Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Just say no to Tom Glavine

It's been a bad week - two losses to the Pirates, a setback for Jose Reyes and a swine flu scare. But let's hope things don't get even worse. Let's hope that someone in the Mets' organization does what Razor Shines seems unable to do - hold up a stop sign. Anything to keep Omar Minaya away from Tom Glavine.

The last time a 40+ player with Hall of Fame numbers was unceremoniously cut loose, the Mets fell all over themselves to recruit Gary Sheffield. I thought at the time that getting Sheffield would be a bad idea, but he has certainly done a lot better than I expected.

Sheffield is likely to be a short-term solution. Already he is practically playing on one leg. But he has already paid dividends to the Mets, helping to keep them near the top of the division the last few weeks.

Could Glavine also help out the Mets on a short-term basis? At age 43, it is not likely. But it is also not worth the aggravation and bad karma to find out.

Bringing in Glavine would not be like bringing in Nelson Figueroa. Glavine is a star, a name, and he would have to get multiple starts.

Sheffield said he would fit in the clubhouse as a pinch-hitter and part-time outfielder. And he did succeed in changing his image, though he was doubtless more comfortable once he ended up as the fulltime cleanup hitter.

Would Glavine be happy as the number 5 starter behind even Livan Hernandez? The last time he was with the Mets, he was the ace of the staff. Even when Pedro was pitching, Glavine was number 2 to a fellow future Hall of Famer in the later stages of his career. But he and Johan Santana will not be forming any one-two punch. Santana is in a whole different league now.

But most of all, there's the karma of how Glavine finished up with the Mets - allowing seven runs in 1/3 of an inning and single-handedly destroying the Mets' playoff hopes. And not seeming all that "devastated" about it afterwards.

Even if Glavine came in and did better than expected, as Sheffield has, the specter of that last performance would always be there.

Does anybody besides Squawker Lisa (who tweeted earlier) really want to see Tom Glavine on the mound for the Mets in a big game?

Neither do I.

Who would you like to see as the Mets' fifth starter? Tell us what you think.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although Glavine is sure to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, he is now injury prone and there is a reason the Braves cut him. In the future, I think he would likely be a good pitching coach (as long as he is only dealing with mechanics), but he is NOT the answer to the 5th starter position in the rotation.

The Irish Cannot Cook said...

If we are considering acquiring an aging, former Mets pitcher to fill the 5th spot in the rotation, I'd rather see Pedro than Glavine on the mound.

I feel badly for how Glavine was treated by Atlanta management. He deserved better than getting cut, especially after a fairly impressive rehab outing. Still, Tommy didn't exactly endear himself to Mets fans with his final start on the team, so I say no to a return.

If he does join the Phillies, that's 88 combined years between Glavine and Moyer. Man. They should consider signing Oil Can Boyd, too!

Uncle Mike said...

Maybe the Mets should just re-sign Tom Seaver. After all, the last pitch he threw in a Met jersey was pretty good. Not the last one before that, but...

Maybe the Mets should re-sign Jerry Koosman. Then again, that might end up taxing the bullpen.

Maybe the Mets should re-sign Jesse Orosco. Can we really be sure he's not still pitching somewhere?

Maybe the Mets should re-sign David Cone. After all, he's won 4 World Series in New York. Of course, they were all with the Yankees...

Maybe the Mets should sign Ralph Branca. After all, he hasn't given up a home run in 55 years!

Or we could go to the other extreme. I've got a niece who turns 2 next month, and she's got a better arm than half the players on the Mets! She's a little cranky, but no more so than Gary Sheffield. And I can be pretty sure she's not on steroids.

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