Tom Glavine finally spoke about being released by the Braves during a radio interview this morning, saying that he was "blindsided" by the move and feels the team was hoping he would suffer a setback in his recovery from shoulder surgery so "that would be the end of it."
"Absolutely, they were hoping I got hurt, no question in my mind," Glavine said, adding that "a couple" teams have expressed interest in signing him. According to Glavine, general manager Frank Wren told him that "you're not good enough to get guys out" after he tossed six shutout innings in a rehab start Tuesday night at Single-A. Here's more from the 305-game winner:
Looking at the whole situation, and taking into account the amount of time I've spent in this city and the amount of time I've spent in baseball, there's no question in my mind it could have been handled better. [The Braves] don't look at players and take into account what they've done on the field, what they've done off the field, what they've meant to the organization, what they've meant to the city, and say, "Wait, these guys deserve to be treated a little bit differently than this business model we have."
It's tough to really blame Glavine for feeling that he deserved better than to be released right when he looked ready to complete his comeback and certainly in a perfect world it would have been nice if the Braves could have provided him an opportunity to end his Hall of Fame career in style.
At the same time, the Braves are fighting to get above .500 and stay in contention, and top prospect Tommy Hanson is ready to step into the rotation while almost surely being a better pitcher than Glavine at this stage in their respective careers. Plus, as Glavine himself explained: "In order for them to pull this [Nate McLouth] deal off, they had to get some money somewhere, and they got the money from releasing me."
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Blindsided? Seriously?!? You are 43 years old.
I am Braves season ticket holder and have been very appreciative of you and Smoltz and Maddux. But truth be told, the only one who left with any sort of grace and dignity was Maddux.
I think what we are seeing is the "baby-boomer" mindset of "employers have an obligation to employ me" coming to the surface here. The only problem is that these guys have to retire 20 years before "the rest of us" - I can't imagine what the bitching and moaning is going to be like in 10-15 years from a workforce that feels their employer still "owes them something."
Sectim42, if you are one of the handful of employees that was most responsible from taking your employer from the brink of the abyss and making it one of the premiere businesses in its industry, wouldn't that employer owe you something? Just because the philosophy that employers do not have an obligation to employees is "business as usual" doesn't make it "business as necessary."
I hope that when you retire, after giving the most productive years of your career and life to your employer, your boss at least has the decency not to fire you when you are recovering from, for example, prostate cancer because the company wants to look at some younger talent.
hey, get your facts straight ... a 43 yr old is NOT a baby boomer. and for the record, the most productive generation in the work force today are the baby boomers .. this is a FACT ! the least productive is probably your whiny-ass generation !
wait til you are older and then see if you feel the way you say ! guarantee you won't !
GO PHILLIES !
No. They paid me for that work. If they still want my services, then the keep me. If I no longer offer anything to the company, they don't owe me anything.
I am going to go with my Grandparents generation was the most productive. You state it is a fact, with what do you back that up?
I doubt that. It is why I am saving and preparing for retirement as early as I am. Unlike most of the Baby Boomers. My grandparents generation had it right. Earn as much as you can. Save as much as you can. Not the flaunt and spend mindset that has gotten us to where we are today.
U R A SMUCK , read a paper, do u think he is making up the $ 1 million roster spot bonus too, u r delusional,
BRAVES SUX , PHUCK THEM
LUV N Y
well, i imagine most would feel blindsided if a team had helped through surgery and the recovery, only to release you after it was all a success.
its not like the situation snuck up on the braves either.
WHAT A HYPOCRITRE!!! HE left his beloved braves for more money from the rival Mets and now he cries that they hurt his feelings. he's an idiot.
GET YOUR FACTS STARIGHT,,,,,,,,,,,,, the BRAVES NEVER offered a contract........
Glavine is obvoisly one of the best pitchers of all time, but he has to remember that he left the Braves for the Mets...THE METS!!!
Did the Braves think that he owed them something? Did all of the Braves fans feel bad when he left?
This is a business. He knew it then and that is why he left for more money. Glavine could have taken the hometown like Smoltz did, but he didn't.
Bottom line is that Glavine should be happy that the Braves took him back this year and paid him something to do nothing productive for the team this year.
You were great for Atlanta for many years Tom..but..Time moves on. Take your millions and enjoy a well deserved retirement.
Exactly!
I predict he makes the next Whine of the Week.
Was Glavine going to be the players' rep if he came back? (Hasn't he been a high-ranking officer of the union through most of his career?) I wouldn't put it past any baseball owner to hold that against him; if he could still really contribute it might not be an issue but once he becomes a marginal player and an injury risk it wouldn't surprise me if that might be a factor weighing against him.
I love hearing all the Braves fans complain. It's very refreshing!!!
That really hurts coming from a fan of the losingest franchise in all of sports history!! ouch.
who won the world series last year ? the PHILLIES or the braves ??
EX-actly. That's the reason for letting Glavine and Smoltz go. Even if we don't win anything this year, we are least making the right decisions to be in the hunt for next year.
How many teams need a soft throwing middle aged has been?
Maybe a softball team in Lawrenceville.
Ha! I love it. I have actually been looking for a softball team to play on here in Alpharetta. Given that Glavine lives about a mile from my house, maybe I'll swing by CC of the South and see if he wants to join :)
Hey Tom,
What goes around comes around, do you remember your comment during the strike shortened season when asked about the run to the playoffs, you said there were more important issues than making the playoffs. Guess what Tom, if you are a player there are not more important baseball issues than making the playoffs. Cutting you is an attempt by the Braves to make the playoffs, they got it right, you got it wrong, maybe there is a job for you in the players union.
Hey PhilsFan54,
Loser....
Glavine couldn't go out the classy way, too bad. It seems like he just can't accept that everyone isn't falling over themselves to sign a 43 year old lefty soft tosser. Glavine was good enough for long enough, and on a reasonably well-off and well-run team, that he has almost been shielded from the business side of the game. Oh, except for when he left Atlanta for the Mets for more money. Hey Tom, that probably 'could have been handled better' too.
Oh, and Tom, if you were still half as good as you think you are, don't you think they'd have just promoted you? The simple, hard fact is, the Braves have better options. Hanson is much better than you. Medlen will be pushed to middle relief, and he's better than you. Tim Hudson should be back in August, and he's WAAYYYY better than you.
The classy thing to do would be to admit that the Braves have better, cheaper options available. Really, not a hard decision. It's pathetic that he's out there trading on his past deeds and accomplishments. It's a business, it's about Wins. It's impossible to make a plausible argument that the Braves would be better off with Blanco and Glavine than with McClouth and Hanson. Kudos to Frank Wren for making the tough decision, and getting it right again.
Furthermore, to state that the Braves were hoping for you to get hurt? What a load of crap. Bad stuff.
Where is the loyalty and respect for a future Hall of Famer who made the Braves great for all those years???? It damn well could and should have been handled better!!
Frank Wren told him to his face, like a man, that he wouldn't be able to get guys out at the MLB level with the stuff he was showing. That's what he owed Glavine, nothing more or less.
Glavine went out like a arrogant child, and played on the heartstrings of Braves fans everywhere, like you, Mr. or Mrs. BravesRULE. And in so doing, he did the Braves organization and You a disservice. The Braves are doing their job, which is to try to win ballgames. Maybe you enjoy being a lovable loser, Mr. or Mrs. BravesRULE, but they don't care. They're trying to win. If not for you, then for the more rational among their fans.
I have respect for Hank Aaron, but if he were trying to make the team, I'd side with Wren on cutting him too. Glavine is done. It's time to look towards the future, not the 90s.
I know. This is what makes me angry. Out of Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux, the only one who went out with any sort of class was Maddux.
As a Yankee fan I enjoyed watching Tommy pitch. (especially in the series) Hall of famer all the way Mr. Glavin. Go out in class would ya. I'll see you in Cooperstown in about 1 ballot!
Hey, Glavine ----- After all of those years, didn't you owe something to the Braves for their loyalty to you? They should have considered what you had done in the past on AND OFF the field? How does past loyalty translate into current wins? As I recall, you left because of bigger dollars to go with the Mets. More than that, how about your loyalty to the Braves' fans? Now, at 43, you feel blindsided? Really, Tom I had thought you had more class than what you have shown. Relax Tom. Sit back, enjoy retirement and wait for Cooperstown to call.
Geez I feel so bad for the guy. He has lived a privileged life by doing almost nothing. Get a real job and quit whining. Some people have to deal with the real world while Tommie looks for reasons to get his feelings hurt. Pack it up and get out of our face.
Cry me a river! give me a fu(kin break. He has money to burn for the rest of his and his grandchildrens life! Shut your piehole!!!
I am sure when he left for the Mets he blames the Braves for not being loyal enough to match a higher offer. That said I can't blame the Braves at all for moving on but they probably should have offered him a job as he is the only one of those great pitchers left that was still in baseball and on their team. I would have also given him that million dollars so he couldn't say it was all about money. Hey its not my money heh..
I had not read this until tonight. If you really feel that a person within an organization such as this, would wish you or anyone injury rather than have to deal with you, then you are more of a diva than i thought. Maybe things could have been handled better on the management's side,,i was not there. but i can say you have shown your true colors loud and clear in this article.
I have to tell you that my argument with you started many years ago and had nothing to do with the strike --or the fact it seemed you had bad 3rd innings nearly every game.. It was the night I witnessed such a scene that my heart broke. A young Javy Lopez was your catcher. For some strange reason, you took it upon yourself to "dress him down" on the field and though it did not last long /it was caught on tv -- and not one soul said a word about it.....but i never forgot how it looked and what your team must have thought. Your own teammate...and on the field in public...my heart sunk for javy,,,he took it like a man tho, and continued to play that night......but for me that was the night i lost all respect for you--and it had nothing to do with your abilities as a pitcher.. You were not a team player then and I do not think you have ever been. Smoltz may love you and that is fine. You and he had pitching in common...however, he is not in atlanta...by choice,,,and maybe the Red Sox can use you as well. I am stunned at your accusations--but which 'they' would have liked to have seen you get hurt. the new gm? bobby cox? Maybe Wren is not as smoothe or coddling as john S was but he wants to do a good job...he has had to make some difficult choices...Things have changed alot since you left glavine...for you and for the braves...........if this attitude continues you will just be an angry man for the rest of your life. This is not just about you now,,,you are old enough to know how this will effect your family. I am glad you are getting calls with interest for signing you. Go for it and for goodness sakes be grateful . Look around you Glavine--at your nice home /clothes/ --your family/ food on your table/--your career to this point...and count your lucky stars. You have been blessed many times over.
I appreciate all the good years that Glavine had with Atlanta, but he did leave when he thought he wasn't getting paid enough here in Atlanta. The Braves tried to be fair with Mike Hampton for 3 years but looked what happened when he Finally was able to pitch, HE LEFT. Glavine was paid millions of dollars when he was with the Braves. "TIME" will beat all players more sooner than later. Hopefully Glavine will realize it is time to move on into retirement. I thank him for the great years he did give to the Braves.
What are lucky stars? Why should one count them? Are they those little colored marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal? Must he count the whole boxful, or just the ones that he pours into his bowl? Is this true that one is "blessed by Lucky Stars?
Is that who God is?, the lucky stars? Why doesn't my church teach me these things!? They waste my time telling me that an omnipotent creator created all that is and to thank Him for blessings and now I find out that something He is said to have created is in actuality the one who controls everything!
I am so disillusioned right now! I cant go on!
Glavin would have a better point if he didn't bolt the Braves for the Mets! Too bad he did though. As a Mets fan, I was hoping to see Tommy throw some more for the Braves. Oh well, let's hope he lands in Philly now!
Only slightly in my book. If that were the case, then Glavine would essentially be the in the "Smoltz" situation.
And frankly, I think Wren handled both correctly. It's time to win, not focus on the 90s.