Projo Sox Blog

John Smoltz knows his goal of getting back into a big league game is out there, and it's not that far off now. His body feels strong. So strong, sometimes, that he has to hold himself back.

"That's what I've been the most proud of. I'm not a guy that stays patient. I want to get out there and push the envelope a little bit. But I've really been staying true to what they want me to do. There's no advantage to going any faster," Smoltz said.

To keep himself focused the road ahead, he has broken his goals down into tiny, incremental chunks. He's now thinking about his next throwing session, three days away.

"I look forward now to every three days. Before, I used to look forward to things like, 'oh, I get to throw 100 feet today.' And when I got to 120, that was a big step," he said.

Today, he met one of those goals in a big way - throwing all his pitches in a 47-pitch bullpen session. This was his second bullpen session in his long rehab from shoulder surgery.

The last time he threw, Smoltz said he felt "awkward" on the mound, having not pitched for so long. He threw 40 pitches, all fastballs, and kept his velocity at around 70 percent of his maximum to avoid any problems.

"The first day the timing wasn't good because I was probably thinking of too many things and I'm not used to 30 people watching me throw a side session," he said.

This time, felt more comfortable, and ratcheted it up a little bit more.

"Today was about 80 percent, 85 percent -- if somebody made me, I could throw in a game today," he said.

Smoltz threw two kinds of fastballs, a change-up, slider, curve ball, and a split-finger fastball during his session, to the delight of the pitching coaches, said manager Terry Francona.

"He threw all his pitches. I think they all came away feeling really good about it," Francona said.

Mark Kotsay, himself rehabbing from back surgery, stood in against Smoltz to give him the feeling of a game situation. Kotsay didn't swing, but came away more than impressed with Smoltz.

"If today was any indication of what he's going to be like when he gets back, it's ridiculous to see him throw the ball today and think that he's two months away. To me, he's right there," Kotsay said.

"I think he could go out and get major league hitters out right now," Kotsay added.

Smoltz may join the team for opening day in Boston, but will likely return south so he can pitch batting practice and in simulated games. He is aiming for a rehab start in late April, and it is possible he could be ready for big-league action as early as mid-May.

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