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Even after a career that has featured 305 victories, 244 of which have been with the Braves, future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine was ousted from Atlanta on Wednesday.
The release came after Glavine pitched six scoreless innings (adding to another five innings he pitched last week) in a rehab start just a day before. As his start was a huge success in his bid to make it back from shoulder and elbow surgery, Glavine proclaimed himself ready to pitch in the majors again, only to find out it will not be with the Braves.
The abrupt exit is the second of its kind that has been provided to a Braves legend in the last year; the Braves also opted not to re-sign pitcher John Smoltz last season, and forced him potentially to close out his career with another team, the Red Sox.
As could have been expected, Smoltz was able to relate to Glavine’s exit. He was certainly not in a pleasant mood after hearing about his good friend’s departure: “He didn't have a chance to fail at that level. ... That's not how you go about it. But they’re [the Braves] in control. They make those decisions. They've made a lot of them lately."
Smoltz, who is on a journey of his own to return from an injury, does make an excellent point. It is one thing if the Braves want to go with a youth movement, citing Glavine’s lack of performance this season, but he was never given the opportunity to prove himself.
The big question is: Why? Glavine was scheduled to receive a $1 million bonus for making it to the active roster after his rehab stint, but Braves’ brass cited his velocity as the reason for his release.
If that were really accurate, Glavine would have been out of the majors 22 years ago.
Last time I checked, it wasn’t necessary for him to throw fire to win 305 games.
He has never been much of a flamethrower, being a finesse pitcher his whole career. That finesse is the type around which Glavine has built a Hall of Fame career. Furthermore, finesse pitchers are usually the ones that are able to pitcher into their 40’s with minimal to no problems, because their career is not spent burning out their arm (just look at Tim Wakefield and Jamie Moyer).
All Glavine can do now is try to decipher what is next.
For right now, Glavine needs to regroup and get over the shock of being discarded by the team with which he has spent most of his career. It has to be demoralizing, and if Glavine truly wants to succeed in coming back to the majors, he needs a clear head.
If other teams can come to the realization that finesse pitching is still an art, my guess is that Glavine will get a few looks by the end of the month. He did, however, leave the Mets in 2007 in order to go back home to Atlanta to pitch closer to his family.
That is no longer an option. If he wants to pitch again, Glavine will need to be flexible.
He might be in luck, as he could end up in familiar territory. The Mets would be smart to consider Glavine. The team’s rotation has struggled to find a steady balance. Although Johan Santana, John Maine, and Mike Pelfrey have been consistent 1-3 starters, the last two spots in the rotation have not been so concrete.
Although Livan Hernandez has recently found his stride, he was originally a non-roster invitee who made the roster as an intended fifth starter. However, Oliver Perez struggled mightily in the beginning of the season, and was placed on DL with what Omar Minaya simply called “a bad knee” as opposed to being designated for assignment.
Perez recently started his rehab assignment, but complications have risen as he has further injured his knee. Even when Perez does return, there is no telling how good he will be.
Looking for some sort of consistency from the bottom of the rotation, the Mets should give Glavine a call. It would be a low risk, high reward option, and it would not take Glavine very long to settle in.
It would also represent some much needed closure for both sides.
For those fans who remember, Glavine’s last start as a Met was a do-or-die September tiebreaker against the Phillies. He did not make it out of the first inning, leading to the Mets’ first of two consecutive September chokes. Glavine may need this redemption as much as the Mets do.
A reunion for the Mets and Glavine would not only benefit the team, but it would provide Glavine with the chance to come back and close out his career with the team with which he spent five seasons. It would grant him some sense of pride, which is more than we can say for how the Braves treated him.
By allowing him to do that, the Mets would emerge as the winner in the battle of good and evil with the longtime rival Braves.
And for Glavine, it could represent finally putting a positive stamp on a Hall of Fame worthy career that has already wowed many of his fans and teammates alike.
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