It always seemed like the perfect excuse for a player’s poor performance when moving to the AL, “oh, well, he is a National League player”. But in all honesty, it seems more and more true. Today, there are rumors that former Sox pitcher, 42-year old John Smoltz is close to signing with the Cardinals for the rest of the season. He stated before that he wanted to remain a starter, but now if he signs with the Cards, he is most likely to become a relief pitcher. Interesting turn of events, no? The thing is, Smoltz, despite his yearn to start, is much better suited to pitch as a long reliever. For the Sox, he was solid for about three innings, then he would come undone. That seems like perfect bullpen material, a guy who can throw the long relief and be solid in his outing. However, it is a very odd change of heart for the future Hall of Famer, to now take such a diminished role. But the fact of the matter is, he may have an easier time pitching in that role in the National League, where he was a star for so many years. 
Smoltz, though is not the only one to look back to the NL for some career resuscitation. Red Sox cast-off Julio Lugo has been lighting it up in the Cards batting order in the twenty games he has played for them since being traded. This is a guy who has hitting o.k. for the Sox but nowhere near where he is right now. He is currently batting .348 for the redbirds, with one homer and six rbi’s. That is not to bad when you compare the awful numbers he hit for with the Sox over the course of the last three years. His average playing in the AL for Boston was in the .250′s in the combined years. Or maybe it was the factor of playing in a large
Lugo or Lu-gone
market that just overwhelmed. After all, he had performed admirably in Tampa Bay, but then again no one until the past year cared about the Rays. It could also be that the pitching like many people say, is just not as good in the NL, players have a easier time hitting in there then they do when they come over to the AL. Case in point, Matt Holliday.
Holliday, for the last few years has been one of the most hyped hitters in the game. Yes, he did play in Coors Field, which strews numbers, but he had power, and was hitting for average. Then, this past offseason Moneyball master Billy Beane brought him to Oakland in a trade. People were interested to see in how he would make the transition to the AL. Soon enough, the critics of the NL were hooting and hollering about Holliday’s play. His average was way below his time in Colorado, dabbling in the .240′s for a while. And that is not to mention the fact that it took him until April 30, to hit his FIRST homer of the season. This coming from a guy who had 126 homers his first five years in Colorado. Beane’s move for the slugger was looking more and more like a poor decision. To make matters worse, through June 30, he had only increased that amount to three dingers. Some utility players had more than that. Beane was finally able to rid himself of the promising Holliday, sending him to St. Louis, (see a common theme here, it must be the water there). Since he came back to the NL, he is hitting a ridiculous .449, going 40 for 89 in his first 22 games with the team. To go along with that he is getting his power, smacking five home runs and driving in 22, much better than his production for Oakland. 
So, maybe it is true once an NL player, always an NL player, except for those oh-so-rare cases, where a guy shows production, ala Pedro Martinez coming to Boston in ’98. Only time will tell if an NL big bat can make the transition to the AL, and until the theory may be true.
