Glavine Goes Back Home

At MLB Trade Rumors they write about Tom Glavine's return to the Braves:

It's now official: the Braves have signed Tom Glavine to a one-year, $8MM deal. There doesn't appear to be any kind of second-year option. The Braves initially came in at $6.5MM. MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the Nationals and Phillies were in on him, but never really had a shot at making a deal.

After a 2007 lacking in rotation depth, the Braves have a slew of candidates to start. Even without counting on Mike Hampton for anything, they are in good shape. Pitching depth can unravel quickly, but things look good as of November 19th, 2007.

Braves Meet With Glavine

At The Morning Call they write about the Atlanta Braves and they met with Tom Glavine and his agent:

The Atlanta Braves would like to bring back Tom Glavine after a five-year absence.

New general manager Frank Wren spoke with the two-time Cy Young Award winner and his agent, Gregg Clifton. Wren said he will call again next week, after teams can start making offers to free agents.

Glavine spent his first 16 major league seasons with Atlanta, then pitched for the New York Mets for five years.

Bye Bye John, Hello Glavine?

Braves' long-time GM, John Schuerholz, stepped down this morning from his duties, moving up, ironically, to become President of the team. As you may remember, one of the reasons Tom Glavine did not resign with the Braves' before last season was do to the publication, in Schuerholz's book, of the details of Glavine's unsuccessful contract negotiations with the Braves prior to Glavine joining the Mets. Assistant GM Frank Wren moves up to take Schuerholz's place, and this might mean that they will target both Glavine and their own free agent, Andruw Jones, both of whom would not have been in a Braves uni if Schuerholz still ran the show. Although he is president, Wren will be responsible for all player signings and transactions, with input from Schuerholz, of course. However, with Schuerholz stepping into a new position, might Bobby Cox be a year away from doing the same? Will they remain interested in signing Texiera when his contract runs out after this season? Whatever happens, an entire new wrinkle was just introduced into this off-season. Who needs a television drama to follow when we have the off-season?

Glavine To Probably Deny Option

Jack Wilkinson at SI.com writes about Tom Glavine and him thinking about turning down his option. The funny thing about this is that he had all the intentions, at least that's what I goatherd out of it, that he wanted to pitch one more season with the Mets and now he says this:

Back home in Atlanta following the New York Mets historic collapse, Tom Glavine said Tuesday he'll "most likely" decline his $9 million player option for next season.

"The decision goes much deeper than that in deciding what I want to do next year," said Glavine, who finished 13-8 after his earned-run average ballooned Sunday to 4.45. "I have to be home, away from baseball, with my family [before making a decision]."

"Atlanta is home," Glavine said. "The hardest thing for me in New York is playing and being away from home. I've played in New York for five years now. If you break it down [in days, weeks and months], I've been away from my home for four years now. I'm at the point where my wife and kids [ages 13, 12, 8 and 6] are making sacrifices for me."

This Is Tom Glavine

From Dave at Mets Lifer (network Member):

Here's a quote from Tom Glavine after yesterday's game:

“I’m not devastated. I’m disappointed, but devastation is for much greater things in life. I’m disappointed, obviously, in the way I wanted to pitch. I can’t say there is much more I would have done differently.”

Breakout the pitchforks, I'm gathering a hunting party and we won't stop until we find Glavine.

Can you believe this? Even if this is what you think, you don't say that to the New York media after you single-handedly ruined the lives of every Mets fan on the planet.

Bryan and I have talked repeatedly about how Glavine was a guy you never truly accepted as a true Met. But this year he had me fooled. I started thinking this guy was coming around. Nope.

He wanted to go to Atlanta after last year, but they didn't want him. He came to the Mets for the money, but always wished he stayed with the Braves.

But guess what will be more memorable for Mets fans, Glavine winning his 300th game as a Met or what he did on Sunday? I don't even have to answer that.

Delcos Wants Glavine Back

John Delcos at Lo Hud writes about his desire to see Glavine still a Met next year:

From a communications perspective, there is none better in the Mets’ clubhouse. Not only that, but he can still pitch. With a little more support from the offense and bullpen, he could have 17 or 18 wins.

Give him the ball and the odds are six innings later the Mets are ahead or in the game. I know what you’re thinking about six innings, but my reply is that’s enough with a decent pen.

Pedro For Game 2?

At Rotoworld they write about Pedro martinez and his chances of gettingthe ball in game two of the NLDS:

If Pedro Martinez pitches well in his final two regular season starts, he could start Game 2 of the NLDS behind Tom Glavine.

Pedro could very easily be 3-0 in his three starts if Pedro Feliciano didn't blow a two-run lead in Saturday's contest. He's logged a 1.69 ERA in 16 innings over that span. He increased his endurance to 98 pitches in his last start. "Stay healthy is the biggest key," Martinez said. "Maybe I'll sneak in 6-7 innings (in a playoff game), who knows?"

What if Glavine Was a Brave This Year?

from MetsLifer.com

Remember when Tom Glavine wanted to be a Brave again, but they basically gave him the cold shoulder? Oh yeah that was last December.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes an interesting article about how Glavine has changed the dynamic of the NL East by remaining with the Mets.

Now I still believe that the Mets would be a contender without Glavine because Omar would have went out and gotten another arm, but there's no doubt that Glavine's 23 quality starts have made a serious impact on the success of the Mets.

Don't you just love it when you get to stick it to the Braves?

Click here for the full article.

The Braves Blew It

Joel Sherman at the New York Post writes about Tom Glavine and how the Braves blew their chance to bring him back:

Remove Glavine's 13 wins and 23 quality starts (tied for third in the NL with Atlanta's Tim Hudson, one behind Atlanta's John Smoltz) and move them to the Braves, and Atlanta probably wins the division.

In that scenario, the Mets' 2006 NL East title takes on the tinge of fluke. Instead, with the Braves at Shea as a witness, the Mets were surging to a second straight division title for the first time in their history. Meanwhile, even with last night's 13-5 rout of the Mets, Atlanta was on the verge of a second straight empty October.

"We might very well be in completely different positions" if Glavine were in that slot rather than with the Mets, Omar Minaya said.

Glavine Makes Man Of The Year Finals

Jack O'Connell at MLB.com writes about the six Man Of The Year finalists. The Mets Tom Glavine has made it through:

Tom's resume of charitable involvement is matched only by his many baseball accomplishments. Over the course of his 21-year career, Tom has been actively involved in charities such as Volunteers of America, New York's Operation Backpack campaign, the Georgia Transplant Foundation, Tuesday's Children, the Leukemia Society of America and he worked with Major League Baseball as part of the Commissioner's Initiative for Kids. Also, Tom rallied his Mets teammates to donate more than $625,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief.

Glavine Wants One More Year

Kevin Kernan at The New York Post writes about Tom Glavine and how he wants to pitch for one more year:

The Mets' pitching picture is a lot brighter with Pedro Martinez's return from shoulder surgery, but there is more positive news. Tom Glavine wants to come back for a 22nd major-league season.

"I'm having as much fun as I've had in a long time, and that's a big factor for me,'' Glavine told The Post on Sunday night. "It's a fun team to come to the ballpark with every day. All the factors are there [to coming back].''

It's likely Glavine will decline his option with the Mets and sign a new contract with the club for 2008 in the $12 million range. There's always the chance the Braves, who were beaten 3-2 by the Mets last night at Shea, could go after Glavine again, but Atlanta has not come up with the money in the past, and that is not expected to change. Glavine's offseason home is in Georgia, but Glavine has found a new home in New York, and next year would be his sixth season with the Mets.

The 300-game winner also appreciates the way the Mets have treated him with class and have tried to improve the team every season.

As Glavine said, "it's a fun team'' and the Mets are on the verge of winning their second straight NL East title. The Mets would be crazy to let Glavine escape back to Atlanta.

Success Mostly Due To Rotation

Marty Noble at Mets.com writes about the Mets success as of late and attributes most of it to the rotation:

The rotation has hardly been flawless since the last time a reliever won -- Billy Wagner was the winning pitcher on Aug. 21, when the Mets beat Padres closer Trevor Hoffman. But starters winning 10 straight decisions is uncommon. The Mets starters hadn't done it since an 18-game sequence in 2005.

In the chart below, notice the run support and the number of games in which the Mets allowed none or just one run in both streaks.

To see the chart use the link above.

Playoff And The Six Man Rotation

David Lennon at Newsday writes about the Mets playoff rotation and Willie Randolph's desire to use a six man rotation down the stretch:

Assuming Orlando Hernandez is healthy, he could be the Game 1 starter, followed by Tom Glavine and Martinez. That might land both Maine and Perez in the bullpen, with Maine as the fourth starter for the NLCS. At the moment, Randolph said the Mets will be using a "modified" six-man rotation, and the plan is for Mike Pelfrey to get at least one more start. But if a starter is going to the pen, it might have to happen before the playoffs. Said Randolph, "We'll try to get them adjusted - but it's a short period of time, so it might be impossible."

Glavine Beats Every NL Team With Mets

Marty Noble at Mets.com writes about Tom Glavine andhow he has beaten every National League team as a Met:

With his victory against the Astros on Saturday, Tom Glavine now has beaten every National League team since joining the Mets in 2003. ... Glavine has made 30 starts this season and has started at least 30 games 17 times, including the last 12 seasons. Warren Spahn (18) and Steve Carlton (17) are the only lefthanded pitchers to have notched as many 30-start seasons.

Lennon's Playoff Rotation

David Lennon at On The Mets Beat held a poll for fans to make thedecision for the playoff rotation. Here are his results:

...Based on our unscientific poll and your votes, here's the Mets' postseason rotation:

1. Tom Glavine (12 votes)
2. Pedro Martinez (10)
3. John Maine (9)
4. Orlando Hernandez (8)
5. Oliver Perez (5)

So it looks like Perez is the long man.

What Is Going On?

As I eluded to yesterday in my post Tommy’s Time To Shine, I eluded to the fact that Glavine needed to pitch like an ace in last night’s game. The only problem with this story was that I completely left the bullpen out of the picture and rested the game solely on Tom’s shoulders.

What a travesty last night. I don’t know about any of you but I would be completely all right if Guillermo Mota were to blow his arm and disappear into baseball ambiguity. This guy has cost the Mets more game than I care to think about. But you can’t blame it entirely on Mota. Feliciano and Heilman combined to blow the lead in the eighth inning, after Tommy threw SEVEN SCORELESS INNINGS up. How hard is it to get six outs? Please someone tell me because I’m not understanding something.

Tommy's time To Shine

The Mets are in need of a big game from one of the biggest game pitchers tonight against the Phillies.

Tom Glavine needs to forget all about the five inning, six runs he let up August 23rd against the padres in Shea Stadium from his last start. All he needs to remember is his five starts before that unspeakable one, where he allowed no more than three runs. We all need to pray that he reverts to this mentality, because if he doesn’t and the Phillies take this game tonight, who knows what’s going to happen on Wednesday and Thursday. One would not like to think about this.

Tommy needs to step up in a big way and take command like his presence has so often has in years past and many times this year. Go get them Tommy. It’s your time to shine.

Mets Should Feel Confident With Glavine On The Mound

At Covers they write about the streaking pitchers and how the Mets should be confident going into tonight's game with Glavine on the mound:

The future Hall of Famer will try to lead the Mets to a series win over the Padres tonight at Shea Stadium. Glavine is 4-0 over his last seven starts and has been particularly strong in his last four. Mets backers should feel confident with Glavine starting at Shea, where he is 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA in six outings since May 30. He is 22-12 with a 3.46 ERA in 44 career starts versus the Padres, but hasn't faced them since 2005. The under is 8-2 in Glavine's last 10 Thursday starts.

Mets Starters Have Held Strong

Jack O'Connell at Mets.com writes about the Mets pitching staff and how they've defied the masses:

"I could have never expected this back in March and April," Randolph said Tuesday night before the opener of a three-game series against division-rival Atlanta. "We really didn't know what to expect. Until guys prove themselves on the Major League level, it's hard to make projections about whether you can expect a pitcher to win 10, 12, 15 or 18 games."

The pair took over from where they left off last October. Perez entered Tuesday night's game with a 10-7 record, three of the victories coming against the Braves, and a 3.00 ERA that spiked to 3.31 after his five-inning outing. Maine, who will start Thursday afternoon's series finale against Tim Hudson, is the staff's top winner with a 12-6 record, has a 3.27 ERA and probably should have been on the NL All-Star squad.

And in the case of Tom Glavine, 41, and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, anywhere from 37 to 41, no one could be sure of their durability. Glavine's 10-6 record and 4.31 ERA has been highlighted by his 300th career victory, achieved Sunday night at Wrigley Field. More pleasing to Randolph has been Glavine's 144 innings.

So, too, to the manager's delight have been the 111 innings put up by Hernandez, who takes a 7-4 record and 3.00 ERA into Wednesday night's start against John Smoltz. As usual, "El Duque" has on occasion visited the disabled list, losing about a month's time to bouts of arthritis and bursitis, but said Tuesday night that he feels especially vigorous these days.

Congrats For Tommy

John Delcos at Lo Hud writes about the people who express congratulations for Tom Glavine:

PEDRO MARTINEZ
“I can’t tell you how happy I have been to be Tom Glavine’s teammate the last three years. He represents all that is good about baseball. He is a tremendous human being. I’m proud that I have won 200 games and to think he has won 300 games – WOW – that is an amazing accomplishment.”

MIKE PIAZZA
“Congratulations on your 300th win. It’s an incredible milestone, you should be very proud. Congratulations buddy.”

TOM SEAVER
“Well Mr. Glavine, welcome to the 300 Club. It’s a very select group. It’s a measure of excellence over a long period of time. I’m proud to have you in that group and I think number 310 might be a good time tocall it quits.”