Smoltz picks Cardinals over Marlins, 2 others

By Carroll Rogers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After what John Smoltz called a “whirlwind” 13 days, he landed with the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

He planned to meet the Cardinals in San Diego today and prepare for his first start Sunday against the Padres.

Smoltz chose the Cardinals over the Marlins, Dodgers, and Rangers, going to a place where he could continue working back from shoulder surgery as a starter at first and perhaps eventually to move into the bullpen. And he could do it without the level of pressure he faced in Boston.

“This became the most practical and best fit in the sense that it gives me the time to get innings without pressure of immediate response,” said Smoltz, who spent Wednesday in Boston packing.

Smoltz was not pursued by the Braves but didn’t expect to be, he said. At 42, he conceded that retirement crossed his mind. “I thought about a lot of things,” he said, but his overriding thought was he would take off the rest of the year, if need be, and return in 2010. Then the phone started ringing.

“I knew going into this it would be an awfully tough task,” Smoltz said of returning from shoulder surgery at his age. “I didn’t shy away from it.”

Smoltz went 2-5 with an 8.32 ERA in eight games with the Red Sox. He gave up 59 hits, including eight home runs, in 40 innings.

The Red Sox designated him for assignment Aug. 7, the day after he gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium.

“I’ve been in quicksand the last two months,” Smoltz said. “I didn’t deliver. My results weren’t good, but they weren’t as far off as people imagine. I think I can get healthier and make some mechanical changes that I need to make. I believe I’ll be a very effective pitcher.”

Smoltz said he tried to make adjustments on the fly during that game against the Yankees — taking his hands over his head in his windup, standing on the far left side of the rubber and dropping his arm angle — “not a recipe for success,” he said.

But in two side sessions since he has been back in Atlanta, he has found a source of the problem, he said. His back foot was inching off the rubber, which altered his aim and hurt his location.

Looking back, Smoltz also acknowledged he put a lot of pressure on himself in Boston, too.

“I pitched to prove a lot of critics wrong,” Smoltz said. “It would have been better if I would have let go of all that stuff.”