"When the Red Sox travel to Turner Field next weekend, John Smoltz will find himself in the odd position of wearing enemy colors in an environment where he'll always be recognized as a beloved iconic figure.

But with the Braves at Fenway Park for a three-game Interleague series this weekend, Smoltz has at least already taken advantage of the opportunity to relieve the awkwardness of wearing his Red Sox uniform while interacting with Braves skipper Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones and some of the other figures who had been with him for most of the past 20 years in Atlanta. About four hours before the start of Friday night's series opener, Smoltz entered the Braves' clubhouse and reunited with the guys whom he'd called teammates before this January, when he opted to sign with the Red Sox. "I wanted to be as professional as I could without getting too crazy about it," Smoltz said. "You can't erase 20-some years, and I'm not pretending to and I don't think they are." While serving as the general manager in 1987, Cox orchestrated the trade that brought Smoltz to the Braves organization. Over the course of the 22 years that have followed, he developed a unique bond with the hurler who called Atlanta his Major League home from 1988-2008."