Poor Murray Chass

One....two.....oh, fuck it, one million.

 

I agree $1 million dollars is a lot of money. No matter the situation.
But, I will always believe there is a right way and wrong way of doing things. Whether you're "parting ways" with a part-time agate clerk or a Hall of Famer.

 

We are only hearing one side of how it went down.

 

I have no idea. Next time I try to get through to a live human at the insurance company I'll try.

 

I had a conversation more than 15 years ago with Jim Leyland, in which he told me he had a policy of never bullshitting a player. If someone asked him why he wasn't playing, he would never say, "Well, it's a numbers game." He would tell the guy the truth: "I have other options that are better than you." His philosophy was that even though the truth might sting, in the long run the player appreciated the honesty because he knew what the team honestly thought about him.

He had a relief pitcher (can't remember his name) and the guy had great stuff. He wanted to be the closer. Leyland told him flat-out, "I don't want to use you because I think you're scared in those situations." He told the truth and challenged the guy to prove him wrong. He wound up getting a decent season or two out of the guy, but he let him know what he thought and what he had to do to win the job he wanted.

Leyland said he became close to some players he had to release because they always appreciated the honesty. No sugar coating, no bullshit, just an honest evaluation. And it always came with this disclaimer: "We could be completely wrong about this, but it's the decision we've made."

So I honestly don't know why Glavine -- who has always seemed to be a pretty reasonable guy in my limited dealings with him -- is all bent out of shape over being told, "We don't think you're good enough." Surely he has to realize that he's not the pitcher he used to be. If he thinks the Braves are wrong, sign with someone else and prove them wrong. It's more likely they're correct -- I still remember Steve Carlton bouncing all over MLB at the end of his career.

As far as I know, Frank Wren didn't tell the media he thought Glavine wasn't good enough. My understanding is Glavine decided to make that public. I don't know what he expected from the Braves. They're a contender and not in a position to carry someone for sentimental reasons. If they save a million, it's a million they can apply to the draft and turn into a benefit.

 

Just to quibble with one point, these quotes were included in the original AP story from Paul Newberry, before Glavine was quoted in that same story:

That said, I agree with your overall point. The Braves made a decision and Glavine disagreed. If he wants to prove them wrong, he can sign with someone else.

 

Excellent.

And I just wish Skip Caray were still alive to tear the Braves a new one on this.

 

What exactly did the Braves do to poor little Tommy Glavine?
They released him, just like thousands of players before him have been released.

Boo-fucking-hoo

 

What I found odd about it was they cut him 24 hours after their website was loudly touting his rehab performance and suggesting that he was ready to come back to Atlanta and contribute. That kind of threw me a little bit.

 

Sure, you can't feel bad that Tommy Boy is going to miss out on a couple mil. But are the Braves that pathetic that they needed to pull in $40-grand or whatever in gate for their minor league club if they knew they were going to save a million dollar bonus as well as his contract salary?
Let's put that in our terms. You're looking forward to that $10 grocery gift card as a Christmas bonus. Instead, you get told you've been laid off, effective yesterday. No Christmas bonus and no pay for the past six hours.

 

Ah, mlb.com's magic dust.

 

The question to me is why did Wren and the Braves sign Glavine in the first place? They had Lowe, Kawakami, Vasquez and Juerrgens set in the 1-4 slots. If they figured Hanson was going to be ready this year, and his performance this spring was a strong leading indicator, they had no need to sign Glavine. Plus, they've got Tim Hudson possibly coming back late this year. Maybe the Braves front office should have done the math and seen this eventuality coming and been able to avoid the public embarrassment.

If they don't sign Glavine, at least he has a chance to catch on somewhere else at the beginning of the year rather than now in mid-season.

And I still don't understand the whole performance reasoning. They knew exactly what they were getting in Glavine--a guy who'd throw 84-88 and try and paint the corners. That was good enough in March, but not in June?

To me, it looks like Frank Wren doesn't know what he's doing. He sure doesn't work the PR angles well. His boss issuing a public apology seems to acknowledge that.