The Atlanta Braves just cut Tom Glavine, moving themselves from my “teams which are kind of annoying” list to my “list of teams I officially hate.”

The Braves are claiming this was all about performance and had nothing to do with the millions of extra dollars Glavine would have been owed for making the major league roster and then staying on it for 30 and 90 days, but that is a blatant falsehood.

The Braves cite Glavine’s fastball velocity in the low 80s as the main reason, but Glavine’s fastball has been in the low 80s for several years now, and was in the low 80s in spring training when Fran Wren was talking up how Glavine was going to be a key piece in the rotation this season.

Glavine worked his ass off after two arm surgeries and did everything the Braves asked, pitching in several minor league rehab starts and continuing to do so even after his arm was all ready to go. Plus he pitched very well, going six scoreless and allowing only 3 hits in his most recent start.

Why make a guy go through surgeries and all that rehab for nothing? Why didn’t the Braves just cut him in spring training? Were they just keeping him around as an insurance policy on Kenshin Kawakami or something?

The only honorable thing for the Braves to have done would have been to call up Glavine and let him either succeed or else pitch his way off the team and into honorable retirement. If Glavine put up a bad start or two, then the Braves would have been perfectly justified in cutting him loose, and everyone would have understood.

Look, it’s really besides the point that cutting Glavine now was probably the “best” move, both baseball-wise with top prospect Tommy Hanson apparently all ready for the show, and money-wise.

Because sometimes penny-wise is pound foolish, and it is foolish to so blatantly ill-treat 300-game winner, future Hall of Famer, and all-around good guy Tom Glavine all to save a few million bucks after all that he has done for your francise over two decades. It tears at the fabric of your success, which is rooted in the adulation of the fans, the respect between your front office and the players on your team and around the league, and your reputation for fair dealing.

Yeah, baseball is a business, but even in business, sometimes the right thing to do is actually do the right thing.

They say Karma can be a bitch – here’s hoping she woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday, because the Braves deserve whatever they have coming.

Hot dag, yo, are we the only sports blog not banned in China? Or are we in fact banned in China and we just don’t know it?

That is one looong cup of coffee: it had been 21years in between minor league starts for Tom Glavine when he took the hill for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Sitting Andre Ethier in favor of Juan Pierre: not necessarily the worst decision ever.

If you could be pals with an athlete, would you pick Ryan Spilborghs? I would pick Tim Wakefield, so we could all go bowhunting together.

CJ Wilson’s not making any new friends.

Boston’s playoff odds are a little bit longer, post-deadline. But they get a little bit shorter if Joba keeps hurting.

The Tigers: Now Open 24 Hours. (Because they never close.)

Is John Smoltz the greatest pitcher of all time?

I only ask because that is apparently what Mr. Mark Bowman of mlb.com thinks. Or his editor. Or whoever it was that picked the headline for this article, entitled “Smoltz latest, greatest to reach 3,000 Ks.”

Do they even have editors over there? Because if whoever it was actually believes that John Smoltz is the greatest pitcher to ever reach 3,000 strikeouts, then they are the only one in the world who thinks that.

Even Smoltz’s own mother wouldn’t suggest that he is the greatest pitcher on this list:

Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Walter Johnson, Phil Niekro, Greg Maddux, Ferguson Jenkins, Bob Gibson, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz.

In fact, it may even be possible to argue that John Smoltz is actually the worst pitcher on that list, but he certainly isn’t the best one, because that is basically a list of the greatest pitchers of all time. So in no way whatsoever is Smoltz the “greatest” pitcher to join the list.

So what really is going on with that title? I think what has happened here is another example of how these people get so up to their neck in sports clichés that they forget that what they are writing is actually English words that actually mean things, and simply apply these catchphrases where ever they please, much the same way Jackson Pollock applied paint to canvas, although probably with even less forethought.

I’m sure the person who came up with that headline probably just thought it had a nice “ring” to it, without even considering that it was actually words which would be making the insane claim that Smoltz was the greatest pitcher on the list above. But still, my gods. Learn to speak English – it’s your own native language (I hope).

Also, the subtitle of that article is pretty funny too – “Veteran no longer walking in shadows of Maddux, Glavine.” Um, okaaaay. Greg Maddux: – 349 wins, 4 Cy Youngs, 2 20-win seasons, so good he can be caught with your eyes closed. Tom Glavine: 303 wins, 2 Cy Youngs, 5 20-win seasons, hot baseball wife.

John Smoltz? 210 wins, 1 20-win season, 1 Cy Young. I think it is fair to say he is still chilling pretty deep in the shade of Maddux and Glavine. I mean Glavine has ninety-three more wins than Smoltz does. Even if you give him back the three years he was a closer, was he really going to average 31 wins per season?

Also, everyone is talking like Smoltz is a surefire Hall of Famer now, and he probably is, but if Smoltz makes the Hall for getting 3,000 strikeouts, than Bert Blyleven, who is number 5 on the list above, needs to have been inducted several years ago.

When Tom Glavine turned down a $13 million option year with the Mets to return to the Braves for only $8 million, he told ESPN’s Jayson Stark that was doing it just to be closer to his family:

“My family was the reason,” Glavine said. “Had the Braves not been interested in bringing me back, I would have retired, because it was time for me to be home.”

Some observers were still baffled, but we here at UmpBump can understand this decision quite well, because Tom Glavine has a bonafide hot baseball wife.

Glavine’s second wife, Chris, who he married in 1998, not only makes it out to almost all of Tom’s games and helps raise the couple’s four children, but has also been a major supporter of “CURE Childhood Cancer” and the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research and also personally hosts an annual fundraiser/luncheon in Atlanta called “Tribute to Our Quiet Heroes,” which honors the hard work, sacrifice and dedication of the mothers of children with cancer.

We believe you will agree that Chris Glavine is a most deserving addition to the pantheon of Hot Baseball Wives.

(more pictures after the jump)

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• Today the AJC does a “Where are they now?” feature on former Braves CF Otis Nixon. It seems Otis is sober again and he’s writing a book. Did you know that Nixon has twin sons named Travian and Travion?
• The AJC also has a feature that talks about how Tom Glavine’s pay has paralelled the gains made by the players union. If you missed the press conference, Glavine has decided to earn $11 million this year, rather than $13 million, because $13 million was just too much pressure.
• Crashburn Alley, which recently brought you Bill Conlin uncensored, today takes a look at why Andruw Jones is the most valuable free-agent CF on the market, despite what Jayson Stark might think.  This is pretty much a debunking of Stark’s argument that Andruw is in steep decline. Crashburn relies on fancy modern stats, like Revised Zone Rating, rather than just regular Zone Rating. Classy.

Today, AJC columnist Furman Bisher welcomes Tom Glavine home with a big wet kiss on the buttocks. Furman is amazed — more than that, he’s flummoxed — by the selfless Tom Glavine, who agreed this week to pitch for less in Atlanta:

What he did was something I’ve never heard any baseball player do before. He said he wasn’t sure he was worth what the New York Mets were offering.

His projected salary, I should say. It was there. All he had to do was take it, a $13 million option to pitch another season on Long Island.

…

So in the end it was take a $5 million cut in pay to live and pitch where his home and heart are.

What Bisher doesn’t seem to understand is that, while Glavine is pitching for less, he’s not pitching for that much less. The Mets gave him a $3 million buyout. He signed an $8 million deal with Atlanta. So he’s pitching for $11 million in 2008, $2 million less than he would have earned with New York. Not $5 million less.

Glavine, for his part, says the reason he was willing to take less money is because, well, I’ll let him tell you:

“I wasn’t sure I was worth 13 million,” Glavine said. “I’m not a No. 1 starter any more. I didn’t have the feeling that I could go out and pitch like a $13 million guy anymore.”

See, making $13 million made Glavine uncomfortable. That’s a lot of pressure. $11 million is much less of a burden.

Bisher thinks Glavine’s admission is the greatest thing he’s ever heard. Seriously, he’s giddy.

This is utter violation of the athlete’s code. You don’t get such honesty in this day and age of the agent and his pawn.

Bisher goes on to say that Glavine is going to be lights out in Atlanta and that the reason he sucked down the stretch in New York was, well, it was all mental. He was home sick.

I put nothing into Glavine’s rocky wind-up in New York: three blown starts, including one tormented one. His mind was at work on other matters. He knew he was pitching his way out of a Mets uniform, and his head was getting mixed signals.

Now all the disturbing doubts are gone, and here is a man with a freedom of mind. He’s home again. He drives to Turner Field to an old familiar parking space. Walks into home, not the visitors clubhouse, greets old pals and familiar faces. That should add years to his happiness and his ERA.

First of all, I’ve got news for you, Bish. Matt Diaz has Glavine’s parking space now and he told me the other day that he’s not giving it up for nobody. He said if Glavine wants his space back, he’s going to have to take it.

And “years to his happiness and ERA?” Well, I guess we’ll never know since Glavine only signed a one-year deal, right Bish?

Yes, the contract is only for one year. With Glavine’s well-ordered lifestyle, his deep faith, and the ease with which he delivers his 82-mph fastball, change of pace and slider, his trim body should be good for two or three more seasons.

Well, it’s hard to argue with that logic. Glavine does look pretty smooth throwing those 82-mph fastballs. But if you think that’s impressive, Bish, you should see just how casually I loft my 68-mph cheese. You want deep faith? I was a freaking alter boy! And if you’re looking for a guy who’s willing to accept a contract for less than $13 million a year, hey, I’m your man. I’ll pitch for $5 million right now! Sign me up!

There’s been a lot said about Tom Glavine’s return to Atlanta, but I think this passage, from AJC baseball writer David O’Brien’s story, best sums it up:

Glavine joins Smoltz and Hudson to give the Braves what could be the National League’s most accomplished starting trio. Wren and Cox also are optimistic about lefty Mike Hampton, who has missed two seasons recovering from elbow surgeries.

Hampton is scheduled to make his first start in the Mexican Winter League on Thursday. He would give the Braves four former 20-game winners, though none has hit that standard since 2000, when Hudson went 20-6 for Oakland and Glavine 21-9 for the Braves.

Four 20-game winners. That’s great. But 2000 was a long time ago. You know who else won 20 games in 2000? Daryl Kile. So that’s not a good example. But you know who won 19 games that season? Randy Johnson. What’s he up to these day? Maybe he could pitch for the Braves?

On ESPN News, Keith Law said Atlanta went with sentiment over sound baseball judgement. He said Glavine showed this season that he has “very little left in the tank”. He said “shame on the Braves for guaranteeing so much money” and that they had “probably wasted a good chunk of that money.”

What do you think? Will the Braves be buoyed by experience, or just old?

Now that the Braves season is all but over, Atlanta fans can start planning for 2008. And, despite this season’s disappointing finish, there is every reason for fans to be excited about next year.

First of all, Mark Teixeira will be at first base on opening day and, if he can repeat what he’s done over the last two months, he should be a candidate for MVP.

Chipper Jones will be returning after an MVP calliber and (mostly) healthy 2007 season.

Tim Hudson and John Smoltz will be back. Both had solid 2007 seasons.

Kelly Johnson will be a year older and wiser.

And the Braves bullpen should be bolstered by the return of Mike Gonzalez, who missed much of this season with an injury.

Still, there are questions surrounding this team. Will Dotel be back? What about Adruw Jones and Edgar Renteria? Will Mike Hampton be healthy?

Perhaps the most interesting possibility for Braves fans longing for a return to the postseason: will Tom Glavine return to finish his career in Atlanta?

Just about everybody wants Glavine back.

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

“I hope so,” Smoltz said of a potential bid for Glavine. “Do you do it just for [public relations]? No. You do it because of two things: He can still pitch; he can still win baseball games. And, this is where he belongs.

And all reports are Glavine wants to finish his career in Atlanta. He wanted the Braves to sign him before this season, so that he could win his 300th game as a Brave. But the Atlanta brass coudn’t scrape together the dough.

What would keep Glavine out of Atlanta next year? Well, for one thing, Glavine has a $13 million player option to pitch for the Mets in 2008. And it’s hard to imagine the Braves offering the veteran pitcher that much money.

The AJC says the Mets may not want to pay Glavine $13 million, either:

Glavine has a player option with the Mets for 2008 worth up to $13 million, but could decline if he retires or wants to return to Atlanta. The Mets reportedly might ask him to take a salary lower than $13 million.

If that’s the case, the Braves might get it done with, say, a one-year, $10 million offer. Smoltz isn’t alone in making a pitch for the pitcher.

Maybe there’s something I’m missing, but I can’t imagine the Mets asking Glavine to take less money than he’s contractually entitled to. I imagine that conversation going something like this:

Mets: Tom, we’d like to pay you less than $13 million to pitch in 2008. Something more like $11 million.

Tom Glavine: No, I’d rather not do that.

Of course, there’s always the chance that Glavine would accept less money just so that he could pitch one last season in Atlanta. But, as John Smoltz points out, he probably won’t accept much less.

“If I’m Tommy,” Smoltz said, “as bad as I want to be here, I’m not going to be an idiot and take a slap in the face [contract]. … “

So the question becomes, do the Braves want Glavine back bad enough to pay him? And does Glavine still eye a return to Atlanta, even after he’s already gotten his 300th win and even after the Braves failed to make him an offer in 2007?

Time will tell.