"There are few pitchers in big league history with John Smoltz' resume.

Never mind the fact that he's the only pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves. Forget, too, his membership in the 3,000-strikeout club, his Cy Young Award and his 15-4 record and 2.65 ERA in the postseason.

Instead, consider this: Smoltz has pitched in the big leagues for parts of 20 seasons, and with the exception of his rookie season and an injury-riddled 1994, they've all been dominant.

"Even when he's not healthy, his numbers don't fluctuate," marveled Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. "He's had a remarkable career."

Smoltz' career numbers are consistent to the extreme. He has reached double digits in victories in 13 out of his 15 seasons as a starter, and his ERA has not topped 3.49 since the aforementioned 1994 season.

Even Roger Clemens had a couple of down years as he wound down his Sox career. The same goes for Sandy Koufax at the beginning and Nolan Ryan at the end.

"It's very rare to come across a guy that's never been average, always been dominant," general manager Theo Epstein said earlier this year. "That's John Smoltz' track record. I'm stating the obvious, but he really knows how to pitch and how to get guys out. He's been consistently dominating throughout his career."

This is relevant to the Red Sox because Smoltz is due to make his debut for them on Thursday in Washington. He has been rehabbing since surgery last June to repair a torn labrum.

That surgery typically spells the end of most pitchers' careers - Curt Schilling being the major exception - but Smoltz is hoping to buck the odds. He believed in his chances enough to leave the only major league organization he has ever known after 20 years with the Braves.

"He can do anything," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. "He's good at everything he does. It doesn't take him long to pick anything up. He's a scratch golfer, the best player we had at ping pong. Everything he wants to do, he's the best at. It's just something God gave him that he didn't give other people. He gave him more than the rest of us."

So when Smoltz takes the hill on Thursday, a month after his 42nd birthday, Sox fans will be within their rights to set their expectations high.

If his history is any indication, Smoltz is going to do more than take his turn every fifth day. He's going to deliver.

"If anyone is a physical freak, this guy is," Epstein said. "His shoulder tested stronger than a lot of healthy pitchers we have. (Signing him was) a risk because of the age and the injury, but he has proven a lot of people wrong before."

Double the sacrifice

Red Sox coach Alex Ochoa found his name in the news recently when Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols had an extremely rare two-run sacrifice fly.

Such a feat had not been accomplished since Ochoa did it in the 11th inning of a game on May 8, 2001 at Arizona while playing for the Reds."