Well, not quite, but do sports fans in New England really care about the Pro Bowl?

Theycertainly care about Baseball, to the point of eagerly awaiting the day when pitchers and catchers report to spring camps. (For the Boston Red Sox , that's Friday, Feb. 13).

Red Sox spring training will be very interesting, mainly because of the moves general manager Theo Epstein made or didn't make.

When he finally signed catcher Jason Varitek, he completed a Hot Stove League season in which he retooled the roster without signing a marquee free agent.

He didn't land CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett or Mark Teixeira, but he did lock up his own Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedtroia. He didn't grab Derek Lowe, but he did add Brad Penny and John Smoltz to the pitching staff, and Mark Kotsay and Rocco Baldelli to the bench.

Epstein's moves were relatively quiet, except for the signing of Varitek, which went on so long that it drew undue attention. In the end, Capt. Jason did what he should have done in the first place - stay with the Sox.

If you had to pick the "steal of a deal" in Camp Red Sox, who would it be? That's easy. Good ol' Smoltzie.

He's 41 and on his way to the Hall of Fame as the only pitcher with 200-plus victories as a starter and 150-plus saves as a reliever. Before he gets there, though, Smoltz figures that after five surgeries he still has something left in that right arm/shoulder/elbow.

Apparently, Epstein thinks so, too, because he gave him a $5.5 million, one-year contract with incentives for innings and appearances that could boost his pay to $10 million.

He pitched only 28 innings in 2008, his last with the Atlanta Braves, before a torn labrum forced him to call it a season. Because he's still on the road back from surgery and rehab, Smoltz will be brought along slowly by the Bosox until he shows that he's ready.

The Red Sox can do that, because they have a full starting rotation without him. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Diasuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield are set. The No. 5 spot could go to Penny, Clay Buchholz or, if all else fails, Justin Masterson.

From afar, it might seem that the Red Sox have "too much pitching," but any Baseball fan knows that can never be. At some point, there will be a need for Smoltz.

Of course, Epstein's hoping that Smoltzie will be needed for the postseason.

At that crucial time, he could provide the kind of veteran presence a team needs with a pennant and a world championship on the line.

He has been there and done it. Nice guy to have around, eh?

Garry Brown can be reached at gbrown@repub.com