WASHINGTON -- When John Smoltz made his Red Sox regular-season debut Thursday night against the Nationals, it was a continuation of the organization's blueprint for the 2009 season.

Instead of signing big-name free agents during the offseason, general manager Theo Epstein -- after being rebuffed by Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, both of whom signed megacontracts with the Yankees -- went a different route and acquired a mix of short-term, low-priced players, all of whom fill a different role.

Smoltz. Rocco Baldelli. Brad Penny. Takashi Saito. All were coming off injuries, all had a market value considerably lower than it would have been just a year earlier, but all had talent and -- if healthy -- could fill key roles on a contending team.

Baldelli, Penny and Saito have all panned out. Smoltz is now attempting to make it 4-for-4.

"It's too early to sit and say things have worked out they way we hoped," Epstein said from his office at Fenway Park. "It's a long season and we hope to be playing seven months, not six months. There's a lot of the story still left to be written."

Which is why the Sox probably aren't too concerned about Smoltz' problems Thursday night.

The veteran right-hander struggled early, giving up four runs in the first inning, and wound up allowing five runs on seven hits over five innings. But he walked only one and struck out five, while throwing 92 pitches (62 strikes).

All along, the future Hall of Famer has said he hopes people don't judge him based on his first performance no matter how it turned out. He urges people to wait for the third, fourth or fifth outings before passing judgment.

Smoltz signed with the Sox in January after a falling out with the Braves, for whom he had played 20 years. He inked a one-year deal worth $5.5 million which includes bonuses. Penny inked a similar $5-million deal. Saito is making $2.5 and Baldelli's base salary is $500,000 with a max of $5 million in incentives.

Smoltz had shoulder surgery last June. Penny dealt with shoulder issues all of last season with the Dodgers. Saito's had elbow problems in the past and Baldelli suffers from a cell disorder called chanelopathy.

There were risks signing all the above. So far, however, the strategy has worked.

"I will say the 'buy-low' free agents deserve a lot of credit for working hard to get to a position with their health where they can impact the club," said Epstein. "They have impacted the club and have helped us get where we are in the third week of June. There's still a lot left to be said, but they deserve a lot of credit. So doesn't our medical staff."

Epstein admitted the organization's philosophy when it comes to dealing with free agents and the multiyear guaranteed contracts that come with them, especially for players in their 30s who are seeking long-term deals.

"For the most part we try to proceed with caution in free agency, generally," he said. "We violated that rule ourselves in the past, but the more we look at it, it takes a special player and a special fit and a special need to really get aggressive with a long-term contract just because of the natural ups and downs of the game, the nature of declining performance of players in their 30s, and the fact these contracts are guaranteed.

"This year once we didn't land Teixeira, we thought the best value for us was in buying low on one-year deals for potential impact players because we didn't see impact in the market elsewhere."

Manager Terry Francona knows how difficult it can be to deal with the decision whether or not to sign the money players, or take a chance on the low-cost ones.

"For an organization, those are some tough decisions," said Francona. "If you're not [going to sign big-name free agents] how do you get around it and still be good? I thought out guys got very creative. And, some of the reason it's working, is because we have enough depth where we don't have to rush guys. We're starting to see some benefits of what Theo and those guys did."

The players also have to buy into the organization's philosophy, too. All of them have and Smoltz was a perfect example of that Thursday night.

"We're trying to make it work," said Francona.

jmcdonal@projo.com