By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
ATLANTA -- John Smoltz has said that he'll be content if he never throws another pitch. Now, just two days after he attempted to alleviate stress on his shoulder with a move to the bullpen, the Braves veteran pitcher finds this to be a more defined possibility.
The Braves have scheduled an 11:30 a.m. ET news conference at Turner Field and at that time, they are expected to discuss Smoltz's future. There has been talk that he will need to undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder.
The Braves said that executive vice president Frank Wren, manager Bobby Cox and Smoltz will be in attendance at the news conference.
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By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
ATLANTA -- Although he's returned to familiar territory, John Smoltz doesn't truly know what the next few days, weeks or months might bring. He expects to experience regular right shoulder discomfort and is quite certain the resulting pain will be easier to tolerate than his limited other options.
When the Braves activated Smoltz from the 15-day disabled list and allowed him to officially begin his second stint as a reliever on Monday night, the 41-year-old wasn't lamenting about the possibility that he may never again be a starting pitcher. Instead, he was feeling fortunate that retirement or surgery weren't his only options.
"This is going to be who I am for the rest of the season and I've come to grips with it," Smoltz said.
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ESPN.com news services
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz had hoped to return by the end of May from a stint on the disabled list for an inflamed rotator cuff. That plan may have to be put on hold.
"It could be anywhere between the [late May] timetable I discussed and a lot longer," Smoltz told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for Monday's editions.
Smoltz told the newspaper that he had discomfort after bullpen sessions on Thursday and Saturday and that a cortisone shot and rest haven't solved his shoulder problems since doing on the 15-day disabled list.
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