It hurts to say it, but it was time for Tom Glavine to go
When Tom Glavine was allowed to leave for the Mets in December 2002, I was outraged. (At the Braves, not at him.) The same Braves released the same Glavine on Wednesday, and here’s what I say now:
Good move.
Tom Glavine is my favorite Brave ever, but it was time — past time — for him to go. I didn’t cheer when they brought him back two winters ago, and I was against giving him another chance in 2009. A 43-year-old coming off shoulder and elbow surgery? With Tommy Hanson waiting in the minors? Was this a big-league baseball season or a sentimental journey?
“This was not a business decision,” Frank Wren told the media Wednesday. “This was a performance decision.” And there should be no arguing with that.
Tom Glavine gave the Braves a lot. He gave them the greatest night of professional sports this city has known. (Game 6, 1995 World Series, eight innings, one hit.) But he has, sad to say, nothing left to give. Wren again: “Our evaluation [of Glavine's rehab starts in the minors] was that he would not be successful at the major-league level.”
It was a grim and defensive Wren who faced the press, and sure enough the question arose: Given that John Smoltz was allowed to sign elsewhere and that Glavine has been cut, was he worried about appearances? “Obviously you’re concerned about everything,” Wren said, “but at the end of the day fans want to win, to be in the playoff hunt … If we have to deal with the consequences of a public-relations backlash, that’s part of doing business.”
Loading ...Then this: “My duty is to give the 25 players in that clubhouse the best chance to win and the best chance to be playing in October.”
And he has. Hanson is en route to the bigs, where he surely belongs. (He’ll start here Saturday night against Milwaukee.) At this point in their careers, is there any doubt a heat-bringing 22-year-old stands to help more than a 43-year-old soft-tosser? Shouldn’t that consideration trump all else?
The belief here is that there will be no massive outcry. (Glavine, as we know, was pilloried locally — and wrongly — for his role as a players’ representative during the 1994 strike.) The belief here is that the Braves will sell more tickets for Hanson’s first big-league start than they would have for Glavine’s 683rd. The belief here is that Wren deserves no grief for this move, none whatsoever.
The Braves hoped Glavine would be ready by April 17, the first time they’d need a No. 5 starter to bring the gap until Hanson was primed. Glavine couldn’t go in April (or May), and now no such gap exists with Hanson. And just because Glavine threw six shutout innings in a Rome rehab start Tuesday cut no ice. Said Wren: “Our view over the course of the last month was that he has not improved.
This wasn’t a hairline call, not for a team that has designs on winning the NL East. Toward that end, Wren traded three big-time prospects to Pittsburgh for center fielder Nate McLouth an hour after announcing Glavine’s release. This general manager is being as aggressive as is financially possible, and we should applaud him for that. Even if Wednesday didn’t seem a time for applause.
Said Wren: “It’s not a pleasant day,” and it wasn’t. Bobby Cox, a man’s man, spoke after the game with reddened eyes. And Chipper Jones, as he invariably does, sounded the exact proper note: “Sentimentally, [the day] stunk. But if you look at it in terms of this organization going forward, you have to hope it’s a step in the right direction.”
Tom Glavine is among the most distinguished Braves ever to wear the uniform. But time waits for no man, and it was time for the team he ennobled to move on.
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518 comments Add your comment
edward
June 3rd, 2009
8:26 pm
He makes 1 million no matter what. He would have made another for making the roster and more for 30 days of service. It was a money decision. This is what happenes when you bring in a guy with no ties to the history of the team. Is it nostalgia to bring him back?? Maybe but when he says he can pitch then I would trust a 300 game winner over a guy who never played
Duston
June 3rd, 2009
8:28 pm
I think it was another classless move by the Braves. I hope Glavine knows that most Brave Fans think this was another terrible move by the GM. Good luck Tommy wherever you go and I will be cheering for you if you play the Braves!!!
Kevin Taylor
June 3rd, 2009
8:28 pm
I’m sad to see Glavine go and mostly the way he was released from the team. I wished for him to be allowed a chance to prove that he could still pitch in the “bigs” but he was not allowed the opportunity to do so.
However, there is no doubt in my mind that Tommy Hanson will give the braves a better chance of winning. He’s the real deal and barring major injuries he will help the braves by winning many games and creating a fresh new atmosphere in the clubhouse.
Also, the addition of Nate Mclouth will bolster the offense a great deal which I fell is the best thing that could have happened to the team today.
I’m going to miss Glavine as I miss Smoltzie. I don’t like the way the braves management handled these future Hall of Famers in releasing them from the team. But I still like the braves chances to at least get a wild card berth if the offense comes around and if the bullpen can hold the leads and save games in the final innings.
AJC
June 3rd, 2009
8:28 pm
Both Glavine & Smoltz have been awesome both this season & last…Oops, nevermind I thought this was about golf, not baseball….Mad Max, how do you really feel? LOL
tashunka
June 3rd, 2009
8:28 pm
This has become an absolutely classless organization. Yeah Glavine is old and throws soft but he has always thrown soft and along the way put up 300 wins. How many young flame throwers have we seen crash and burn at the big league level. Apparently we learned nothing from the Jordan Shaffer matter–a prospect is just a prospect until he does something. Glavine has done plenty, Hanson, Wren, Cox and Pendelton or merely prospects, and many of them do not look like such great prospects. Just turned my television off. So long Braves.
Larry Orange
June 3rd, 2009
8:29 pm
None of the starter have faltered ? how about 3 and 6 with an above 4 ERA, I mean the only starter that has pitched well is Lowe. Vazquez strikes out a lot of people but he gives up a fair share of runs. Let Glavine take a few starts, if he pitches well then he can Kawakami’s place in the rotation. But no, 3 and 6 isn’t faltering at all.
yogi2
June 3rd, 2009
8:29 pm
great trade for Mclouth, Glavine should have been released sooner. he really thought he had a place here. Shaffer and Glavine are gone. now if we can find someone to take the French Fickler and Norton and Carlyle, we might have a decent team
Sir Stealth
June 3rd, 2009
8:30 pm
As unpleasant as the whole thing is, there is more outcry about the Glavine move than I would have expected. You have to make the moves that are best for the team. After time heals the sting of it, Tom will understand that too – he is a true professional after all. I think that the McLouth trade is outstanding. I am very surprised we were able to make that. And the Hanson call up, all on the heels of last night’s game…wow.
I was furious when we let Smoltz go, but I’ve gotten over it. We just have too much pitching coming up in the organization to keep question marks around for sentimental value (not that Smoltz might not still be a great pitcher, or that Tom might not have something left). I would hate to see renewed bad feelings with Tommy, but I think that eventually things will work out ok and they’ll all go into the Hall of Fame as Braves just like they should.
Dr Henry / augusta
June 3rd, 2009
8:30 pm
I would love to see the Red Sox pick up Glavine and he and Smoltz pitch them past the Yankees into the playoffs!!! I know, I can dream can’t I??
bigcooterb
June 3rd, 2009
8:30 pm
Maybe Tom Glavine can’t pitch anymore but the Braves should have released him in the spring instead of stringing him along and letting him go through all the rehab that he did. Not the way to treat a Hall of Famer.
Paul Lentz
June 3rd, 2009
8:30 pm
Last year the Braves paid big money to players who were on the disabled list. Our starters could not go 5 innings. This year, the Braves have retooled the rotation, improved the bullpen, and gotten rid of those bad contracts. Frank Wren has done wonders in the past year for the Braves. He is trying to improve the Braves’ chances of winning this year. However, I feel that he has his eye on 2010.
It seems that many of you are more loyal to washed up, past their prime players…than to the team. Plus you would rather a home town player (Franceour) continue to make easy out after easy out……than to play someone who can hit the ball (Matt Diaz).
Many of you are not real Braves fans.
NORRIS
June 3rd, 2009
8:33 pm
sometimes the player is the last one to realize he cant do it anymore.
Edwin
June 3rd, 2009
8:33 pm
Um… you are the devil Frank Wren!!! Stop spewing your twisted and explain why you stabbed Tom Glavine in the back! You humiliated him! Crushed him! TOM GLAVINE – a baseball legend who is (was?) destined to represent the Atlanta Braves in the Hall of Fame! He’ll probably opt to go in as a Met now!!! Yeah Tommy Hanson blah blah, it all makes sense on paper, but a player as honest and classy as Tom Glavine deserved something better, MUCH BETTER. He was working his ass off to get back and win games for us, which is why you signed him in the winter. Why would you wait until now to pull the rug out from under him? This could have been handled differently. I hate you. *Tom – I love you.
steve
June 3rd, 2009
8:34 pm
The way the Braves let Tommy go is classless.
As far as the trade goes, I am afraid we gave up too much. We gave up an aweful lot of young talent. This is becoming too much of a pattern.
yogi2
June 3rd, 2009
8:34 pm
I remember when Glavine was a young rookie, he was great, areal competitor, had alot of grit, like a pittbull, Henever gave in to the batters. Greatest left-hander we ever had? he and Warren Spahn
Wayne
June 3rd, 2009
8:35 pm
Well I believe that he has earned the priviledge of going out one last time to the mound. Let the fans come to the park and give him a proper farewell. If performance is what they are looking for rather than team leadership, send the hypochondriac Chipper Jones packing. Trade Francouer for someone who doesn’t have head problems at the plate. I believe that Glavine paid his dues, he didn’t deserve to be kicked out the door.
Edwin
June 3rd, 2009
8:35 pm
^^^ “twisted LOGIC” …
And while I’m at it: YEAH six scoreless innings in class A ball doesn’t prove he can cut it in the big leagues, but it sure as hell doesn’t prove that he CAN’T!!!! Jerk. You suck.
Mitch
June 3rd, 2009
8:36 pm
Now that I’ve read the “Retire or be released” comment, I’m even more angry. Tom Glavine isn’t.. Rick Mahler, Zane Smith, or some of the poor pitchers who pitched for the Braves in the 1980s. Glavine is a Hall of Famer, who won 244 games for this team! You dont use blackmail in such a situation, to achieve a baseball move.
I dont know if anyone has ever read Phil Niekro’s first book, Knuckleballs. Phil discusses how in 1983, after an 11-10, 3,79 ERA season, Ted Turner, and Joe Torre called Phil into Ted’s office at WTBS, and said “We have decided you should retire”. While the Braves had fallen just short of making the playoffs in 1983, with the pre wild card divison format, it was not entirely Phil Niekro’s fault that they didnt make the playoffs that year. While the Braves did right this wrong, some.. when they brought Phil back to pitch his farewell game for the last place 1987 team, it seems to me that we have been down this road before. Knucksie is in Cooperstown, and Tom Glavine will someday join him there. Guys who have had such careers, deserve to be treated with a bit more respect, than the average 500 pitcher.
Knucksie went into the HOF as a Brave, and I suspect Glavine will too. At least with Knucksie, the farewell game meant he could retire as a player, and walk off the field a Brave for the final time. I hope, that after all he has meant to the game of baseball, someone gives Tom Glavine a chance to pitch, so that he can walk off the field as an active player for the final time, instead of having his career end in this fashion.
Mitch
ike
June 3rd, 2009
8:36 pm
QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
1) How does Tommy Glavine work up the nerve to say ANYTHING about loyalty?!?!?!
2) why are braves fans buying his sob story??
give me a break, the guy took a few extra bucks to sign with our most hated division rivals. after all, it’s just a business.
Paul Lentz
June 3rd, 2009
8:36 pm
Larry Orange, our starters are consistently going 6-7 innings a game. Kawakami is keeping the Braves in games. Our bullpen is not nearly as taxed as it was last year.
Not having Chipper Jones is really hurting our offense tonight. This is the kind of night that the Braves need Jeff Franceour to have a good night and carry the team. However he isnt capable to doing that. Yet many of you cant see that.
chaps
June 3rd, 2009
8:37 pm
Glavine gave the Braves and fans the finger when he led the players strike and again when he went to the Mets for a few bucks. Karma is tough sometimes.
scottbravesfan
June 3rd, 2009
8:37 pm
I love Tom Glavine but it was time to move on they should have never signed him to begin with. Tommy Hanson is going to help the team win right now. Wren makes the tough choices and so far he’s right. There was no reason to bring back John Smoltz either and then he goes out and gets a young just entering his prime all star outfielder from Pittsburgh without having to give up Heyward, Freeman, Hanson, or Medlin. Awesome job.
AJC
June 3rd, 2009
8:37 pm
How fast can McLouth get here, the Braves may need him tonight? Glavine bolted for the Mets, Smoltz whined like a baby when he left. Did the Braves not pay these senior citizens last year, for doing absolutely squat?
Mike
June 3rd, 2009
8:38 pm
Try: It’s Time for Wren to Go! He has absolutely no clue what he’s doing. His move saved money, but as all his transactions, will prove fruitless. Watching Frank Wren deal with the Braves roster is like watching like a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
edward
June 3rd, 2009
8:38 pm
Paul, so did the Tex trade make you all happy like you are today? I don’t remember the team doing much when he was here. Or Sheffield. If Smoltz and Glavine are past their prime why would they try to come back? Glavine said he would retire if it wasn’t worth it. Hampton is doing good for the Astros and Smoltz is about to come back in a month..Against us.
You must be an accountant the way you sound. Yes, cold hard numbers are all that matters to you, right? It’s people that think like that that ruin a lot of good things. Not everything is up for cold analysis. Being a true Braves fan as you say, don’t you wonder about the timing and that maybe it might just be a little crappy? I thought the problems were with the outfield, not with a hall-of-famer.
And speaking of saving money..The reason they brought up Medlen instead of Hanson early was the fact that now they have an extra year before he goes to arbitration. Yes, Medlen was pitching better, but hanson is THE PRIZE not Medlen. They could have let Glavine at least pitch one game and see how he did. What would it have hurt? If he had done bad, he would have retired on his own and then Hanson could have been brought up. No harm.
So explain why we true fans are stupid for thinking that would have been a bad move? One game would not have hurt..considering how many games Frenchy lost for us with his lack of timely hitting
Joel in ATL
June 3rd, 2009
8:38 pm
I’m not the biggest baseball follower, nor a Braves fan but I stay in the loop with the sport overall and the way Glavine was released quite frankly IS WHACK!!! I haven’t been all crazy about him coming back nor was I up in arms when he left for the Mets. At the end of the day you can say what you want but it was about the money and in hindsight I guess everyone should have seen this coming when Hanson wasn’t called up first. Last time I heard a Rehab start was totally different from an offical major league start. I kinda wish when Tom got hurt in AA Mississippi swinging a bat he would have retired then versus busting his tail to get back healthy and get on the mound for the “we don’t know what to do Braves”. Heck all it winds up being was Tom Glavine farewell tour of the Braves organization, I think the only place he didn’t pitch was Myrtle Beach. Ho hum I’ll stick to what I know, dang one more day until the NBA Finals.
Max Maximus
June 3rd, 2009
8:39 pm
Yeh baby…. I do hope some other NL club picks Tomy up and he comes back and skunks the Braves. I justbecame a Res Sox fan.
varodrunner
June 3rd, 2009
8:39 pm
I’m not convinced Tom could contribute this year at the Major league level. We’ll never know unless the Mets sign him. (lol) He is a Brave and I’m glad I saw his career (for the most part) here in Atl. Good Luck Tommy in your new life.
Terence More
June 3rd, 2009
8:39 pm
Let’s hope Tommy Hansen is another Tommy Glavine and not another Tommy Greene.
Reid Adair
June 3rd, 2009
8:40 pm
Paul Lentz, releasing Tom Glavine didn’t provide Tommy Hanson a chance to pitch. Glavine was on the DL; he didn’t count toward the 25-man roster.
You can talk all you want about how much “free” money the Braves will have in 2010. Who are they going to spend it on? We already saw Frank Wren run a disastrous free-agent off-season between last year and this year. If you think he is going to be able to pull of big signings next year, I think you are sadly mistaken. He has shown no track record of doing that, and please don’t even start to mention Derek Lowe. Lowe is having a good season, but there were a lot of question marks about him with other teams in free agency.
ChrisfromSacramento, CA
June 3rd, 2009
8:40 pm
Look it is not the 90’s. It is time to move on, if dumping Glavine gets us a Hanso call up and our new all star center fielder. BYE Tommy. Move on Braves fans it is time to win now. The 90’s dont get you wins now.
Laura
June 3rd, 2009
8:40 pm
Wren should be run out of town. I completely understand that there’s a business side to baseball, but moves like Wren has made with Smoltz and with Glavine suck what soul is left out of the game. There’s a thing called respect. And Wren doesn’t understand the concept of respect. I love baseball and I hate having people like Frank Wren being involved in baseball. And saying the fans want wins… Sure we want wins but not at the expense of common decency.
ike
June 3rd, 2009
8:41 pm
Mitch,
how on earth is this blackmail?
Paul Lentz
June 3rd, 2009
8:41 pm
Many of you would rather the Braves be a “sappy, class organization” and spend precious payroll dollars on over the hill players….than to be all about business and win. It’s a business. The Braves want to win.
If you want to feel good about players from the past, go to an old-timers game. However what’s important is what you can do NOW. Simply put, Glavine was an insurance policy. We didnt need him, so canceling the policy was the right thing to do.
Let it go.
Edwin
June 3rd, 2009
8:41 pm
There’s just too much to be angry about.
You are killing the spirit of this team!!! How do you expect them to perform when they have no faith in you!? I bet you Chipper is sitting in the dugout right now staring out into left field wondering when he’s gonna get traded, because you have made it obvious that there is no depth to which you will not sink.
Keep up this pattern, destroying the Braves’ legacy in the pursuit of a championship, but we’re still not gonna win! You got no heart man.
BravesToo
June 3rd, 2009
8:41 pm
Glavine was washed up years ago–why the braves wasted millions in bringing him back is another reason they are stuck in mediocrity and will not make the playoffs. These old has been players need to be put out to pasture when they don’t have the stuff anymore.
THE OBGYN
June 3rd, 2009
8:42 pm
Right move at the right time. This wasn’t handled all that badly either.
1. T.H. is ready and bringing him up now will allow the braves to keep him from become a super 2 and arbitration eligible a year early. Thanks to Melden.
2. Glavine wasn’t just due 1 mill. He was due 1.25 after 30 days and another 1.25 after 90. Hanson will make the minimum or so and likely do at least as well as if not better than Glavine.
3. Letting Glavine go after he failed to make the roster on April 17 due to injury might have made more sense to some but the braves would have still been out his 1 million. So they bought time they had ALREADY payed for just in case morton, melden, and hanson all sucked at triple A. They didn’t suck so why pay Glavine 3.5 million when they can pay that to the new outfielder.
4. They did Glavine a favor as well. By allowing him to make rehab starts other MLB teams now have proof that there is some gas left in the tank and Glavine will have a chance to catch on elsewhere.
5. Finally, Glavine was brought in as stop gap insurance for the 5th spot. The braves hoped he would be ready by April 17th and he was signed with that intent. Had he not been hurt this wouldn’t have been an issue unless he picked terribly.
——————–
OMFG… Morton, Hernandez… Both gone for this new OF? Thats WAY to large a price to pay.
varodrunner
June 3rd, 2009
8:42 pm
Enough about Glavine – He WAS a great Brave…..Now what’s up with the McClouth trade. We gave away Morton, Gorks and the other guy…. Is McClouth worth it? Honest Q, is he?
Reid Adair
June 3rd, 2009
8:42 pm
“ike,” it was more than a “few extra bucks,” and again, the Braves were not willing to make a long-term commitment like the Braves were.
He came back – for LESS money.
OldTimer
June 3rd, 2009
8:42 pm
Mark, this is complete crap and you should be ashamed of yourself. Glavine deserved a shot. Wise up.
Matt
June 3rd, 2009
8:44 pm
Wow, MB are you or anyone else monitoring some of the crap being posted? (Looking in your direction “Max Minus”)You can disagree about the wisdome of the trade and be upset about the release, but personal attacks on Mr. Wren is just sad and pathetic.
I too think Glavine needed to go. 43 with balky arm vs. phenom Gwinnett, no contest. Don’t know much about the Pitt player they picked up, but the outfield as presently constructed ain’t cutting it.
ChrisfromSacramento, CA
June 3rd, 2009
8:44 pm
Wren get us one more right handed bat. HOLLIDAY OR DEROSA. Or someone that drive in runs. Use Medlen as a piece, and maybe Schafer.
falcon21
June 3rd, 2009
8:44 pm
Was anyone at the game in Rome last night? I was and Glavine didn’t pitch that well. He got lucky and you had to be there to see it. Good move by the Braves.
Reid Adair
June 3rd, 2009
8:44 pm
Edwin, much of the “spirit” for this organization was killed first with Liberty Media taking ownership and second with turning the reins over to Frank Wren.
Mark Bradley
June 3rd, 2009
8:46 pm
Just to clarify: The Braves decided they could not put Tom Glavine on their major-league roster, not even for one test start, and it made no sense to keep running him through minor-league starts. So they gave him a choice: He could retire as a Brave or they could release him and he can go look for another team. He chose the latter, which was his prerogative.
You should also know that Wren said the reports of Glavine throwing 86 mph “were not accurate … those were scoreboard numbers [meaning different from the radar guns used by scouts].” I asked him what number would have been accurate, and he declined to say.
ChrisfromSacramento, CA
June 3rd, 2009
8:46 pm
MOVE ON PEOPLE GLAV IS GONE. Thank god, he bolted for the Mets. The hell with him. Hanson’s turn.
Braves Fan
June 3rd, 2009
8:47 pm
Come on guys? Grow up! This is baseball! We are here to win, not make friends and just be nice. Like Wren said, the goal is to put the best 25 players on the field. The best 25 players will be on the field. Don’t get me wrong, I am a Glavine fan, but I am also a Braves fan. I want to win. Period.
Reid Adair
June 3rd, 2009
8:49 pm
Mark, with all due respect, you can keep giving us Frank Wren’s side of the story, but someone of us who have watched how he has run this organization since his “promotion” simply do not believe that to be the reason. Folks who paid attention to the circus that became free-agency negotiations by the Braves in the past off-season also know this.
Wren is the same person who tried to tell everyone that the Braves’ offer to John Smoltz was very close to what Boston offered – and it wasn’t.
Worm
June 3rd, 2009
8:49 pm
Totally classless move by what’s become a CLASSLESS organization..
AJC
June 3rd, 2009
8:50 pm
So, Frank Wren didn’t do well in Baltimore. Big deal, who has done well in O-Town in the last zillion years? Just because Cal “I played mediocre baseball for way too long just so I could get into the Hall of Fame” Ripken didn’t like Frank, doesn’t mean diddly..I’ve heard that Cal could be a major pain in the butt.