Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Smoltz to have season-ending shoulder surgery


From the AJC...

John Smoltz will have season-ending shoulder surgery that could also put the career of the 41-year-old Braves pitcher in doubt.

The Braves have called a media conference at 11:30 a.m. at Turner Field to be attended by Smoltz, general manager Frank Wren and manager Bobby Cox. A Braves official confirmed surgery for Smoltz will be announced at the media conference.

More as the story unfolds. It's a sad day in Atlanta.

From Mark Bowman, braves.com:
But when he awoke on Tuesday with increased pain in his shoulder, Smoltz and the Braves immediately understood that he simply might not be able to pitch any more, whether as a starter or a reliever, this year.

In the past, Smoltz has said that he'd retire if he ever needed to undergo another major surgery. He softened that stance on Monday afternoon, indicating that there would at least be a possibility that he'd attempt to prolong his career after enduring a long rehab process.



Thanks to reader Aryln for breaking the story!

PS -- Jo, this is the furry-arm picture I was talking about. ;)

7 comments:

Jennifer said...

Well, as much as this sucks, I'm not surprised, I suppose. The selfish part of me hopes he gives it another try, but I can't blame him if he doesn't. It's not as though he doesn't have a lot of other stuff outside of baseball to keep him busy. Any idea on whether or not this presser will be televised?

I love the golden arm fur picture, by the way. Thanks for posting that. Still sad news, but that makes me smile. : )

Allee said...

So sad.
I hope he gives it another try, too. He's a great person and baseball players and would hate to see his career ended by surgery instead of him retiring.
Keeping my fingers crossed that he'll come through the surgery good and maybe be able to put in another season or two...

Jessica said...

This makes me very sad, too...but at least if he does retire because of surgery, we'll all know it's because he gave the Braves everything he had (including his elbow and shoulder). That makes me feel good...but I know he won't be happy if he ends his career having surgery.

Lizziebeth said...

I was sad/mad/whatever, too, until I watched the press conference (I was able to see it on fox5tv.com) and heard him during the game broadcast. He was/is too upbeat and relieved for me to stay in a funk about it. Uh, I think. There are a couple of good pics of the press conf. at the ajc.com site. I wish the game today had been broadcast on SS so I could see the repeat tonight...apparently he made the rounds of the broadcast booths. Unfortunately it was on PTV so I'm out of luck. Here's to having him on the mound next year, or on the SPGA tour in 9!

Jennifer said...

LizzieBeth, I felt better after seeing him, as well. Partly becuase he really sounds optimistic about trying to come back, and if there's anyone who can do it.....

Did you notice that he didn't even move his right arm? The boy's in a lot of pain. Pitching or not, he needs to do this just to be able to function. I'm bummed that he's not going to be on the roadtrip next week, because we have Cubs tickets next Wednesday, but I also love that he's doing it now so that he can possibly be available next year.

I did see the AJC pictures. Good stuff here, too.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/4232/photos

dawn said...

Hey, gals. Well, I'm really feeling down. I wish I could have heard him on the radio or on Peachtree and I might feel a little better. I know this is what he needs to do, but, wow, am I going to miss seeing him out there. I pray that his surgery goes well and gives him relief, whether he pitches again or not. The guy has to be able to swing the clubs!

Lauren T. said...

Dawn and everyone else -- go here and you can watch the full press conference just under "print this page" / "email this page". It really is comforting to see how calm he is. He's accepted his fate, and I suppose all we can do is pray for his health. (If you're into that sort of thing.)