"I've never seen a group of guys work as hard and be as dedicated as they have," Smoltz said of his new Red Sox teammates. "That doesn't mean the other guys I was with [weren't]. Don't read into it. It's just these guys realize what's before them. The atmosphere that's here is a lot more high-intensity than most places, New York being the only other.
"So you can be under the radar and have a great staff, but then it's one thing to have a great staff and be constantly scrutinized on what you're doing in a division that's high-powered, so you always have to be on your game."
It looks - on paper, of course - as if the rotation assembled in Boston will be one of the best in baseball. Starting with Beckett, whose first Opening Day start with the Red Sox got pushed to today with yesterday's rainout, the Sox have Cy Young candidates in their first three slots in the rotation, plus a former Cy Young candidate and a reliable veteran.
Not too shabby.
"Usually you don't find that many power arms in one setting, let alone one organization," Smoltz said. "So when you have that luxury, it gives you the flexibility to not let any lineup get comfortable.
"You throw in Wake, and he feeds off it. I would love to be him in this pitching rotation, because you think about everybody that faces this lineup has got to think about hard stuff and quality stuff and then you keep a guy off-balance with a Wakefield. It's a perfect fit."
Behind Wakefield, pitching in the No. 4 spot, comes the wild card of the staff: Penny. While he won 16 games in 2006 and 2007, his 2008 season with the Dodgers was marred by injury that kept him off the mound for much of the second half. It seemed at times this spring that Penny would not be ready, with an early setback because of some weakness in his shoulder. But he is. And after two simulated innings today at Fenway Park, Penny will slot in on Saturday against the Angels, with Beckett pushed back to Sunday to go on normal rest.
"I'm excited," Penny said. "Any time you get to pitch for an organization like this, it's an honor. It's a great team, so it should be a lot of fun.
