Why the Atlanta Braves Are Better Off Without Tom Glavine

Robert Sabbath — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:33:49 -0400

This Glavine nonsense has got to stop!

This whole thing started as a PR move and it ended up being a bad PR move. Baseball shouldn't be driven by the public relations departments.

Moves will be made in this league for one reason and one reason only, to better the club and it's organization; whether that be to help make a push for the post-season, help the future of the club, or for financial purposes. Major League clubs make moves all of the time for these reasons only.

Glavine isn't an exception here. The Braves starting rotation is honestly better off without him. Atlanta doesn't need Tom Glavine, especially a 42-year-old Glavine coming off arm surgery.

He was signed for two reasons: One, because the Braves wanted to take as many pitchers as they could into Spring Training to avoid a repeat of a depleted starting staff that occurred in 2008.

And two, they probably wanted to keep the fans somewhat happy after John Smoltz departed for Boston. Seriously though, what could Glavine bring to the Braves as a spot starter that Campillo, Carlyle, Bennett, Hanson, Reyes, or Medlen can't?

The answer here is nothing. Why not throw in a younger guy with much more upside that at the very least is going to pitch about the same as Glavine. And on top of that... they're millions of dollars cheaper.

Enter Nate McLouth. The Braves will take the money that they would have given to Glavine and they'll turn it over to their new centerfielder. Both moves make sense. The Braves are obviously struggling at the plate and not on the mound.

If Glavine could play centerfield and be a potential 30/30 guy we would not be having this conversation. But he can't and while Braves fans will always remember Glavine for Game Six in the 1995 World Series, they also want another shot at another title. And these two moves get them closer to that goal.

Everyone wants to point fingers on how a lot of stuff has went down, but at the same time they have to think of the direction of the team.

Considering everything that could have happened, Frank Wren has done a stand-up job.

Dealing with Kevin Towers and Jake Peavy in San Diego
Failing to land the overpriced A.J. Burnett
The Rafael Furcal debacle
Not being able to land Griffey Jr.
Smoltzie
And now Glavine

But look at the roster overhaul this guy has done. It's not what any of us were expecting and it's not necessarily his original plan; but he has put together a very competitive team and he continues to progress as a GM in this league.

I am very pleased with the job that the starting pitching staff has done so far this season. And this group of innings eaters will only continue to improve as the rest of the NL staffs decline and tire out in the coming months of the season.

Hopefully the Braves offense will follow suit with the addition of McLouth. Lord knows, they couldn't get any worse.

Jake Peavy: Just Leavey

Robert Sabbath — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:31:12 -0400

Are you serious?!? Will the Jake Peavy saga ever end?!?

It all started when the San Diego Padres realized earlier this past offseason that they didn't have the money for their payroll to stay in contention for the upcoming 2009 season.

When they came to this notion they looked up and down their 2009 payroll of $43 million and saw Peavy who is set to make a lot of money of the next few years (Peavy is to earn $11 million this season, $15 million in 2010, $16 million in 2011, and $17 million in 2012.

The Padres have a $22 million option for 2013 with a $4 million buyout). This team clearly cannot afford to keep him. And Jake Peavy was the first one to request this last season. So, this makes sense...it benefits both parties.

Yet...nothing has happened thus far. There were many talks this past offseason involving Jake Peavy to the Braves and the Cubs and nothing ever got worked out.

The reason nothing ever worked out wasn't because two of the organizations couldn't get a deal down on paper...NO! It was always a problem with Peavy, his agent, and the team trying to obtain him.

First the Braves: Peavy wanted to keep his "No-Trade-Clause" in-tact, but the Braves organization has never been a fan of the "No-Trade-Clause." So, the Peavy deal eventually blew up in their face.

Next came the mighty Cubbies: Peavy wanted them to automatically pick up his 22 million dollar option for 2013 and guarantee him that. They hesitated; so the former 2007 Cy Young award winner wanted nothing to do with them anymore.

And most recently, the White Sox: They actually pulled the trigger in one of those rare May baseball deals. They really wanted the guy, and went out and gave up the farm for him. And guess what...Surprise within a few hours he slapped that "No-Trade-Clause" on the deal and nixed it, saying that he wanted to stay in the National League.

Are you serious Jake?!? Just pack your bags and do what's best for your team. He said that it wasn't in the best interest of the club to make this deal with the White Sox though. Okay. Fair enough Jake. But I have a follow-up question to that: THEN WHY DID THEY MAKE THE DEAL?!?

If you want to be a GM then be one, but as far as I know, you are still a pitcher. So, if you really want what's best for the Padres then you'll just go where they send you. Be a professional Jake! That's the business that you are in. Deal with it!

And if a team is willing to give up some of their best prospects and the future of their franchise, than you should feel honored that they wanted you that bad enough to pull off a deal for you.

In conclusion, Peavy has been in this league going on nine years now, and he's one of the best at what he does. But, this "No-Trade-Clause" crap has overshadowed his talent on the mound. It always bothers me to see a player running and hurting a team this way.

But the strangest thing is that Peavy was once a very quiet competitor, who would come out business as usual and win games. Everyone loved him. Peavy's antics over the past year have shown the true colors of even the nicest professional athletes when it comes to playing hardball with money and player contracts.

Hopefully, the Padres' organization won't suffer too much from these antics.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Robert Sabbath

Why the Atlanta Braves Are Better Off Without Tom Glavine

Jake Peavy: Just Leavey