Chipper, Francoeur didn’t want to face Smoltz in Atlanta

CINCINNATI — John Smoltz said all along he didn’t want his debut with the Red Sox to come against the Braves. One of his longest running former teammates Chipper Jones understood that.

Jones said Wednesday he was happy not to have to face Smoltz, either this weekend in Boston or next in Atlanta.

The Red Sox announced Tuesday that Smoltz, coming off shoulder surgery, will make his debut for the Red Sox on June 25 against the Nationals.

Jones said he thought of the film “For Love of the Game,” in which Kevin Costner’s character had to face an old friend with a no-hitter on the line.

“Probably for the first time in my career, I wouldn’t want to be that guy coming up to the plate in that kind of situation,” Jones said.

Jones has faced Greg Maddux. He has faced Tom Glavine. But he said it would be harder to face Smoltz.

“I was closer with John,” Jones said. “John and I play golf every spring, we’ve gone fishing. We’ve done all sorts of things together over the course of our time together. I always thought in the back of my mind that John and I would be together until we retire. While we talk smack in the clubhouse about if we ever faced each other, I think we both realized that that was never going to happen, so why not talk a little smack about it.”

Jeff Francoeur, who is close friends with Smoltz, talked to him for 30 minutes Wednesday morning. They talked a little smack.

“I told him I’d come over the first week after the season and get it going in his backyard,” Francoeur said.

Francoeur said he would have liked to face Smoltz in Boston, but wouldn’t want him to have to pitch in Atlanta. He understood why the Red Sox made this decision.

“If he’d been pitching a month or two, it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal,” Francoeur said. “But it’d be tough to do that to a guy like him to make his first start against us. … He doesn’t want to pitch against Bobby [Cox]. He doesn’t want to pitch against us.”

Jones said it was a smart move.

“Smoltzie is a guy who gets pretty geeked up to begin with, and he hasn’t pitched in a long time,” Jones said. “He’s going to have a lot of extra emotion and adrenaline going in his first few starts. The added pressure of pitching against his former team, in his former city and the place he’s been an icon for so long, facing so many of the guys that he’s gone to war with over the years — I think it would probably be in their best interest for him not to pitch.”

McLouth makes impression

Nate McLouth was hitting .239 (11-for-46) in his first 11 games with the Braves entering Wednesday, with two doubles, a homer, and two RBIs.

They’re modest numbers for the 2008 All-Star, who hit .256 with nine homers, 34 RBIs, seven doubles and a triple in 45 games for Pittsburgh before he was traded.

“I don’t have a lot to show for what I’ve done at the plate yet,” McLouth said. “Just not swinging the bat that well. I don’t feel terrible. It’s just one of those times during the season. But I’m feeling more and more comfortable as an Atlanta Brave, and that I’m sure will have something to do with it, too.”

McLouth, who had been a Pirate his entire career, is making a big impression on his new manager.

“He can really go get it in center field,” Cox said. “I like him a lot out there. His arm isn’t a laser, but it’s accurate. And I like him a lot at the plate. He hasn’t put up a lot of hits yet, but he will.”

Cox said McLouth was out on the field early Wednesday, working on throws to every base.

“He’s a guy a manager doesn’t have to worry about any part of his game,” Cox said. “And that’s a treat.”