That's all, Smoltz? Probably, yes.

John Smoltz wants to go off on his own terms, and having shoulder surgery in June of his final season doesn't constitute that.

So that, as much as anything, is why Wednesday's announcement that he will undergo shoulder surgery wasn't a retirement. If he ever wants to golf - which he does, as he's almost a scratch golfer - he likely needs the surgery.

“I said I would retire if the desire is gone,” Smoltz, 41, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m not there yet. I’m not there emotionally. Physically, it’s to be determined. No one wants to have surgery. But I look forward to the challenge.”

But read between the lines with Smoltz and you get the feeling he's made his peace with a Hall of Fame-type of career, and it's likely we've seen his final big-league pitch. He's the only player with 200 wins and 150 saves in major-league history, with a resume of big-game masterpieces (starting all the way back to the 1991 World Series) and I think we'll see him in Cooperstown. No. 29 might not return to the mound, but certainly it will never be worn by a Braves player again, as he's one of the best players in team history.

"My legacy will be however someone wants to view it," Smoltz told the Journal-Constitution. "But I think from within the organization, the players ... Certainly I'm proud of it. I don't even know if I have a word for it. I mean, I literally gave everything I had every single time I went out there.

"I just relished it. I could not wait for the big moment, the big game ... I followed some great footsteps. I just hope to have honored [the Braves uniform] as much as I possibly can. And I'm proud of it. In life certainly nothing goes smooth, but this has been the time of my life."