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Why The Braves Didn’t Need Glavine
Written by Colin on June 4, 2009 – 7:43 amTom Glavine was released yesterday by the Braves because Frank Wren and company determined that he wasn’t going to be effective at the big league level. They’re right. It was my opinion when Glavine was signed that once he finished rehabbing, he’d only be a mediocre pitcher. It’s just not needed on a club with all the pitching talent we currently have.
Last year, when Glavine was healthy and started 13 games before he was injured, he was only a shadow of his former self. He only had 5 quality starts – 38% of his starts were considered Quality Starts (> 6 IP, </= 3 RA). His career average is 64%, including last year. We saw him break 100 pitches thrown once out of those 13 appearances. The Braves scored an average of 4.9 runs per game while he was on the mound, and yet he still ended up with a 2-4 record and a 5.54 ERA. The bottom line is he just isn’t as sharp as he used to be. Sure, he’ll pitch alright for someone, but that’s not us. We’ve got Tommy Hanson coming to start Saturday – and if the hype is right, he’s ridiculously sharp.
Yes, it’s definitely surprising and somewhat sad to see the Braves release someone who has such history with the team and with baseball, but this is a baseball move and frankly I don’t feel much connection to Glavine the way I did to Smoltz. It’s just not there, ever since he decided to play traitor and move to the NY Mets for a while. Sure, he’s a great ballplayer and a nice guy, but he had no loyalty for his team and I don’t feel a need to stand up and be emotional about his release when he wasn’t going to provide a boost to the pitching staff.
The bottom line is that with a good starting four, Tommy Hanson ready to come up, and Tim Hudson coming back from surgery later this year, we just had no room for a mediocre, shell-of-his-former-self Tom Glavine. That’s a little sad, but not that sad. Farewell Tommy – thanks for all the good memories and best of luck looking for another job. I hear the Mets could use an arm or two.
Tags: Tom Glavine, Tommy Hanson
Posted in General | 3 Comments »
By Colin Ake on Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
Well, honestly it's hard to see how effective a pitcher is going to be until he's pitching against talented batters. If he was performing a certain way against minor league hitters / only hitting certain numbers on the radar gun, maybe the Braves did learn something new at that point.
By josh on Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
We have no choice but to move on. The only thing I am upset about is the manner in which it was done. Wren claims that they didn’t know until his last start in Rome Tuesday night. BS!!!!!!!! It was a fiscal move that just required honesty to a future hall of famer. Hanson needs to be up here there is no doubt in my mind, but don’t string Glavine around. He honestly thought he was going to pitch this week and so did I. welcome to the Braves Nate. I cant wait for you to start.
By JM on Jun 8, 2009 | Reply
As a Mets fan I find it ironic that you consider Glavine a "traitor" for signing with the Mets. The reality is he never wanted to be a Met. He signed with them when the game of chicken he had going with John Schuerholz backfired. Most Mets fans never accepted him and still viewed him as a Brave. This was especially true when we would periodically hear stories about how much he missed Atlanta, the Braves, Coxsie, Smoltzie etc. In 2007 when he imploded down the stretch and helped blow the division his reaction was – 1. What's the big deal. 2. Can't wait to get back to the Braves. Honestly, I think it's hilarious how his beloved Braves treated him in the end. I guess you can't go home again.