Implications of John Smoltz's impending move to the bullpen continue to shake out. Smoltz addressed some of those Friday, as he looks ahead to two weeks of rest and then probably a minor-league rehab assignment. Here is Smoltz on:

• Why it's better this time for him to pitch fewer innings more often than once every five days, despite his 2.00 ERA through five starts:

"I know the success that I've had has confused people ... but it's only been five innings at a time, and it was getting harder to do that. ... Pitching an inning, sitting down, pitching an inning, sitting down was getting tougher as I got to the fourth and fifth inning. I feel like one inning at a time might be a little bit better at this point."

• His contract, which has a $12 million option for 2009 that kicks in if he reaches 200 innings this year:

"That's not going to happen. There's no magic that's going to make that happen. That's fine. That's just the way it is. Rather than pout, I choose to find a better way to attack the problem."

• Thoughts of retirement (Smoltz turns 41 on May 15):

"If tomorrow a fortuneteller says 'You're never going to pitch again,' I'm completely fine with it. If they told me I'm going to pitch another two years, that would be great. ... I refuse to start thinking down those trails. That does you no good. I'm focused on trying to do whatever it can possibly take to help us win this year."