John Smoltz joins TBS as announcer, but still not officially retiring

Turner Sports announced that John Smoltz has joined the TBS broadcast team as an analyst for their Sunday afternoon games and select Braves games. Smoltz joins a lineup of color commentators that includes Ron Darling, Buck Martinez, David Wells, and Dennis Eckersley, with Ernie Johnson, Brian Anderson, and Dick Stockton filling play-by-play duties. Chip Caray’s name is nowhere to be seen, thankfully. On the surface the new gig seemingly means Smoltz is retiring, but he talked previously about wanting to join a team at midseason if he plays in 2010 and it’s possible that the announcing job is just something to do while passing the time (or a way to gauge whether he’s truly ready to call it quits). Smoltz was terrible after signing with the Red Sox last season, getting released after going 2-5 with an 8.32 ERA in eight starts, but then had a 4.26 ERA and excellent 40/9 K/BB ratio in seven starts after joining the Cardinals. His overall ERA was ugly, but his 73/18 K/BB ratio in 78 innings overall and strong stretch-run performance certainly suggest that he’s still capable of getting big-league hitters out as a back-of-the-rotation starter or reliever. And if not he’ll probably be making a speech in Cooperstown five years from now.