Well, it's a pleasure right now to be joined by a Hall of famer
when men were men on the mound, a man that won two hundred and
thirteen games in his career, struck out over three thousand and also did it
as a reliever, one of the best closers when he was in the bullpen
for a short time. That is the great world champion, John Smoltz.
John, thanks a lot for the time, appreciate it. My pleasure's always
great to be here in La. Beautiful day, beautiful weather and great game.
Do you ever have a chance to hit any of the golf courses in
La. LA's got some of the finest. Yeah. When I was playing
here, this was guaranteed golf. You know. I think in twenty one
years I saw it rain twice. So whenever we came to the West Coast,
it was filled with tea times at La Country Club. Bel Air Sherwood
foris. We played a lot of golf courund here and it was a lot
of fun. Sherwood's my neck of the woods, so I know it.
Well. Was there one golf course that was the most challenging for you?
Sherwood was the first golf course i'd ever seen. With the golf carts the
way that they were, they were ahead of their time. They had like
the trunk in the front of the hood that you could put things that were
selling jewelry in the locker and the pro shop. It was a lot of
fun to go to Sherwood. I think my favorite is LA Country Club and
La North So of course they just played the Open not too long ago,
so but that's one of my favorite. You have a favorite golfer. We
always talk about favorite baseball players, but is there such a thing to love
a golfer that's not named Tiger Woods? Well, you know what, during
the playing days, Tom Glavin was my most low loyal golfer on the road.
But I like playing with anybody who likes to play fast. You know,
I would just say, doesn't matter what your handicap is. If you're
going to play like a US Open Tour player, then we're not going to
have a lot of fun. But if you're going to be able to just
get over your ball, get ready to hit hit it, and we could
play as much golf in the day as as possible. I know, you
could talk golf all day. One more question about it. You mentioned Surewood.
The guy that I know that made sure Would famous was Wayne Gretzky.
Did you ever play against Gretzky or with Gretzky? I have and some of
the celebrity events back in the past, and also in a member guest out
of Shadow Creek. But Wayne's golf game, I think he's, you know,
obviously one of the greatest all time athletes ever. He likes to talk
trash on the golf course. John Smoltz is our guest John when we're at
Dodgers Stadium, and John Smoltz this year. I remember nineteen ninety one when
the Braves came back from a nine game deficit at the All Star Break to
win the division by a game over the Dodgers. I've been preaching not to
be complacent around the streets of Los Angeles. Some of the players have gotten
upset with me for saying that. But as good as the Dodgers are and
as big of a lead they have, do you feel like complacency can set
in? Oh? It can, but Dave Roberts will ever let that.
I think a manager knows when his team is maybe kind of lighting. Look,
the roster is definitely the best roster in the NL West. But injuries
are also a part of our game that you never could foresee, and already
they've been They've had some injuries that have kind of stabled maybe the wind total.
Getting north of one hundred plus wins is what everybody expects. So I
think there are lessons in the game that teach you to not look too far
ahead and not get too far complacent. Because you're mentioning the one that was
one of the greatest for us. It started an incredible streak of fourteenth straight
years. No one saw us coming the Dodgers. The Reds had no fear
of the Atlanta Braves in nineteen ninety one, and we ran a historic second
half and really went on our last road trip. We went seven to zero,
and to catch the Dodgers on the final day was pretty pretty well.
We actually caught them on Saturday, I believe Saturday night. I was able
to pitch that game against Houston that clinched our first playoff spot for a long
time for the Braves. I remember being here when the Braves came to town
in September of that season, and that was maybe the biggest series in a
long time. It was loud, Yeah, I pitched in that series.
If I'm not mistaken, I think this place realized kind of what we were
doing, you know, and that we were chugging along, and we picked
up I think seven games in the first ten games of the second half in
the standing, something like that, six or seven games, and then it
was it was game on. You know. We were the underdog by no
stretch. We understood that, and all the pressure was kind of on the
Dodgers, and that road trip we were on. They were at home,
so they got to see all those miracle comeback wins. You know. I
don't know how true the story is, but Tommy Lasorda, we were down
two runs in the ninth inning against Cincinnati, nobody out in the ninth We
came back and won that game in extra innings, and I hadn't understand he
was eating a play of pasta and he threw it off his desk when we
were able to come back and win that game. Yeah, that sounds like
Tommy Florida for sure. John Smoltz is our guest. Obviously, the Braves
World Series champions, but went there came a little bit short. The Dodgers.
Now, the last ten years have been compared to your Braves teams.
Can you relate to the feeling around here when you have all the pressure on
you. There's something to be said about that. Now, when you have
all the pressure on you, it means you're a pretty good team and you've
got a good chance of doing something each year that you set out to do.
Out leaving string training, we had a little different scenario. We were
winning despite having been predicted, you know, to win. We did that
in the first five years, but after that our roster changed quite a bit.
It's frustrating as a player to come up short like we did. We
lost our first eight World Series games by one run. We were in every
World Series. It comes down to execution, a little bit of luck,
but you've got to be able to deliver. And I think for the Dodgers
it's been a little bit of a mixed bag. Right last year, beat
up, rotation, a couple of years ago beat up. Then they had
to go toe to toe with the Giants and exhaust every option they had to
win that series and really had nothing left for the Braves. They went on
to win the World Series that year. I think it's every year it's the
healthier team has a chance to win, then they have the upper hand.
Experience is phenomenally great when you use it. But I think if your roster
is a little banged up and people know that you got to be healthy despite
the payroll and despite the roster, you've got to be healthy at the right
time of the year. John, I get tired of hearing about the postseason
being random. I'm not a big believer in that. I feel like you
make your own luck and your fortune. There is another layer to the postseason
rounds now, But how do you feel about that when you hear randomness and
luck? Well, the one thing that I've noticed over the last five to
seven years is the strategies and the philosophies that work in one sixty two.
The teams that don't DBA from that, they're not winning. Yeah, And
I just think I know a lot of pushback have been given by me by
making those claims. But analytics is only good as much as you're able to
use a one sixty two model. It doesn't work in the best of seven.
And if you're not able to use your eyes at that time of the
year and use the players having spectacular performances and not utilizing them like it's a
one sixty two. I think that's part of it, and I know people
don't like that, but that's just part of having experience. In the postseason.
We've got to let players have their moments, and we can't just keep
conducing it down to a one sixty two model. I'll grant you one sixty
two analytics has been very successful, yeah, but I don't think it's proven
to be successful in the playoffs. That's where the randomness may be coming from,
because they can't explain that. And that's the difficult part about understanding.
It's a totally different set of circumstances that you have to go by. You
got to let your horses be horses, and you got to be able to,
like I said, be healthy enough to utilize the best pitching usually wins.
And if you use those guys and use your eyes. I'm not crazy
about taking a guy out in the fourth fifth inning when he's been dominating just
because the numbers say in a one to sixty two that's what you do.
So I'm a little different there. I'm not anti analytic, I'm just anti
all one bucket And if you only use one bucket of information and that's your
source for making every decision. I think you run yourself as a disadvantage at
that time of the year. So like, if Tyler Glass now is going
great, why pull them out of the game in a postseason game. That's
exactly right. And I've done a lot of postseason games where I've seen pitchers
come out with no reason to come out other than they just do because that's
the plan that's decided before him. Look the World Series that the Dodgers won,
if people remember the pitcher on the momb was dominating them in a one
to nothing lead for the Rays, and they took them out because of their
analytic model, and they lost the World Series. Now they were down in
the series, but you can't tell me if they don't win that game,
they don't have just as much a chance to win that World Series. And
so there's there's many examples. Even as last year, teams are kind of
with their mouth open when they see the other pitcher come out. The opposing
teams like thank you, yeah, thank you very much. Because in today's
game, it takes seven pitchers per game. In a postseason game, five
to seven is what typically you're seeing. Do you know every one of those
guys have to be right on. It only takes one guy to be bad
to tilt the game the wrong way. So I still ascribe to that philosophy,
and I've seen teams that win, and the teams that have won are
really the wins taking advantage of that philosophy. Hey, John Smoltz, I
feel like Bobby Cox believed in you, and I'm sure there were times in
those playoff games that the numbers or even yourself you didn't believe you could reach
that type of level of competition. I got a chance to do something in
my era that was so it was like a dream. You know, finish
what you start. You let your pitching determine whether the manager came out and
took you out, nothing else. And I got a chance to piss three
seven games, and two of them, you know, I was able to
go nine innings, and the third one I thought I was going to go
to the nine innings, but I had to come out in the eighth in
a tie game zero zero without giving up a run. It's a little different
story coming back on three days rest, last game of the year, Game
seven. But the game that we mentioned I talked to you about when we
were able to beat the Dodgers in ninety one. I gave them five runs
a pitch nine innings. That'll never happen again. I don't no chance.
So he believed in us. In we were setting the tone. Why change
the narrative. Why give somebody else a different look when you're doing what you
have to do at the mound and silencing the kind of the If balls are
getting rocketed all over the place, absolutely you shouldn't stay in the game,
even if they're catching them. So I think we've entered a different era where
velocity and spin rate and all that stuff as matters, and the reward system
has changed the way the game is played. And that's just a matter of
fact. All right, John, We'll see you back here in October.
We'll see what happens, whether or not the macro or the micro wins out.
Yeah. I'm looking forward this year especially we have the National League,
Joe and I do. And the National League is going to be very compelling
between the current teams if they hold out, obviously Philly Atlanta and the Dodgers
and Brewers, who are surprising the world right now. It feels like it's
a collision course for the Phillies and Dodgers, but I know obviously there could
be upsets. Do you feel like the Phillies are on a mission to redeem
themselves? I am a big believer. I know a lot of people downplay
this. When they asked the feeling that the Phillies had last year to end
the season, I think as a chip on their shoulder. I think every
player went in the offseason, or majority of them did, said that ain't
happening again, not on my watch. They did whatever they needed to do,
and they've got a complete roster with veteran guys, and I think that
has been their mission you have. They've beat up a little bit with some
injuries, but they have a huge lead and I do believe they're the team
to beat along with the Dodgers because the rosters speak to There's not many holes
and they've been there, done that, and I think last year could serve
them well. If they are to go on and compete for the World Series,
that would be electric La and Philly. Wow. John Smoltz, thanks
a lot for the time. I truly appreciate your analysis. We learn so
much from you every time you're on the air with Joe and I really appreciate
the time that you take for us my pleasure. Thanks for having me