"Hours after arguably the worst start of his 20-year career, John Smoltz was designated for assignment by the Red Sox. In a matter of days, Smoltz will determine whether his career continues or ends on Thursday night's ignominious defeat at Yankee Stadium.

"All I can say is I will know the answer come next week," said Smoltz, reached by phone last night after flying from New York to his home in Atlanta. "I'm just going to go home and sort out a lot of thoughts. Nothing I say right now is going to change anything unless I have some time to think things over."

Smoltz will have the final say, but the Red Sox already have conveyed to him that they would like him to remain in the organization and perhaps return later this season to help out from the bullpen, where he could be used to get right-handed hitters out. While lefties raked him for a .444 average and slugged .767 against him, Smoltz handled righties far better, limiting them to a .232 batting average and a .390 slugging percentage."