Smoltz feeling fine after scare

[DravenX]

Braves.mlb.com

LAKELAND, Fla. -- As he sat in the visitors' clubhouse after working three scoreless innings against the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, John Smoltz found himself joking through the pain that existed just below his left shoulder.

Less than 10 minutes after a Carols Guillen line drive had squarely hit him just below his left collarbone, Smoltz felt very fortunate and still somewhat amazed that he had been able to catch the ball as he fell to the ground on his backside.

"With the new offseason program, I'm stronger up top, which allowed the ball to stay on my body maybe a little longer than it would have with the sunken chest I used to have," Smoltz said with a smile.

So what would have happened to a less-defined pitcher like Greg Maddux?

"I think Maddux would have told you he would have caught it [with his glove]," Smoltz said.

As he sat with an ice pack draping his left shoulder, Smoltz certainly wished he'd have had an opportunity to at least deflect the Guillen liner with his glove. But before he knew it, it had hit him in the chest, nicked his chin and somehow rolled down his arm and into his hand.

"Too bad there weren't any cameras," Smoltz said. "That might have been an ESPY."

Smoltz's ability to joke about the incident proved that he isn't feeling too much concern about its effect. He says he won't be able to swing a golf club for at least a few days.

But the veteran hurler and Braves manager Bobby Cox both said he'll make his next scheduled start on Monday against the Cardinals.

"That's the hardest I've ever been hit," Smoltz said of the line drive that he turned into the second out of the third inning. "My first thought was, 'Please don't be broken.'"

Smoltz's second thought was centered on the disgust the pitching mound had provided him throughout the afternoon. After finding a sizeable hole on the right side of the mound in the first inning, the veteran hurler moved to the unfamiliar left side of the pitching rubber.

As he walked off the mound after retiring the side in the first inning, Smoltz asked plate umpire Casey Moser to have the grounds crew fix the sizeable divot that had caused him to throw one of his warmup pitches to the screen behind home plate.

"During the regular season, I'd just wait until they fix it because I'm not going to risk an injury," Smoltz said. "But I just moved over to the left side and dealt with it."

After learning there was nothing the grounds crew could do, Smoltz knew that his pitches would react differently than they normally do when he throws from his customary spot on the rubber.

"I just had to deal with my fastball floating back over the middle, get my innings in and try to escape unscathed," Smoltz said. "Then I get smoked in the chest. I just sat there, and as the ball was rolling down my arm, all I could think about was how mad I [was]. But then I had to catch the ball."

Even with the adjustments, Smoltz was still able to limit the Tigers to just three hits in his three-inning appearance. Through his first two Grapefruit League starts, he has completed five scoreless innings and surrendered a total of four hits.

"They hit some balls hard," Cox said of the Tigers. "But given where he was pitching from, I thought he did great not to give up any runs."

Had he not adjusted himself on the rubber and been forced to encounter a similar line drive, Smoltz says the results would have likely been much more devastating.

"When you're out there and you're not comfortable on the mound, everything looks different," Smoltz said. "So I landed different. If I would have landed in the hole, I would have spun and it would have crushed me somewhere in my backside. At least I had a chance."

After being evaluated by Cox and trainer Jeff Porter, Smoltz remained in the game to retire Gary Sheffield for the final out of the third inning. With his scheduled three-inning appearance fully completed, the veteran ace headed toward the clubhouse feeling very fortunate.

"I just think I got really lucky, and I'm going to be fine," Smoltz said.

[Braves_Fan]

I don't remember seeing this Draven, why didn't you tell me? You usually always tell me these things.