The shirt off Smoltz's back

Wow ... quite a week of ceremonial laundry photos we've been posting here ... first there was Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie with his ginormous moniker taking up the back of his Arizona Cardinals jersey ... now John Smoltz is given a wide-bodied shirt that will never fit him unless he balloons to 300+ pounds.

So yeah, even though Smoltzie is on the DL, the Braves took some time in the third inning Saturday night to salute his milestone 3000th strikeout (happened April 22, doncha know).

Did they also give him a free DVD of the Bernie Mac baseball comedy "Mr. 3000"?

And good news for Jo-Jo Reyes, the man who's taking Smoltz's spot in the starting rotation -- he was mad-sharp in his 2008 debut Saturday night on the way to the Braves' 9-1 demolition of the Reds.

You go, Jo-Jo:

Reyes (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Richmond, gave up four hits and one run in 5 1-3 innings. He walked three and struck out five.

"He's in John Smoltz's spot, so I say he's pretty important," Chipper Jones said. "The kid can pitch here. There's no doubt about it. He's got the stuff to pitch here. The only question is can he stay in the strike zone consistently."

Braves almanac: 14-15, fourth place in NL East, 133 games remaining