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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > July > 18
Friday, July 18, 2008
Reality throws Glavine a curve
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t make the mistake this correspondent did. Don’t refer to this season as Tom Glavine’s farewell tour. “It’s not a ‘farewell tour,’ ” Glavine said, his voice rising. “It was never supposed to be a ‘farewell tour.’ “
OK, then. But however we label the prodigal’s ballyhooed return, it has fallen short. Back with the Braves after five Flushing-based seasons, Glavine hasn’t worked since June 10. “I came here to pitch and provide stability to the club,” he said Friday. “But you can’t eat up innings if you’re not out there eating up innings.”
Here’s how messed up this season has gotten: Glavine spent two decades in the big leagues without going on the disabled list but has landed on it twice in 2008 — first with a tender hamstring, now with elbow tendinitis. He’s scheduled to throw off a mound today for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks — his elbow feels OK, he said, but he lacks arm strength — and he targets mid-August as a possible return.
Glavine came here to share a rotation with John Smoltz and Mike Hampton. Instead the three occupy space on the same overstuffed DL. Think about that: Glavine, who never gets hurt, missing at the same time as Hampton, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since August 2005 and who this week tweaked his groin in yet another rehab.
“Certainly nobody feels worse than Mike,” Glavine said, “but invariably something happens. If you weren’t watching it, you’d be frustrated or skeptical. But if Mike had his way, he’d be out there pitching.”
So would Glavine. “Thank God I haven’t had to deal with the disabled list before,” he said. “It’s not a lot of fun.”
If nothing else, this frazzled season has given him new appreciation for all those seasons that ran so smoothly. “From the early to the mid ’90s, we had some years where we didn’t make a move with our pitching staff because we didn’t have to make any moves,” he said. “The whole team was that way. I remember thinking, ‘We’ve been really fortunate.’ “
And in 2008? “Every other day something goes wrong.”
This wasn’t a concession speech. Glavine still believes the Braves can make a race of it. “On the one hand, you think of all the people we’ve had injured,” he said. “But you look at our statistics, and we’re high on the list in hitting and we’re first in ERA. That’s the part that makes you scratch your head and say, ‘Why aren’t we winning more?’ “
The Braves reported for duty after their All-Star hiatus 6 1/2 games out of first place and five out of third. The second part concerns Glavine as much as the first. “If you’re in fourth place, you could go on a 10-game winning streak and you might not gain ground on a certain team. It’s a lot easier to put pressure on one team. Back in the day, we were pretty good at doing that.”
Back in the day, things were different. The Braves were mostly healthy and roundly irresistible, at least over 162 games, and famous pitchers weren’t wondering if the end was nigh. Does Glavine want his Hall of Fame career to end on the DL? “I don’t. But I don’t want to pitch another year just to pitch another year … If I’m healthy, I’m more inclined to come back [in 2009]. If I’m not or if I have to have surgery, the likelihood goes way down.”
Some crummy homecoming, huh? “It hasn’t gone the way I had scripted or the organization had scripted,” Glavine said. “But real life sometimes throws you a curve.”
Then, smiling wryly: “So to speak.”
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