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.
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