Baseball Blog: John Smotlz and The St. Louis Cardinals

John Smoltz signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday August 19, 2009. The Red Sox obviously thought this 40 something pitcher can no longer be successful, at least on their team. A move from the A.L to the N.L will completely change that.

I'm here to tell you that Smoltz will be successful as a Redbird. And here are the reasons:

· His name is John Smoltz.

- That means 212 career wins, a 3.32 career E.R.A and 3,044 punchouts. Now I'm definitely not saying he is going to be lights out. All that he has to do is throw 5 or 6 innings of quality ball against mostly sub .500 teams.

· He picked the St. Louis Cardinals

- Smoltz wanted to pitch in St. Louis. He has great relationships with players Mark DeRosa and Adam Wainwright and manager Tony Larussa. Plus, most players who suit up in a Cardinals uniform say that playing for the St. Louis fans means you're playing for some of the best baseball fans around.

· He will be again pitching in the National League.

- That means he will be facing 8 and 9 hitters who are a lot easier to get out in the A.L

- He will be pitching against the likes of the Padres, Nationals, Pirates, Braves, Marlins, and the Astros.

· He will have Dave Duncan as his pitching coach.

- Mike Moore, Dave Stewart, Matt Morris, Jeff Weaver, Braden Looper have all had resurged careers with Duncan as their pitching coach. Duncan is notorious for taking so-so pitchers and making them good pitchers who yield quality starts. Let's say there is something wrong with Smoltz's mechanics or strategy, Duncan is the man to fix it.

· He is a beast in the Postseason

- Smoltz has a 2.67 E.R.A, 15 wins, and 186 strikeouts in 42 career postseason games. Let's face it, the Cardinals are most likely heading to the playoffs and this is where Smoltz excels. Whether it be starting the third or fourth game or setting up the save for Franklin, Smoltz brings the experience the Cards need for playoff success.

And the Cardinals are getting him for a nice little bargain. They will only have to pay $100,000 for the remainder of the season, as Boston is stuck paying him 5.5 million. With such little risk, the Cardinals can’t lose.

First Update 8/23/09: Smoltz debuted with the Cards and he sure did impress. He pitched five innings, struck out nine (seven in a row), and only allowed three hits. So far so good.

Second Update 8/29/09: Smoltz will pitch against MLB's worst team, the Washington Nationals. They do have some good hitters in Dunn, Zimmerman, and Willingham so this should be a good test for Smoltz. Smoltz pitched six innings of four hit ball on Friday. He allowed one earned run while striking out six. He now has a 0.82 E.R.A through two starts with the Cards.

Third Update 9/3/09: Smoltz pitched 6 innings and gave up four earned runs in the loss against the Brewers. He did not walk a batter and stuck out six. He pitched great the first five innings, but the sixth innings was his weakness. He gets the Brew Crew again for his next start.

Fourth Update 9/8/09: The Cards won 4-3 against the Brewers as Smoltz went five innings and gave up three runs on six hits. Again, he kept the Cardinals in the game and gave them a chance to win. He now sports a 3.27 E.R.A through four starts since being traded to the Redbirds.