When a legend enters the final stages in his career there are two paths he can go down. One, the team with which he has performed for on a hall of fame level decides to honorably hang out to him until the finish line. Two, that same team decides that said Hall of Famer is finished or isn't worth the money he is demanding. Usually, in the latter case, that spells bad things for the superstar.In John Smoltz's case I thought the Braves were being harsh. I thought John Smoltz would come back and reemerge from his injury to regain his 2007 form, which was beastly. I thought the Red Sox scooped up a brilliant insurance policy. Sure he would be out for half of the season, but the Sox had enough arms to get by until he came back and his true value would come in the postseason.
Eight starts into John Smoltz's 2009 season it appears as if the Braves made the wise decision. Perhaps a 42 year old man just can't easily recover from major surgery. Perhaps a 42 year old man can't come back with the same stuff and the same location and simply dominate.
When the Braves decided that Smoltz was simply asking for too much and it was time to cut ties, we should have known. Tom Glavine was never the same when he left Atlanta. Greg Maddux was never the same when he left the ATL. Why would Smoltz have been the same? We simply were fooled when we should have trusted the instincts of the one time that would have known best.
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