Smoltz: Schilling stance is 'stupid'

[ATLien]

posted on the AJC website.

Standing in the dugout about 20 minutes ago talking to Smoltz, Rafael Furcal strolls over in his Dodgers uniform towards us and shouts from 20 feet away to Smoltz: “Johnny!”

Smoltz lights up, his mood instantly changing from the seriousness he’d had while discussing last season, the meaning of the division-title streak (he downplayed it), Kyle Davies, Tim Hudson, Smoltz’s future, his lack of votes in the 2006 Cy Young voting, etc., to sheer joy at seeing the always-upbeat former Braves shortstop.

“Remember, all fastballs this year,” Smoltz shouted back to him. “Try to get a bunt down against me…. Not going to happen.”

Then it was back to serious talk. Most of it I’ll try to work into other stories today and down the road, but I did ask him about his contract.

Specifically, I asked him about it in relation to the rather similar situation of Curt Schilling, who’s in the final year of his contract with Boston and recently raised a stink by asking for an immediate extension (Schilling said he’d be willing to sign for the same $13 mill he’s making this season, but wouldn’t negotiate after opening day, and said not signing him now might cost Boston more when he files for free agency).

The Red Sox pointed out he’ll be 41 in 2008 and said they need to be conservative.

He reported to camp vastly overweight, and has alternated good seasons with eight-win seasons for the past four years, but Schilling’s bloody-sock glory in the 2004 postseason for the World Series champions apparently should outweigh his 8-8 record and 5.69 ERA in 2005 and his struggles late last season. I guess.

But anyway, I asked Smoltz, who turns 40 in May, has been with the same team his entire 19-year major league career, has led the Braves with 30 wins and 461-2/3 innings over the past two seasons, and would probably have (far) more right or justification to complain about the lack of an extension, what he thought of Schilling’s outspoken stance on his contract.

Smoltz’s pull-no-punches response will please you folks, I bet. Or at least it probably should.

“That’s stupid, in my opinion,” Smoltz said of Schilling’s stance, and said he wouldn’t make a similar demand. “That’s the reason I’ve been here so long, the reason the city is great [to me], the fans are great, is because I’ve avoided all that silly stuff. I had one little hiccup last year, which won’t happen again.”

He was referring to his complaint late last season about the Braves’ delay in picking up the relatively bargain-rate $8 million 2007 option on his contract.

Soon after, Braves GM John Schuerholz broke with recent team policy in two ways, signing closer Bob Wickman to an extension in September and exercising Smoltz’s option the next day. At the time, he also made a point of saying that there was never any doubt about the team picking up the Smoltz option (but in the past, the Braves would’ve waited until the offseason to do it, for whatever reason).

Schuerholz and Smoltz have had their run-ins and disagreements, but seem to finally be in agreement on handling contract matters and opinions of team personnel moves a bit more discreetly. (Damn, I hate that for selfish reasons _ kills a good half-dozen stories this year.)

Pena assigned to Davies?
Brayan Pena is catching and batting fifth today vs. the Dodgers, probably a pretty good indication he’ll be assigned to catch Kyle Davies’ starts this season.

Bobby Cox indicated during pitching camp last month that he’d go back to using his backup catcher for a specific pitcher, the way he did most seasons until last year, when he started out the season with Brian McCann and veteran Todd Pratt in a platoon.

There will be no platoon this season, with the All-Star McCann expected to catch four days out of five, at least (he would probably get some of Davies’ starts along the way, especially late in the season in a playoff drive). Of course, all this is assuming Davies is the fifth starter, which I think he will be unless he falls on his face this spring.

Chuck James trade rumor
Someone told me they saw a former GM turned TV guy saying that the Braves were so concerned about 2B Kelly Johnson that they are considering trading Chuck James for a second baseman. Uh, really?

They’re not trading Chuck James. How much sense would that make? You have concerns at second base, so you trade away a very promising young lefty who was your best starter for much of his rookie season? You build the bullpen so that you can go into the season with even more questions than you already have in your rotation?

[ATLien]

nonono to trading Chuck James.

BTW, Braves won today vs. Dodgers 7-2 and tomorrow's game will be shown on ESPN I believe.

[DravenX]

There is no good reason to trade James. The game tomorrow is on ESPN at 1:05pm EST. I will miss most of it because I have a dental appt at 2:30. I'll watch it later though.