when they are in their pride and then decide to leave because the team didn’t pay for their demands. Yes, Glavine and Smoltz both had great careers here no questioning that for sure. The only thing players can’t beat is “TIME”.The Braves wasted 3 years on Mike Hampton and what kind of thanks did the Braves get for doing that, nothing. I am sure Glavine and Smoltz can still pitch very well but the Braves need to get younger players up to the Braves to start developing them. I wish the best for these two because I sure enjoyed the great years they gave the Braves.

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Here’s hoping another one of the AJC’s ‘journalists’ gets a buyout offer.

Total drivel. I disregarded pretty much everything you wrote because you’re too much of a child to hold a grudge like that.

Glavine got hosed, end of story. There used to be a time in this town where the name on the back of the jersey was just as important as the one in front. I guess all that success has made people forget that there are individuals that make up a team, individuals that do more for this community than anything any journalist for this ‘paper’ has ever done. Or for that matter, any of the dour me-first little children who lap it all up. A couple comments about the Braves, and Smoltz can rot in hell? Damn, ya’ll are shallow little things. And holding a grudge over the player’s strike? Fifteen years later? The day they went on strike was my birthday. Took me a long time, but I got over it. You should try it.

I’m guessing all the people here who are agreeing with the oh-so-important blogger are the same ones who are starting to boo anytime a game doesn’t go their way anymore. Ya’ll make me sick.

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I believe that what he did frank wren was correct. keith the thing is to win not be more whether or not it was player of the past . need to come back to win back to reach world series . and i regret what step with glavine but is the time of hanson.

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This blog is childish at best. That’s how Smoltz is, he has an opinion about everything. Some people “no comment” everything when asked. Smoltzy is still my favorite Brave of all time, and I wish he were still wearing an A on his cap. Sorry Mark Bradley, I’ll take Smoltz over you in Atlanta 12 days a week. “Even Sundays”.

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Can I continue to like Smoltz, Glavine, and Bradley? I think so, though the particular fondness I had for Smoltz has been tarnished in the last few months. Though I continue to think I prefer them in that order as pitchers (and probably as golfers).
Are Glavine and Smoltz a bit disconnected from the real world? A bit cocky and self-important? Of course.
Are Glavine and Smoltz (esp. John) making kneejerk, emotional reactions to an emotional deal? Yep.

I’m tired of the soap opera. In all of these circumstances the receiving end always feels slighted, unappreciated, and all that crap, while the one giving the news (you’re done or I’m leaving) always talks about the “business.” Let’s just play ball.

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Mark, you may set a new record for comments on this one.

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This article is about Mark Bradley or should I say MB?

You aren’t the story Mark and you never will be. Keep writing stories but don’t write about Mark Bradley, he isn’t an athlete.

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The Braves probably could have sat down with Glavine and stated the known. Hey this is our direction based on your rehab and we would love to send you out the proper way. However, active roster over a period of time is out of the cards because of our commitment is going to be Hanson in our rotation. Can we have your support with this including the exemption of the million active roster bonus? I would guess based on past Glavine antics, that he said no. Just a guess. The Braves aren’t classless and in no way did they mean to dishonor Glavine. My guess, just as with Smoltz this late in their career, its the ole dollar.

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I personally know Smoltz, and he is an ASS. No way around it. He treated his exwife like shiot, and looks at the working class as inferior. Damn good pitcher though. As for Glavine, nice guy, but he made his bed. Shouldn’t have left the Braves in the first place, especially to our main rivalry. He doesn’t deserve to be treated any differently that any other player.

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Look I loved both these pitchers…HOWEVER, BOTH LEFT THE BRAVES, GLAVINE 1ST…MY OPINION TRAITOR! THEN SMOLTZ, TRAITOR! AND AS FOR SMOLTZ, NOT MUCH INTESTINAL FORTITUDE…..YALL REMEMBER THE TIME THE RUNNER OBVIOUSLY PLOWED OVER OUR CATCHER (SADLY I CANT EVEN REMEMBER WHO IT WAS, BUT, THE CATCHER WAS NEVER THE SAME….(I BELIEVE IT WAS AGAINST THE ANGELS TOO….SMOLTZ ON THE MOUND……PAYBACK TIME RIGHT? NOPE! NOT OLE SMOLTZ, HE SAID HE THOUGT IT WAS A GOOD PLAY…….MY GOODNESS….LOST ALOT OF RESPECT FOR HIM THEN…..YALL HELP OLE TUPAUC REMEMBER WHO THE PLAYERS WERE THAT WERE INVOLVED…….HAPPY FRIDAY

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Way to go Mark. you’re now the favorite columnist of the losers and whiners who claim to be fans but are jealous of the players. When the Braves treat Chipper like dirt in a couple of years, these losers will take whoever the GM at the time’s side. And then a few years later when they treat McCann like trash, it’ll be McCann’s fault. Some people say Atlanta fans are the worst. You can see why reading your blog.

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Blueway? What the **** does Smoltz’s opinion of gay marriage have to do with anything? Polls show majority of americans agree with him anyway. You disgust me.

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It might be the minority opinion here but it’s things such as this that make me love Smoltzy even more. He’s good for baseball. He does not always say what’s popular and he has a personality unlike the bland robots the Braves usually employ (See Chipper, Maddox and the list goes on). Is that what we really want as fans? I don’t know about any of you but it drives me crazy to hear athletes thanking God and having their “anything to help the ballclub” speeches! FOr the love of God, have an opinion and voice it!

Having said all that, I cannot wait to see Smoltzy in a Sox uni striking out the side over and over when they come to Turner this month! GO SOX!

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Mr. Bradley,

Does it make you feel well-endowed to use your keyboard to belittle a beloved Atlanta icon who is not in the room with you and cannot confront you over your childish comments?

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Ever dog has his day,Today is Mark’s. There’s always two side to every story. Now lets see who’s next?

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One other thing….Glavine is a union thug. He would sell out is first born to appease the MLB union.

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Hey Tom……….The Mets are still a major league organization. Have your agent give them a ring…..maybe they’ll give you a look, now that your rehab is in order. Or better yet….have JS put-in a good word for you to the Red Sox’s organization. Maye they have a extra 4 million to throw at you. Good Luck.

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Ballplayers don’t get it, at least while they’re still playing. The team doesn’t owe THEM loyalty, it owes it to the fans. Their responsibility is to put a winning team on the field every day, every year. And if the longtime icon of the franchise can’t get it done any more, too bad. That’s the way it works for the rest of us in the working world, too, by the way. Smoltz has always been Mr. Sensitive and needs to get over himself. The Braves were great with those guys, but now they’re better off without both of them. You fans can whine about loyalty all you want but I want a team that has a chance to win today, not 10 years ago.

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Brutal Mel, simply brutal.

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Quite frankly I’m happy to see some passion from Braves fans. It’s about time. From what I have seen there’s not enough! There should be more voices that heard by this ownership group before they run this organization into the ground. Come off the hip with some $$$ so we can be competitive again!

It’s irritating the crap out of me that this chicken sh– blog is getting this much activity for being a piece about the release of Glavine and other things, BRaves and not for actual intent of which it was written. Oh well, take these numbers to your editor Bradley and maybe you’ll get a raise.

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Mark — Excellent column! What I can’t figure out is why anyone would find anything Smoltz has to say as being newsworthy! Regardless of what he did for this organization in the PAST, and I emphasize past, he is one of the most selfish athletes ever to put on a Braves uniform.

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Melanie…you are sick! You need help.

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Smoltz, Glavine..2 pitchers that served Atlanta well and earned their paychecks..that’s right Paychecks..what a employer pays you to perform up to the standards of your job description. Smolyz was offered a contract extension but like Glavine, went with the higher bidder. That is their right. But please back off the “whoa is me crap”. When Glavine left for the MEts he said it wasn’t about the money. PLEEEAASEE. If he had simply stated it was all would be good. Now that the Braves might or might not have wanted to pay him the Million bucks, if I were the BRaves I would say “its not about the money”. Payback is hell huh Tommy. As for you John, you’ve been paid pretty darn well yourself for doing your job (once every 4-5 day)now just move on and shut up. Whining like you both do is going to put in the same league as Brett Favre, legends who didn;t know how to be respectful and grateful for all that has been given them.
Mark, kuddos from a gratefully employed non whining non millionaire!!

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Mr. Bradley,
Your insight into Mr. Smoltz’ “personality” would appear to be quite accurate. He has time and time again in his public life, and in his private life, as well (judging from the scattered details that eventually become “public” – eg. his divorce dealings, his protracted squabble with a neighbor over the height of a fence, his angry dispute with the Christian school he originally help found and then his subsequent founding of a second school) demonstrated a very, very “thin skin.” I think that the DSM III might classify his behavior as evidence of a “persecution complex.” We all have our “bad days.” We all do and say things that we later regret. To admit this to ourselves and others is a mark of “sanity,” as much as it is of anything else. I am aware of no public examples of Mr. Schmoltz ever making such an admission in any situation or set of circumstances. Anecdotally, I personally attended a fundraiser some years ago at which Mr. Smoltz was the featured speaker. While everyone in attendance, I am sure, was anxious to be entertained by upbeat and engaging tales of “The Show” from a real life future “Hall of Famer,” or even with the details of how his “fungally-challenged” fingernail was coming along, Smoltz droned on and on about how he had been mistreated by the local sports media. I don’t recall if he specifically mentioned you, Mr. Bradley, but I do remember that Jeff Hullinger was in attendance as a guest and that he, Hullinger, was dutifully “called out” by Smoltz. Smoltz went on to entertain the audience with stories of how “people” over on St. Simons Island were “saying awful, untrue things” about his “then”-wife. Among other rants, he went on to disparage Jack Lewellen (sp?), the “sports pscychology” guy who had worked with Smoltz early in his Braves tenure, concluding with the angry statement, “Jack Lewellen didn’t make John Smoltz, John Smoltz made John Smoltz.” Needless to say, the audience in general was made quite uncomfortable by this hour-plus childish “carrying-on,” and eventually one of the organizers was merciful enough to find some excuse to “get out the hook.”
Don’t get me wrong. Like you, I admire John Smoltz’ accomplishments as a baseball player. The term, “amazing,” doesn’t even come close to justly describing his career accomplishments. Like so many here in Atlanta, I am sincerely grateful to him for all that he has contributed to the well-being of our fair city, both on and off the field. Bravo, John Smoltz! Bravo! Further, I respect Mr. Smoltz as a person, and I believe that his “heart” is clearly “in the right place.” Like you, however, I am seriously concerned in regards to the “whereabouts” of Mr. Smoltz’ “head.” Most assuredly, if Mr. Smoltz persists on in his pattern of “looking for fights and personal slights,” he will certainly find them; indeed more of them than he bargained for or that he can handle in one lifetime!
Reno

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Fair-weather Fans with short-term memory loss, that’s why we get jerked around when Wren tries to make deals to get ball players. No one takes him seriously or Mark “I’ll lose my job to bloggers” Bradley

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Letter to John Smoltz: Braves fan still love you. Don’t risk dashing our good-will, however, by lobbing pot-shots at us from Fenway.Both you and Glavine did extremely well by the Braves last year, while contributing nothing to our club. When your mid-life crisis is over, however, we want you back as part of this organization. I’d be thrilled to see you as our Skipper, Chipper as the Batting Coach, and Mad-dog as the Pitching Coach. If Liberty can figure that out, it’s going to be the first time in history that fans came to a ballpark to see the coaches, as much as the players. See you at The Ted.

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Melanie – you can criticize Mark’s column and you can praise Smoltz and Glavine, but your comments suggesting that Mark should have been aborted are inappropriate, sick, and stupid. Please do not post here again.

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Time now to finish the job and Fire Bobby Cox.

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Respect, anyone? Who thinks these guys would actually come back to work with these clowns? You talk about egos? What about the one running the team from his office? Does Bobby even speak up anymore or do they simply cage him after the games?

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For those of you who choose to bash MB over his article, I offer this tidbit of information. No one is disputing the phenominal careers that both Glavine and Smoltz have had. During the 90’s, they along with Maddox brought more than a little excitement to our summers. Everyone didn’t always like the Braves and the attendance at the games were evidence. Growing up in Macon, I saw all of the empty seats and even got to pick amongst those seats one summer they played a double header against the Padres in the late 70s (by the way, I was overzealous. I sat in Ted Turner’s seats for a little while before security came and escorted me out. They were so bad, HE wasn’t even there!LOL) I digress. These guys helped turn this team around along with an exception farm system and a very talented GM that seemed to never make a mistake.

Tom Glavine chose to leave and go, of all places, to the Mets. The Braves didn’t roll up the Brinks truck to him, but they offered him a respectable contract…given his age. They also let him know that he would always have a job with the organization when his career ended. He left for the money. Where was his loyalty? Smoltzie left for the same reason. Coming off off season surgery, he expected a contract that would be given to someone half his age with no guarantee that he would even be able to pitch. I am inclined to believe that the team was going to do the same for him that they offered Glavine. He bolted for Boston who is paying him now and don’t even know when he will pitch or if he will be able to pitch this season. I personally think that is ridiculous! If my back is bad, I really don’t think I will get many jobs in construction.

When its all said and done, I think these guys, more than the organization, made “business” decisions. Releasing Glavine was just plain using good sense. The man has had elbow and shoulder surgery in less than a two year period. It’s June. If the team is going to make a run, we’ve gotta get people in here that can contribute NOW!

We will always have the 90’s, but this is 2009 and the Braves need to build for now and the future!

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I hear the Red Sox are hiring…

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Mark, You are a sports columnist. Which puts you right below child molester and right above a state legislator as far as stature in the community. Thanks for your input, though.

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Is this not still the USA? Now you’re told you can’t use the word THUG. What they going tell you next….is this not one of the rights I served in war for?

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Am I mistaken or did Smoltz and Glavine both leave because of Money. The organization makes a decision predicated on finances and they are somehow classless and evil. Give me a break. Spoiled brats.

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bigjohnchopfan, Right on my friend, I meant everyone except Hubbie and Perez. Cox and staff must go.

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Hey Mark, if I post enough maybe your boss will give me your job. That way I can be the nerd spouting off about guys that have dedicated their lives to the religion of baseball.

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Another satisfied reader Mark….

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Great column as usual. Insightful to know that a premier athlete would be so “hurt” by a single column that he would ostracize the author in the clubhouse for ten years. We question why DOB or MB isn’t “more honest” in their writings or ask the “tough” questions. This is a darn good reason. Sad to hear that some athletes are so petty that they would breakup an interview just because MB walked up. Smoltz owes you an apology.

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Isn’t the real issue that Smoltz has to give half of his money he made during the big bucks days to the wife who raised his children, while he and his current tart have to live off the Red Sox contract.

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On the spot Mark. Smoltz is still bitter because the Braves didn’t want to dish out the millions on a “maybe he’ll be able to pitch well situation”. Too bad neither Smoltz nor Glavine took the classy road that Maddux took. Glavine shouldn’t complain, he left for the Mets in 2002 for the money anyway.

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MB, I like DB better, and B stands for “bag” in case you are wondering

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Sports fans in general need to realize that their “heroes” could really careless about them. Bottom line, this is a business. The players are entities who are looking out for themselves (I see nothing wrong with that)….just like the team is looking out for its own interests. I became a Braves fan, therefore my loyalty is with the Braves. Have I became a fan of certain players over the years? Sure. I have followed both Smoltz and Glavine for most of my baseball following life. The first few years, I rooted for Franceour to do well. However, there is a point where “objectivity” has to override “emotion”. Those guys became liabilities. The Braves struggled to do the right thing in getting to the point where they let both Glavine and Smoltz go. Now it is the time to do the right thing with Jeff Franceour.

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About time the truth comes out.

Smoltz & Glavine = old, NEVER healthy. I repeat: These two CANNOT STAY HEALTHY. They had their fun here, winning the world series and a million division titles. This isn’t 1995–it’s 2009. These two guys stink nowadays and we shouldn’t have to waste our moeny in this economy on 45 year old bums.

Smoltz, on the other hand, plays golf all summer and gives cute interviews on teh radio. Then when it’s time to play, he gets hurt.

What class acts.

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Sooner or later in life we all have to step aside. Sometimes it’s our decision and sometimes it’s not.

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Mark, both pieces are great reads and thanks for pointing out the other side of the story, which should be obvious enough. Some fans are so enamored with star players that they are incapable of separating emotion from business. All the gushing and special treatment sent their way can tend to cause some guys to lose touch with reality (Smoltz perhaps?). The fact is, the Braves are a better team today because of Glavine’s release and because Smoltz was not offered $8 million to maybe pitch half a season. The Smoltz non-deal and Glavine release probably paved the way for the McLouth deal. Hanson does not need to wait any longer. We could have the next Lincecum right here in Atl and the only way to find out is to bring him up. Glavine and Smoltz are both missed and we are grateful for the many great years (which they were well-paid for by the way), but its time to move on.

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To your question, Mark:

* I think the Braves should never have signed Glavine at all, to be honest.
* Or maybe they should have a tough, man to man talk after he hurt himself hitting in Gwinnett.

I like DOB’s suggestion: Give him a start up here, allow the $1 million to be a nice gold watch, and let him retire with dignity — of course therein lies the difficult part. Does a competitive guy like Glavine know when to call it a career? Often these guys don’t.

I hope that one day the Braves will make nice with these guys, apologize for the way this went down when time has cooled things off. Then they can have a big weekend at the yard to retire their numbers and stuff.

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From a former journalist, good job. From a Christian, good job pointing out John’s hypocrisy. He needs to be called on it. You didn’t pile on or get ugly. You just pointed out his pettiness, which he has chosen to do in public so it’s only appropriate that he be called on it in public.

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I love the poem P Rose wrote on page 2! Awesome!

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Great article Mark. You nailed him. Smoltz has always been a cry-baby. I’m glad the broken down mule is gone from the Braves organization.

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Please bring the sane world back into perspective and stop paying these guys to play a game. Millions and millions of $’s when a mile away you have to add up the household incomes of about 15 homes to get $100,000.

Look what it does to them. Smoltz is an butt and an idiot and just needs to shut up.

Glavine will be OK when he gets over his temper tantrum. He should be thanking the Braves for giving him a million and allowing his tired self to pitch more.

It was stupid to pay them last year. It would have been insane to pay them this year.

Sports is a kids game. Get a clue.

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Mark, your eighth grade junior high paper called and they want you back. Your inane writing is worthy of a pimple faced, pre-pubescent, dimwit of about 13 years old.

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And I agree with Gumby above regarding Maddux. really and truly, he is the only one with actual class.

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Mark, You are on a roll as someone pointed out. I posted after your article yesterday many of the same sentiments on your blog last night.

Your articles are better, even better, and insightful. As I said we don’t know about coaches and players until someone unbiased writes a book later. I touted you and from your insight I would certainly stand in line for an autographed copy.

Agree wholeheartedly also about your Glavine article and it is indeed credible with your feelings about him. Hope he will become part of the organization, but doubt Wednesday would have been a good day to bring it up.

Thanks

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There was no “better” way for the Braves to handle the Glavine situation. If they had let him start Sunday, and he got hammered (which he would have), and then they released him, he would have bitched and moaned about not getting a fair chance because he only got one start (”After all I’ve done for this organization…..”) If they had let him pitch again after that, and again, and then released him, he would have talked about how his arm “was coming around” and how he is “getting comfortable on the mound” and just needed one more start to prove it, and HOW could they release him (”after all I’ve done for the organization”).

The fact is, the Braves were going to take a PR hit from some fans no matter how they handled it. Better that they take the PR hit now and at least not sacrifice any games in the process. The bottom line is, we have a better chance of winning with Hanson on the mound than Glavine, and that’s really all the decision should be about.

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I just said “you” four hundred times.

I’m no Mark Bradley.

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Mark B: I don’t want to sound strange here, it’s just that several years ago I couldn’t stand your writing and quit reading you, thinking you were shrill and pompous–but lately I think you’ve really matured as a writer, as it were, and I have enjoyed much of your recent work. You have tempered your intense–what is it?–ability to be bitingly judgmental, you have tempered that with a dose of creative distance and human consideration. I look forward to reading more of your work.

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Mark, loved your article. I used to be a huge Tom and John fan, that was before the Tommy Johns surgeries and shoulder surgeries took away their ability to pitch and think. These guys sometimes think they are entitled to a place on the team because of the years they’ve played in the organization. I’m a fan and I am entitled to more than 1 championship during all of years you pitched in Atanta. You guys did a run for the money and you call the Braves cheap, I call you greedy Mr. Glavine and Mr. Smoltz. Prima Donas should be seen not heard. They should both teach at the Brett Farve school of professional atheletes who have paid far beyond their prime, make way for the young guns and retire, and will take money as long as it’s handed to them even if they can’t really play anymore. I know people who can’t feed their families, have nowhere to live because they’ve lost their home and their employers released them, so there is no end in sight. Clearly, neither of these guys fall into this category. These guys don’t recognize how offensive they are when they whine and want to be treatedlike victims. Please, please get over yourselves.

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Mark, I have no problem with John Smoltz holding a grudge against Frank Wren and the Atlanta Braves. They showed no faith in him whatsoever, and then Wren lied to the fans and the public by saying the Braves’ offer was similar to Boston’s when it wasn’t even close.

But, maybe not re-signing Smoltz saved him some hassle. At least he has a job right now, which is more than Tom Glavine can say after the way Wren and company screwed him over.

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That was a great column. Your coverage of this whole Glavine/Smoltz thing the past couple of days has been great. The two of them have been on their pedestal for too long; a little humility won’t hurt either of them.

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MB, Like Smoltz and Glavine you were much better years ago. Like the newspaper biz in general…now your just not relevant. At least Smoltz & Glavine are Hall of Famers…your just a washed up hack.

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Let’s see if I have this right:

1) Media schills in the team’s pocket to defend lousy decisions – check
2) Fanbase duped by media and team into believing whatever they are told – check
3) fanbase not attending games enough to allow team to keep the depth needed to win the 162 game marathon – check

Sounds like the begining of the end for a long period of excellence for a proud franchise.

Boston had 8 starting candidates BEFORE they signed JS. They signed him because they could and because they know it requires at least 8 ML ready arms to win it all. Had things in Atlanta mirrored things in Boston, we would still have that kind of depth and wouldn’t be hoping kids carry us to the playoffs. Wake up Bravesfan, demand more from the team and the media. Don’t accept hatchet jobs like this one as anything more than smoke and mirrors to deceive us from the real problems. MB, you owe us more, this was weak!

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I agree. After all the years, money and time waiting on injuries, Smoltz can’t seem to see baseball management for what they are. He is a whiner and has ruined his legacy here just as much as Glavine. I wish they didn’t say all of the things they have said. Give me a break. The Braves paid both of them a lot of money in their careers and they both leave for a few million more. Who is loyal? Not them. They both are old players who can’t seem to hear the truth. Be honest Smoltz and say you left because you didn’t think the Braves could win. Don’t whine about them not paying you what you are worth! You are over 40 and had major surgery – AGAIN.

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It says a lot about the state of the Braves these days when the most newsworthy stuff they can generate comes from the bungled handling of two legandary players who will be wearing their uniform when they are inducted to the baseball Hall Of Fame. The more we hear from/about Smoltie and Glavine, the more apparent the current team’s mediocrity becomes.

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Two quick points…

John Smoltz said he had “special knowledge” to prove the Braves’ release of Glavine was entirely financial. That’s interesting, considering the decision was basically Frank Wren’s and John Schuerholtz’s, then it means soon as saying Tommy was released for performance reasons, one of them called up Smoltzie and contradicted it. Or perhaps it was Bobby Cox, or one of the scouts in Rome?

Think not!

Second, if one could etch it in stone that Tommy would win ten games for the Braves this season, anyone really think Wren & Co. would have said, “No thanks, we’ll keep the cool million!”

How many here really think ten games isn’t worth ten million dollars to the Braves? Hands? Anyone, Bueller? Bueller?

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Mark, you’re better than this.

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you’re not the story Bradley you rat. go on acting like you one-upped a hall of famer who was integral to the Braves success over the past 2 decades; maybe that will help with your ED and bevy of other mid-life crisis issues.

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[...] borne my burden in silence for a dozen years, but two weeks ago I was moved to confess: I don’t much like Smoltz, and he really doesn’t like me. When duty called, I put aside my feelings and afforded him [...]

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[...] now you’re wondering: Amid this splendid mix, did I encounter My Favorite Pitcher in said clubhouse? Not really. (Nor did I go looking for him, or he, I feel sure, for me.) My [...]

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[...] of self-reference: Oh, and since a lot of folks keep asking, here is the genesis of the not-so-great Smoltz-Bradley feud. And a grim and harrowing tale it [...]

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MB … It has to be tough to do what you do- write an unfavorable opinion about an athlete and then face them in the clubhouse. I have always enjoyed Smoltz as an athlete but was turned off by his departure from the Braves simply for the money. I thought the Red Sox were insane to guarantee 5 million for a guy coming off a surgery at age 42. I was watching the Sox-Yanks game Thursday night and bet my friend’s the Sox would dump him after the game as they couldn’t afford (with time running out in that division) to hope he’d suddenly restore himself to greatness. Glavine, too, split for the bucks because Lord knows, he must have needed them- abandoning the comfort of home for a few extra million. I work in radio and on several occasions, turned down bigger money to stay put after learning the hard way that the station- and my comfort zone there- was worth something that can’t be translated into dollars. It was a lesson I learned the hard way- leaving a station I’d spent 7 years with- making good money- and then left for a 3 year deal elsewhere in the same market (Miami). The bucks were great but I was miserable the whole time. My hard core fans were upset I’d abandoned by home base, and I did not enjoy the same level of success. I now work in Montgomery, AL and have an idyllic situation in all aspects. I make good money, have built a strong listener base, and have a place in the community. Twice now, I have turned down six figures to go back to South Florida, which has become a lousy place to live. My bet is that Smoltz hasn’t enjoyed one dime of that Boston money. I could be making more right now, but for what? I have it made in every respect that matters, and my gut tells me you’d think or react in a similar way (assuming you’re happy in Atlanta). Anyway, thanks for a great Sunday morning read!

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theres one more icon with a huge contract whos heading in the same direction as glvs and smiltzy at breakneck speed i cant wait for the reaction when hes told his once a month batting service isent needed any more

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[...] Well, there goes what aspirations I had — not that I had many — of having a real “in” with someone in power in our nation’s capital. Because John Smoltz and I, as I’ve noted before, have been on the outs since 1997. [...]

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