Tag: tom glavine

Some words of calm wisdom from Tom Glavine… or is it damage control?

Tom Glavine talked to the press Friday about PED testing standards in the major leagues.

“I think that it’s easy to sit on the outside, look at what has happened and blame Bud Selig or Don Fehr and the Players Association by saying that one of these guys or all of these guys knew more and should have known more,” Glavine said. “You know what? I don’t think it’s fair to say that.

While I’m certainly not ready to absolve Bud Selig on the matter especially considering what he said the other day about not taking responsibility on the steroid issue, Glavine’s point is somewhat well taken.  The fans and the media are busy playing the blame game and most of the dialogue I hear is more directed at hatin’ on the player rather than solving the problem. 

My friend Nick once told me, “C’mon, fans like to boo!”.  Of course, he was talking about within a ballgame.  However, you could extend his point to the broader context of Major League Baseball and problems it faces.  A lot of fans (most?) would just as soon read the headlines and listen to the sound bites throw ARod to the wolves.  Most of the media, unfortunately, is complicit in this as well, fueling the fire of contempt rather than providing good solutions to the issue. 

I’m not an ARod fan and I’m certainly not condoning what he did.  I’ve just seen and heard what has happened in the past with similar issues.  Bonds, McGwire, the list is long and problem is still here. 

Glavine does advocate for consequences for Alex Rodriguez, as well he should, 

“There comes a time for everybody in life — I don’t care where you are or what you do — that you have choices to make, and sometimes people make bad choices.  If you make a bad choice, then that’s your responsibility to deal with the consequences of that bad choice, and certainly Alex is having to deal with that.

However, baseball management was definitely responsible, at least in part, for not quelling the steroid issue at some point.  With his statement to the press, Glavine needs to be careful while he treads a fine line between calm, reasoned thought and being a ‘yes’ man for the MLB (ironic since he is the player rep for the NL). 

All parties need to take responsibility…

300

No waiting for Glavine,

Today, those us in the Illowa APBA League were trying to nail down a date for our annual All-Star game.  I tacked this on the end of one of my emails:

By the way, God Bless Tom Glavine.  I rooted for the Cubbies the whole
way and swore a blue streak when Ohman essentially put the game out of reach.  But when the game was over I felt good for Tom G.

Glavine has been on my team for 17 years, more than any other player.
His career record in the IAL is 229-174.  Not only that, he is getting
better with age, in the last two years (06-07), he is 28-7.

Way to go, Tommy!  I’ll be there at Cooperstown when you get inducted,
buddy.

Speaking of the IAL All-Star Game and Glavine, I wouldn’t be too surprised if he makes a showing.  He’s in the running for the starting role.  Through 87 games, he is 10-2 with a IAL leading 2.42 ERA.

Sunday’s game between the Cubs and Mets was full of sub-plots and storylines as if Glavine’s quest for 300 wasn’t enough.  Alfonso Soriano pulled up short with a strained quad muscle on his way to third base.  Anyone who saw that surely had sympathy pains.

Kerry Wood made his first appearance for the Cubs this season.  Luis Castillo got injured and had to be pulled.  Even the home plate umpire (whose name escapes me) appeared to suffer a concussion from a foul ball to the face mask.  Blurred vision almost took him out of the game but since when was sight a requirement for umping?  Hwe was back after 5 minutes.  (That was a shot at our resident ump, Todd).

Congrats to Glavine!  Despite the Cubs loss, it was nice to see a milestone accomplished that everyone (including MLB and ESPN) could get behind.

Finally, if you’re interested, here’s the audio for Tom Glavine’s press conference from MLB.com Also includes ARod’s and Bonds’ press conferences, too.

It pains me to say it… 300 must wait for Glavine

Tom Glavine’s 2005 APBA card At 7:05pm CT tonight, Tom Glavine will face the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field to make his attempt at 300 wins.  It will be a difficult game for me to watch. Of course I’ll be rooting for the Cubs.  That’s what makes it so difficult.  Tom Glavine has been a … Continue reading “It pains me to say it… 300 must wait for Glavine”

Glavine APBA card

Tom Glavine’s 2005 APBA card

At 7:05pm CT tonight, Tom Glavine will face the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field to make his attempt at 300 wins.  It will be a difficult game for me to watch.

Of course I’ll be rooting for the Cubs.  That’s what makes it so difficult.  Tom Glavine has been a favorite of mine for a long time.  You see, Tom Glavine is on my team in the Illowa APBA League

I hear some of you snickering out there.  Before you judge, consider this.  This is no fly-by-night web-based fantasy league.  I’ve had Tom Glavine on my Twin City Thunderchickens since he was a throw-in in a trade in 1990.  I traded Kirk Gibson (near the end of his career) and Pete Smith (who?) for Glavine.    I think Melido Perez was the other player involved on my end. 

Of those players, Perez and Gibson played until 1995.  Smith didn’t even last a year.  And Glavine… well, it’s 16 years later and he’s still a Thunderchicken. 

Since then Glavine has become a favorite of mine.

So me being a Cubs fan, you see how difficult this is for me.  It would have a hard enough time any other year.  But tonight with the added factors of Glavine going for 300 plus the Cubs being 1/2 games back.  Yikes!

Oh, Glavine’s career IAL record?  He’s 229-174.

Go Cubs!