Baseball Guru
07-15-2001, 11:02 PM
Smoltz to Make Rehab Appearances
ATLANTA (AP) -- John Smoltz, apparently priming for a return in the Atlanta Braves bullpen, will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Double-A Greenville.
Smoltz is scheduled to pitch one inning in relief both Tuesday and Wednesday when the Southern League team plays Jacksonville.
Smoltz has been on the disabled list since June 10 with a sore right elbow. He missed all of last season after undergoing reconstructive surgery and managed only five starts this year before inflammation in the elbow and shoulder sent him back to the DL.
The Braves, expected to activate Kevin Millwood from the DL this week, are leaning toward using Smoltz in the bullpen to lessen the strain on his elbow.
Several times, Smoltz has raised the idea of pitching in relief.
''For more immediate use, I think I can be really effective out of the bullpen,'' he said.
Smoltz has twice pitched in relief during the NL championship series, but all 361 of his regular season games are as a starter.
''It'd be fine,'' manager Bobby Cox said. ''I'm going to go with him on a lot of stuff. He knows himself a himself a lot better than we do.''
Millwood has been on the DL since May 7 with an inflamed labrum and cyst in his right shoulder. He made his third rehab start Saturday night for Greenville, throwing 91 pitches, and hopes to return to the Braves rotation Friday night against Montreal.
''I felt really good today,'' Millwood said Sunday. ''That was the big test, after all the pitches I threw.''
Millwood (1-3, 4.93 ERA) allowed four runs in six innings against Chattanooga, but retired 12 of the last 13 hitters he faced. He struck out seven and walked one.
''My arm feels as good as it has in a long time,'' said Millwood, an 18-game winner in 1999 who slumped to 10-13 last season. ''It's easier to get loose now. That's where I had my problem during the season.''
Millwood will replace either Odalis Perez or Jason Marquis in the Braves rotation.
Perez, whose next scheduled start would be Friday, didn't help his cause by giving up seven runs in 4 1-3 innings Sunday, losing to Tampa Bay 9-1.
ATLANTA (AP) -- John Smoltz, apparently priming for a return in the Atlanta Braves bullpen, will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Double-A Greenville.
Smoltz is scheduled to pitch one inning in relief both Tuesday and Wednesday when the Southern League team plays Jacksonville.
Smoltz has been on the disabled list since June 10 with a sore right elbow. He missed all of last season after undergoing reconstructive surgery and managed only five starts this year before inflammation in the elbow and shoulder sent him back to the DL.
The Braves, expected to activate Kevin Millwood from the DL this week, are leaning toward using Smoltz in the bullpen to lessen the strain on his elbow.
Several times, Smoltz has raised the idea of pitching in relief.
''For more immediate use, I think I can be really effective out of the bullpen,'' he said.
Smoltz has twice pitched in relief during the NL championship series, but all 361 of his regular season games are as a starter.
''It'd be fine,'' manager Bobby Cox said. ''I'm going to go with him on a lot of stuff. He knows himself a himself a lot better than we do.''
Millwood has been on the DL since May 7 with an inflamed labrum and cyst in his right shoulder. He made his third rehab start Saturday night for Greenville, throwing 91 pitches, and hopes to return to the Braves rotation Friday night against Montreal.
''I felt really good today,'' Millwood said Sunday. ''That was the big test, after all the pitches I threw.''
Millwood (1-3, 4.93 ERA) allowed four runs in six innings against Chattanooga, but retired 12 of the last 13 hitters he faced. He struck out seven and walked one.
''My arm feels as good as it has in a long time,'' said Millwood, an 18-game winner in 1999 who slumped to 10-13 last season. ''It's easier to get loose now. That's where I had my problem during the season.''
Millwood will replace either Odalis Perez or Jason Marquis in the Braves rotation.
Perez, whose next scheduled start would be Friday, didn't help his cause by giving up seven runs in 4 1-3 innings Sunday, losing to Tampa Bay 9-1.