Atlanta ? John Smoltz slipped out of the Atlanta Braves’ clubhouse through a side door, hoping to avoid reporters camped out by his locker. He knew what was coming and, frankly, he was a little tired of talking about it.

Smoltz walked all the way to the parking lot before finally – with more than a little reluctance – he stopped by his car to chat.

“Everybody’s putting me in a coffin,” Smoltz said. “All I’ve got is a stiff shoulder. It’s not that big a deal.”

The Braves made it official Tuesday, announcing that Smoltz would pitch Game 2 of the NL division series against the Houston Astros instead of the opener. Tim Hudson will go in Game 1 today against Andy Pettitte.

Manager Bobby Cox waited until the Braves were traveling home from their final regular-season game before revealing his plans to those involved. He called it a precautionary move, giving the team flexibility in case Smoltz’s shoulder acts up again.

“John is not 100 percent. But if he’s 95 percent, that’s good enough,” Cox said. “He is feeling good. He’s thrown a lot in between this time (since his last start). He doesn’t really ache or anything like that. It’s just a matter of locating his fastball a little bit better.”

Still, it was big news when the Braves passed over Smoltz for Game 1 in the best-of-five series. After all, he’s the winningest pitcher in postseason history with a 14-4 record. He wanted to get back in the rotation to start games such as this, feeling he didn’t have as much impact during the last four postseasons as a closer.

But the wear-and-tear of pitching a team-high 2292â3 innings apparently got to Smoltz late in the season. He pushed back one start a couple of days, then sat out the last nine days of the regular season to rest for the playoffs.

Even though Smoltz (14-7) felt better during a bullpen session Sunday, Cox wanted assurance his opening-day pitcher could come back on three days’ rest for Game 4, if necessary.

Hudson (14-9) was a pretty good backup choice, having pitched in four division series for Oakland.

“I’m not exactly chopped liver,” he said. “I don’t feel like their settling for me going in the first game. It really doesn’t matter who goes first and who goes second.”

While Hudson’s postseason resume – 1-2 with a 3.44 earned-run average in six starts – hardly matches Smoltz’s numbers, the Braves have plenty of confidence in the 30-year-old right-hander.

“To me, it’s just another bullet in our belt,” second baseman Marcus Giles said.