Glavine Says He’s Ready

Written by Jonathan on May 29, 2009 – 7:30 am

With five scoreless innings for AAA-Gwinnett last night, Tom Glavine notched his first minor league win since 1987.  Afterwards, he expressed his opinion that he was ready to start again in the Majors as soon as next Tuesday against the Cubs.  Bobby Cox, however, has said that Glavine will make one more minor league start for Class-A Rome on Tuesday before being considered to come back to Atlanta.

Glavine will likely fill the fifth spot in the rotation that has been a struggling point for the Braves since being filled by the combination of Jo-Jo Reyes and Kris Medlen.  Between the two, they have compilied an 0-4 record across 7 starts with a 7.64 ERA.

Though Glavine is still working a little rust out of his control since returning from elbow and shoulder surgery that ended his 2008 season, he is still likely a better candidate for the spot in the rotation.  Honestly, it can’t get much worse.  I think we’ll be seeing him back in Atlanta by mid-June definitely.  What’re everyone’s thoughts on Glavine?


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Posted in Injuries | 7 Comments »

Glavine Good To Go; Sutton Returning

Written by Jonathan on January 28, 2009 – 2:11 am

It’s one of those days where we just couldn’t think of one thing in particular to write a substantial article about, so we’re taking a quick look at a couple stories from the day.  Be sure to drop us some new article ideas with the Suggestions tab on the left.

Tom Glavine returned from his visit with Dr. Andrews today with a renewed sense of confidence about pitching in the 2009 season.  The question now remains, where will he pitch?  Andrews found no issues with the surgically repaired left elbow and shoulder during the routine checkup and cleared Glavine to increase his pitch counts during his mound sessions.

Dr. Andrews also informed Glavine that he would likely be ready to pitch in spring training.  While he is still not throwing with full intensity, Glavine reported no pain after his 60-pitch session today.  He is slated to throw a 75-pitch session later in the week and then will move on to the next step of his rehab program which will consist of throwing harder, but fewer pitches.

Glavine is expected to meet with Frank Wren later this week to discuss his rehab progress and next steps.  It’s hard to tell if Wren plans to offer Glavine a contract that would be deemed acceptable.  Financially, the Braves are down to about $6 million to spend this offseason and are still on the hunt for an outfielder.  Conversely, some believe that they will make an offer to Glavine to avoid the fallout that was experienced with the departure of John Smoltz.  Only time will tell on that one.

In other news, Don Sutton will once again be heard on Braves radio broadcasts.  The Braves confirmed today that the Nationals and MASN radio network had release Sutton from his contract obligations to allow him to return to Atlanta.  Sutton’s familiar voice, along with newcomer Jim Powell, will fill the void left with the retirement of Pete Van Wieren and the passing of Skip Caray last season.

So what do you think, Braves fans?  What will the outcome of Glav’s meetings with Wren be?  Do we have the financial means to try and bring Glavine on board and still pursue an outfielder?  With the preseason rapidly approaching, there are still questions to be answered.


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Posted in General, Injuries | 11 Comments »

Glavine Improving, Showing Interest In Nats

Written by Jonathan on January 25, 2009 – 11:37 pm

Continuing the rehab on his surgically repaired left shoulder and elbow, Tom Glavine pitched from a mound for the second time this past Tuesday. The first session came two Friday’s ago where Glavine threw 15 fastballs and reported no discomfort. In Tuesday’s session, he threw 30 pitches, combining fast balls and changeups. Once again, Glavine reported no discomfort in the elbow or shoulder. He is slated to meet with Dr. Andrews in Birmingham this coming Wednesday for a routine checkup to monitor the progress on the repaired flexor tendon in his left elbow.

The biggest thing for Tom in his recovery right now is to not overdo anything.  Pushing too hard to be ready in time for Spring Training if his arm is just not up to it would be the biggest setback for him.  Glavine has repeatedly said that this is the best his arm has felt in years and is making a concious effort to do his recovery properly and not become overly excited with each mound session.  At the rate he is progressing, Glavine is fairly certain that he’ll be ready in time for the regular season however.

While Glavine’s main focus right now is being able to pitch again in the 2009 season, there is still the fact that he remains a free agent for the upcoming season.  He has indicated that he’d love to stay and pitch for the Braves, but realizes that this may not be a possibility.  Glavine has said that he has thought through multiple possibilities and knows that financially, the Braves just may not have the ability to sign him this season.  Right now however, he continues to just go out there and prove that he’ll be ready to go once the season gets under way.

If things with the Braves don’t work out, Glavine has expressed some interest in pitching for the Nationals because of his close relationship with team president, Stan Kasten, who was in the Braves organization together with Glavine from 1987 to 2002.  As of now, the Nationals have not contacted Glavine’s agent, as they are focused on acquiring young players for the long term.  Should they choose to bring him on board, Glavine would likely serve in the mentoring role for the team’s young pitchers.

So the question is, do the Braves bring back Glavine or not?  We have no lefties in the rotation right now (aside from Jo-Jo Reyes potentially grabbing the 5th spot) so is this a role that Glavine gets the nod to fill or is it time for the Braves and Glavine to go their separate ways once again?


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Posted in General | 13 Comments »

Smoltz Progressing Well

Written by Jonathan on December 6, 2008 – 9:29 pm

I’m sure I speak for many Braves fans when I say that I really want to see John Smoltz back in a Braves uniform for a little bit longer before he hangs up the spikes on a great career.  I also speak for those fans in saying that I don’t want to see him play in anything but a Braves uniform should he make the decision to come back for the 2009 season.  For all of us, there is encouraging news in the AJC today.

Smoltz threw from a mound on Friday for the first time since his shoulder surgery in June and experienced no pain or discomfort.  At this point in his rehab, he has been described as being “way ahead of schedule”.  The official answer from the Braves at the current time is that they cannot yet count on Smoltz for the 2009 season, but it appears that his rehab is at least coming along fairly well.  It seems that Bobby Cox is very confident that Smoltz will be back on the mound for the 2009 season, saying, “oh, he’ll be back — no doubt in my mind”.

Though saying that he can’t yet count on Smoltz for 2009, Frank Wren has indicated that he hopes to offer him a contract when he reaches a point in his throwing program that it seems like he will be ready to pitch again.  It’s good to see that 5 arm surgeries throughout his career have not killed the desire in Smoltz to get the Braves back to postseason play.  

It’s not yet clear what role Smoltz would take up on the pitching staff and I presume that a lot of that would depend on how the rest of his rehab program goes.  He has, however, indicated that he would be willing to return in any role that would be helpful to the team, though he would love to return to the rotation.  Whether it be as a starter, in the bullpen, or as the closer, I’d be more than happy to see Smoltz back out at Turner Field.

So what do you think?  Will we see Smoltz back in 2009?  Will he be back in a Braves uniform?  What role do you see him serving on the pitching staff?


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Posted in Injuries | 4 Comments »

Hampton Not Dead Yet

Written by Colin on June 26, 2008 – 2:49 pm

This is how the conversation between myself and one of our writers, Akshay, went:

Akshay: ok, so Hampton got through his first rehab start (45 pitches) fine

Me: Is there a punch line?

Akshay: lol

All I’m saying is we’re not holding our breath, but Hampton had no body parts separate unnaturally from the rest of his body in his first rehab start.  He pitched 2.2 innings and allowed two hits and struck out two.

He’ll have two more class A starts before going to AA and then maybe being activated.  If he comes off the DL, we may send Morton down to let him keep honing his skills, or even spell Reyes for a bit.  It could also give us the opportunity to let Jurrjens or Campillo get a rest to heal blisters every now and then for the rest of the season.

Will he actually make it back this time?  I dunno, last time I wrote one of these things on Hampton he got injured later in the day.  So watch out Mike, I’m gonna hit the publish button anyways.  We’re rooting for you.

Colin


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Posted in Injuries | No Comments »

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