Mets Should Avoid John Smoltz Like the Plague

If we don't pay attention to history, we're bound to repeat it. That's what some smart person said a while ago and has been repeated to us hundreds of times in our lives. But now is the first time that I finally realize what it means.

According to Newsday's Ken Davidoff, the Mets main targets are Ben Sheets and John Smoltz.

No, I say. Stay away from Smoltz. Have we learned nothing from the Tom Glavine experiment? Or Julio Franco? All Braves players from the late 90's to early 2000's are pure Kryptonite. They're a plague. A curse. A voodoo spell on New York baseball. Nothing good can come from having them on the Mets.

Ignore my paranoia and just look at Smoltz's numbers since leaving the Braves. They're atrocious.His spell with Red Sox fell flat and his minimal time with the Cardinals was beyond disappointing.

Plus Smoltz is getting up there in age and is more prone to injury than what he once was. I don't see any value in adding Smoltz to the back of the bullpen. But that obviously doesn't sway the brilliant minds in the Mets front office.

Shed a Tear for John Smoltz

According to Atlanta papers, it looks like Smoltzy is out for the season. (tear)

The Atlanta Braves pitching staff is falling to pieces. Hampton. Smoltz. Could Glavine be next? I know I shouldn't be, but I'm smiling at the thought of it.

Carlos Delgado Day at Shea

Welcome back Carlos Delgado. It's great to see you again.

Delgado looked like his former self on Sunday as he crushed two home runs including one off Brave ace, John Smoltz. Delgado's swing actually looked like his 2006 swing more so than I've seen of him the last 13 months.

Don't get me wrong he's still got to show me he can consistently produce before I welcome him with open arms.

Also, how about the hefty left, Raul Casanova? Casanova hit a deep homer off Smoltz as well.

How much does David Wright hate facing John Smoltz? Can't say I blame him.

One last stat that will blow your mind: Carlos Delgado has a better on base percentage than Jose Reyes. Ouch. That should keep you up at nights Jose.

Bring in the Pirates although Monday's game will probably be a rain out. Feels good to get two from the Braves especially since it was against Hudson & Smoltz. Glavine is still too scared to show his face at Shea.

Some Things Never Change

New season, new pitcher, same result…Mets lose to the Braves...again. The first test of the season came early for the 2008 Mets and they failed. Johan did his part allowing one run through 7 innings, but the offense was nonexistent. John Smoltz mowed the Mets down for the first five innings and then Atlanta’s bullpen, which got hammered by the Pirates in the previous series, went on to close out the final four, allowing a run in the 9th, but it was too late.

It’s only 5 games into the season but the Atlanta Braves are better than the NY Mets. If you look at these two teams objectively, you will agree. Their lineup can flat out mash and if Smoltz stays healthy, that’s a big if, as he was wincing in pain before being taken out, the Braves are the team to beat. And until the Mets can prove they can beat them, I’m not going to think otherwise.

Time and time again we see them go down to Atlanta and it annoys the heck out of me. I thought for sure, with Johan taking the mound, this game would be ours. Unfortunately, the rest of the team didn’t show up. Poor fielding, bad base running and even worse hitting did the Mets in this afternoon. The only thing that’s amazing about this club so far is that Rick Ankiel has more home runs (3) than the entire team. Even Willie, in the post game report, was talking about the lack of power. By the way, Randolph already looks worried. Getting off to a slow start, I can’t say I blame him. I’m just as bothered.

If you’re looking for a silver lining, the Mets were 2-3 to start the ’86 season.