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December 28, 2005
Better Late Than Never
Tom Glavine played with the Braves for 16 years. And not just the Braves, but the “Never Going To Lose the NL East Title Again” Braves. It’s fairly easy to understand, that when he was signed coming into 2003 at age 37, why I was quite unhappy with the acquisition. How was I ever going to like Tom Glavine? And well, Tom certainly didn’t help his own case with his 2003 season. After a 4.52 ERA (94 ERA+) and numerous complaints to the media, mostly about Ques-Tec, Tom was not very popular in Mets-land and was looked upon as a bust by most fans. In 2004, Tom put up a 3.60 ERA (119 ERA+), but his All-Star break splits did not help win Met fans over… Pre Break- 2.66 ERA Most Met fans felt the first half of 2004 was done with smoke and mirrors (luck and good defense) and that his second half was more indictive of the pitcher the Mets were paying. Add in the way Tom pitched against his former team and coming into 2005, most Met fans would have given anything to get rid of Tommy. And I was definitely one of those people. Tom Glavine had a hard enough time trying to warm up to the Mets fanbase, with his career as one of the big 3 pitchers on the 90’s Braves, and his pitching performance and complaining did nothing to help the fact. The idea of Tom Glavine pitching enough innings and exercising his option for the fourth year of his contract in 2006 seemed like a sick joke to me (Hence the Tom Glavine IP counter on the old site design). Funny how things can change in a year. Really, to be honest, half a year. At the All-Star break, Tom had a 4.94 ERA, had given up 137 hits in 102 IP and only had a 46/41 K/BB ratio. Most, including me, had given up on Tom Glavine living up to his contract and would just settle for a 4.50 ERA and hopefully not having him pitch enough innings to get the option. But, then, after the All-Star break, something changed. I was at his first start after the All-Star break. It was Friday July 15th at Shea Stadium. Against the Braves. Considering my feelings about Tom and the fact that he was starting against the Braves, I wasn’t too optimistic about the game. Yet, Tom gave the Mets 7 innings, giving up 6 hits, walking 4, striking out 2, but most importantly, only giving up 1 run. Not only did Tom give the Mets a solid start, but it was also against the Braves. And my coming around on Tom Glavine began… Over the next two and a half months, Tom had a 2.22 ERA, only gave up 90 hits in 109.1 innings and had a K/BB of 59/20. He implemented a curveball and was at least throwing the ball on the inside corner enough to keep hitters honest. He was a different player on the mound than the pitcher the Mets saw the first 2 and a half years of his contract. And, for that, by September, not only did I not mind him coming back to the team, but I have grown to… accept him. Now, can Tom put up a 2.22 ERA for a whole season? Of course not, but if Tom can put up a consistent two halves and give the Mets even a 3.53 ERA, which was the number he ended with last year, I will be very happy with his performance. And I believe he will. When I say the Mets rotation now, it goes Pedro, Glavine, etc. Glavine always comes out second. It may have taken almost 3 years, but Tom Glavine can finally be truly considered one of the Mets top of the rotation starters. And, in my mind, I can finally consider him a Met. If you would like to rip apart Jeremy's writing, you can reach him here. He also appreciates any nice comments or questions you might have, but he understands if you would have more fun just tearing into him. 110 Responses to “Better Late Than Never”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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We can get prospects fot Matsui? doubt it this would count as a salary dump.
Does anyone have evidence that Heilman is slotted for the bullpen? I don’t remember reading anything saying either way, but he was a starter in Winter ball…
Also, you HAVE to start Matsui. Look at it this way:
He’s got a lot of potential. He’s had great months. His contract is large… and he’s older. If he gets in the lineup and does well, we can trade him or keep him. If he fails, at least we’ll KNOW he’s useless, and those good months were unsustainable.
If we bench him to begin with, we’re losing $7M no matter what. It’s a question of utility, and I’d be willing to give Matsui the first 200 AB this season to take a real look at his value/potential, especially with the contract hanging over his head.
Oh… last thing.
If Bobby Cox managed the team, we’d maybe have been two wins better. The burden is on you guys to find the proof that Willie’s lineup construction caused us to miss the playoffs. Even if the gap between Piazza and Wright is .050 in OBP, that means Wright would only get on base 1 out of 20 times that Piazza didn’t in a game-ending situation. The arguments are stupid. Stop hating.
Have you ever met Fire willie ?
Haha. I can’t say I disagree with him usually, but most of the people who are on the fire willie bandwagon a) underestimate what it takes to be a pro manager and b) overstate their influence. Look how many “bad” managers have won and “good” managers never seem to make it there? Public opinion varies WILDLY.
Torre was a genius from 1996-2001… and now he sucks. Surprise. Back in the day he was great at managing players, he was calm, he stuck with his guys, he was a great influence. Today, he can’t manage the bullpen, he’s too serene, he’s stubborn about “his guys”. Pre Yankee Dynasty he was considered a loser too. Please.
And exactly how many World Championships has Bobby Cox won in Atlanta? One.
After 14 years, I’m sure there would be a “FireCox” poster in here! :)
I never thought Torre was ever a managerial genius, even before his Yankee tenure. Torre’s savvy as manager lies in (a) the quality of players he had and (b) the fact that most of his guys will run through walls for him. Since ‘96, he’s had players like Mariano who have been so automatic (mostly) that he could just close his eyes and call them into the game. So despite Torre’s strategic shortcomings, the team won.
I don’t think Torre’s managerial style has changed much at all. His team is a very different cast now, thus the Yankees are just not as good as the O’Neill-Jeter-Brocious-Boggs-Petite days.
Okay, enough….this is a METS SITE!!!!
I think a lot of the frustration directed at Willie ignores the fact the Mets were just not a strong enough playoff contender. I doubt there’s EVER been a time where you could SOLELY blame a manager for a team losing 13 of 15 after being with a few games of the wild card. That’s not saying the team quit, they just were overmatched in a tough division. Omar has filled 2 very key holes that we simply lacked last year: a huge bat at cleanup and a strong closer. IMHO, those 2 additions alone make the Mets far better.
Torre is the worst every season he kills the bullpen by streching them to far. Its sheer luck when they win and the fact they have a former allstars at every position.
[...] Not really a whole lot out there. One website that did not take much time off at all during the holidays was the folks over at MetsGeek.com who pumped out a series of quality articles. Here’s a good one from yesterday about Tom Glavine. I kind of hit on this with the gift article, but I do seem to be feeling more of an air of acceptance with Tom Glavine now than before. A lot of Mets fans seemed wary of him at first, but I think he’s gained their trust and approval. I think he’s proven he’s not an ace, but he’s a fine #2, especially behind Pedro. Meanwhile, the Mets are looking to get into the “Arena owning and operations” business. They want to build on some land set aside in Long Island, to put up a new hockey arena and a minor league baseball field, among other things. Has anybody stopped to think that, by 2012, every team in the New York area could be playing in a new building with the exception of the Rangers and Knicks? That’s kind of crazy. Building a new arena for the Islanders seems to be the peak of craziness. They are building a hockey-only arena for the area’s #3 hockey team, way too far away for anybody to travel out there? That seems nuts. But hey, if it builds more revenues for the Mets, more power to them. [...]