John Smoltz
John Smoltz
John Andrew Smoltz, nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke," is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time All-Star, Smoltz was one of a celebrated trio of starting pitchers, along with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who propelled Atlanta to perennial pennant contention in the 1990s, highlighted by a championship in the 1995 World Series. He won the National LeagueCy Young Award...
close kept knew needed pitching win
I feel I am pitching really good. Sometimes you give up runs. We needed a win and I knew if I kept it close we would have a chance. If not we can not come back from those deficits.
easy protect
That's the way I am. The easy thing to do is protect yourself and not go out there, but that's never been me.
concerned five standard
I'm more concerned about the five of us getting it right. We're the momentum. It has nothing to do with the bullpen. We have to be able to set the standard each day.
appreciate feels great hitters huge pitcher run wish
That's a huge run for a pitcher. When you're battling, that run makes you feel like ? I wish hitters could appreciate what a pitcher feels like because that run's huge. He had it all the way. It was such a great play.
careful hurt slow
I've got to be careful I don't hurt him. That's why it's got to be something slow like a knuckleball.
basically catch hit home lose mind reason run
If we had to lose and if one person basically was the reason -- you never want to lose -- but you didn't mind it being Kirby Puckett. When he made the catch and when he hit the home run you could tell the whole thing had turned.
certainly feels good pitches rough sure tonight
I'm certainly proud. For tonight it sure feels good. I had some rough pitches but some good pitches.
happened line
It's been a story line for awhile. It hasn't happened in awhile.
couple extra
Anything you give a couple of extra days, it's just going to make it that much better,
elbow
Honestly, I thought it would be because of my elbow or shoulder,
great might seem
I'm going to have a great year. I really am. I know it might not seem like it after the first two starts, but I will.
beat momentum national team
You don't want to give any momentum to anyone, especially a team that started out so well. They're the team to beat. I think they're the team to beat in the whole National League. I think they're that good.
guys might percent
Sometimes 90 percent of the guys you might get away with it once in a while. You're not getting away with it with him. He's dominant, he really is.
basically bulk certainly compete depended few great level mistakes overcame past players rely superstars talent undoing work
Certainly we can't rely on past formulas. Basically we depended on superstars to do the bulk of the work, but now that work has to be done by many players or we're not going to be able to compete at the level we're used to. In the past the talent of a few great players overcame our inefficiencies, but those mistakes were our undoing in the postseason.