sad day for Braves fans?

[Dog in the Know]

Tom Glavine is done in Atlanta.

According to major-league sources, the Braves released Glavine on Wednesday, just a day after the two-time Cy Young Award winner threw six scoreless innings in his latest rehab start.

Glavine was to be paid $1 million for his first day on the active roster, $1.25 million for 30 days on the roster and another $1.25 million for 90 days on the roster, bringing the total possible value of the deal to $4.5 million.

The Braves told Glavine that he was being released because his velocity is down, one source said. However, Glavine was throwing only 76-78 miles per hour in spring training and in recent starts had increased that to 83-86 miles per hour.

"I don't know what else I can do," Glavine said after Tuesday night's game, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Physically I felt good and I feel like I'm ready.

"I'd love to get to Atlanta and help the team. I'll go (to Turner Field) tomorrow and prepare to pitch on Sunday, wherever that is."

Glavine, who returned to Atlanta on a one-year deal, underwent minor elbow and shoulder surgeries during the offseason. He did not appear in a single game for the Braves this season.

 

[Dog in the Know]

Tom Glavine is done in Atlanta.

According to major-league sources, the Braves released Glavine on Wednesday, just a day after the two-time Cy Young Award winner threw six scoreless innings in his latest rehab start.

Glavine was to be paid $1 million for his first day on the active roster, $1.25 million for 30 days on the roster and another $1.25 million for 90 days on the roster, bringing the total possible value of the deal to $4.5 million.

The Braves told Glavine that he was being released because his velocity is down, one source said. However, Glavine was throwing only 76-78 miles per hour in spring training and in recent starts had increased that to 83-86 miles per hour.

"I don't know what else I can do," Glavine said after Tuesday night's game, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Physically I felt good and I feel like I'm ready.

"I'd love to get to Atlanta and help the team. I'll go (to Turner Field) tomorrow and prepare to pitch on Sunday, wherever that is."

Glavine, who returned to Atlanta on a one-year deal, underwent minor elbow and shoulder surgeries during the offseason. He did not appear in a single game for the Braves this season.

 

[HighPointDawg]

It is sad.. but really I was going to going to be pretty pissed if they let Tommy Hanson troll around in AAA and move Medlen to the bullpen while Glavine was putting up a 5.50 ERA at the back of the rotation.

You just gotta realize this is a business too... I love Smoltz and Glavine.. but letting them move on is a good move. The rotation is drastically improved.

The Braves make smart moves most of the time.. just not always the fan favorite moves. I have seen Braves fans on this board criticize them for back when they traded Dale Murphy.. but that move allowed Justice to be ROY and I think sparked the runs in the 90's.

 

[MSUArrowCS]

but it's probably the right call. Drawing it out this long probably won't hurt Glavine's chances of catching on as a #4 or 5 with another team this year.

That said, bring on Tommy Hanson now that most of the other blue chips from other clubs have been called up.

 

[youngster]

it is sad, but its the right thing to do. Look, everyone who is a braves fan loves Tommy, but its time for him to hang it up. Stay in atlanta, and get in the booth or on the radio.

 

[821505]

Sorry Tommy but you should've retired with Greg.

 

[KurtRambis4]

they acquired mclouth for chuck morton, gorkys hernandez, and jeff locke

*edited to add: hanson called up to face the brew crew for saturday.

 

[HighPointDawg]

McLouth is a hell of a player... Hanson is going to be good (I saw his no-no in Jackson last year and him pitch in Arizona this fall)... Mets are hurting time to make a run.

 

[KurtRambis4]

not all that upset with what we gave up. the only one that really hurts is hernandez. however, with our depth at cf it's not so bad. locke has only gotten worse as he's advanced up the minors. morton isn't even one of our top 25 prospects. this is the first time we've had a true lead-off type guy since furcal.

 

[HighPointDawg]

the key is that it moves KJ down in the lineup... I think I might let Yunel lead off and bat McLouth 2nd since we are still lacking power but he is a leadoff guy so either way...

 

[patdog]

They should have never brought him back.

 

[Spotdawg]

the more I see of Chipper ...this year and last year...the Braves have to make a move. There is talent in the minors, but you are about to poke the Monster when you mention the idea of anything dealing with Chipper.

It's time.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

He's going to retire a Brave. Period. He'll be moved to first when Kotchmann's contract is up or we decide to bite the bullet and trade Kotchmann. The real question is who plays 3B when we move Chipper. Thankfully, all of this is still probably 1-2 years away, I think. He's still solid defensively and his bat is as good as ever, considering he hit .363 last season. Sure, he's going to get hurt and miss some games, but we've lived with that for about 8-10 years now. No need to do anything differently. Kotchmann's time in Atlanta is numbered.

 

[MSUCostanza]

he won the freaking batting title last year and was .001 from the all-time record for a switch-hitter. Yes, he's 36, but let's not toss him away just yet.

 

[Spotdawg]

but his range this year at 3rd has been very limited. I'm not privy to IRs, but he seems to have not much flexibility from the waist down. Tonight he rolled over a grounder that he would have eaten up last year. Just sayin'

 

[SanfordRJones]

I'd love to see them get rid of that POS while he still has value. His entire career, he's put up .325/ 30/ 100, then done squat in the post-season. I've always hated him.

 

[llmsudawg]

really? the only mistake Atlanta has made with him is moving him to left field so Vinny Castilla could play third.

 

[Todd4State]

if the Braves released Chipper today (just going along with today's releasing Braves ledgends theme) and they didn't make a move, I guess it would be Martin Prado or Greg Norton.

In the minors, I think they were hoping that Brandon Hicks would be the answer, but he is hitting .213 in AA.

I guess they'll likely end up getting rid of Kotchman, move Chipper to first and then sign someone off of the FA market.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

that "10 has a foot," in JWS speak. Chipper's foot is bothering him right now, and he hasn't been playing every day for the last week or so because of it. I'd highly suspect any defensive deficiencies your seeing right now stem from that. But yes, he is starting to age a little bit and starting to lose a little range. I don't think it'll be more than a year or two before he's moved to 1B.

 

[BlindDawg]

If it were to happen today, it would definitely be Martin Prado. Bobby Cox loves him, and he's a plus hitter and fielder at 3B. Greg Norton can't play 3B. I think he used to, but he's a liability basically anywhere in the field now. His job is to pinch hit, nothing more. I think Brandon Hicks is the guy the Braves hope can take the spot once Chipper moves, but like you said he's struggling right now. He is young though, and he impressed Cox and the Braves brass in spring training. He has big power, his problem is K's. If they can get him to cut down on the K's, I think he could end up to be a solid option. All that being said, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Chipper's replacement come from outside the organization whether it be by trade or FA signing.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

Chipper is probably a first ballot Hall of Famer. He's guaranteed to get in eventually, considering he's got the best numbers of any switch hitter ever. But yeah, he's a POS. The reasons for our postseason woes are many, of which Chipper has only been a very small part. And we'll ignore the fact that we don't win the '95 Series without him.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

[No message]

 

[Todd4State]

to be the greatest switch hitter ever. And yes, I realize that Chipper has a higher career batting average, but I'm letting Mantle's power trump the average a little bit and I'm giving him a pass because of his chronic knee issues and alcoholism.

I will say that if you look at Chipper Jones and Mickey Mantle's career numbers at this point, I don't think it's far fetched at all that Chipper may pass them one day except for maybe home runs. Their numbers are similar.

 

[anon1751035439]

"I will say that if you look at Chipper Jones and Mickey Mantle's career numbers at this point, I don't think it's far fetched at all that Chipper may pass them one day except for maybe home runs. Their numbers are similar."

You are one of the better posters on this board, but this is crazy, don't you think? Jones better than Mantle? Really?

ETA: Your point was made in the second half of your post. That is the part I am responding to.

 

[MSUCostanza]

Their stats are very similar. Take away the names and just compare A to B.

 

[o_oxfordstudy]

I wanted to see him retire in a braves uniform or pitch some middle relief for less money. He just wasn't willing to do that, but I can't knock the guy he has the right to do whatever he wants with 244 career wins for us.

 

[SanfordRJones]

I stand by my disgust of Chipper. He has never hit in the NLCS or WS. He never got clutch hits. He never played with any fire in the postseason.

We didn't win the 95 world series without Justice. He was the one who sacked up and got the big hits.

 

[Todd4State]

until I looked it up. I think a lot of it has to do with who Mantle and Chipper both played for and the era that they both played in.

New York in the 50's- Willie, Mickey, and the Duke.

I still think that Mantle is better than Chipper, but Jones does have a significantly higher batting avg. I just didn't expect the numbers to be so close. I knew that Mantle had more home runs.

Here are the numbers

Mantle 536 home runs, 1509 RBI's and a .298 avg

Chipper 413 home runs 1397 RBI's and a .311 avg

Of course Chipper is still playing, and he might get the home runs. I think he can definately think he will get more RBI's, and he already has a higher avg. A lot of it depends on his health.

 

[Tito Cheeseburger Jr]

I was sad the day they spent money on him knowing Hanson was ready instead of a competent outfielder. The day he finished the Mets historic, all-time collapse off by completely bombing his start in their last game was a special moment. Schadenfreude like that doesn't come around too often, and it was up there with y'alls 2000 game at South Carolina (no offense but obviously we hated you back then when you were good).