As I said earlier Smoltz threw his first bullpen session today. Smoltz threw 40 pitches, and said he was throwing about 70% of his usual intensity. There was a scare for a moment when Smoltz tried to let one fly, had the ball slip out of his grip, and fall down harmlessly on the mound. It ended up to just be an accident. The ball slipped out of his hand, and Smoltz later explained that happens at least once a bullpen session to him.
So now the plan is for Smoltz to throw for the next two weeks with bullpen sessions every third day, leading into throwing batting practice at some point in the third week. Smoltz will throw again on Saturday. He said he expects to throw some breaking balls into the mix on that day, and he's also likely to throw more out of the stretch.
Overall it was a good first step in a somewhat long road back.
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