Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

John Smoltz is scheduled to make his first rehab start of the year on Thursday at Sing;e-A Augusta. I have to think that if Smoltz re-signed with the Braves that he would have felt compelled to have been back to the big team by now. Red Sox fans are in no rush. We want Smoltz for September and October... Today was Kyle Eastwood's 41st birthday. Two quick thoughts about that - wow - Clint has a kid who is 41? You sometimes forget how old Clint is. Second - it must have been tough growing up with everyone picturing your dad as the epitome of manliness for his generation. It looks like Kyle Eastwood is pretty well adjusted though (of course I really have no idea though)... Interesting Red Sox tidbit from Jim Dawson,

"Casey Kelly (Sarasota HS), the #1 pick by Boston in last year’s draft, is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA at Single-A Greenville. Kelly, the son of ex-MLBer Pat Kelly, will be allowed to play SS after he reaches 100 innings pitched. Brother Chris is pitching in the TB minors."

The Red Sox Casey Kelly is not to be confused with the Angels' prospect who never made it past Single-A Cedar Rapids in 2000... I think it is safe to say that Raul Ibanez has done a good job replacing Pat Burrell's bat in the Phillie line-up. Ibanez is leading all of baseball with a 1.132 OPS. He also has 13 HR on the season (which is 13 more than David Ortiz). It should be noted that Ibanez' OPS is more than 300 points over his career average - so you fantasy baseball players may want to trade Ibanez now before he drops back to earth...