Tom and I have a love/hate relationship with each other. I have always been a Braves fan and after the 2002 season, he basically spit in my face, called my momma names and ran over my dog. Now you can say Glavine wanted more money or that John Schuerholz just screwed the whole thing up, but I'm sticking with the theory that it was all Glavine's fault.
YES!!!!!!!! Finally I found someone who agrees with me on Tommy Turncoat! There's at least one other person who won't look at me funny or flat out call me "not a true Braves fan" just because I don't like Tom Glavine. I understand all the reasons why I should like him and I should be glad he's back. But I don't. I'm not going to like him ever again. Am I glad he'll be pitching for the Braves in 2008? Sure. I wish he had pitched for them in 2007, to be honest (and so do the Mets). He'll be a decent back of the rotation option who will win 10 games or so assuming the arm doesn't fall off. He's only getting 8 million a year which isn't that bad assuming he can eat up 150-180 good innings. Giving up our 1st round draft pick to the Mets while we get nothing for Andruw galls me, but that's a front office problem. Do I hope he'll pitch well and maybe even stick around the organization awhile? Sure, although I don't want him anywhere near out postseason roster. I'm not going to flat out boo him anymore, but he'll have to do something spectacular for me to cheer for him.
I've spouted off on why the whole 2002 thing pissed me off so badly before and I'm not rehashing it here. Every time I do so I seemingly get flack about how I don't know the full details of Tom's contract or the negotiation between him and Schuerholz and that's true, I don't. I do know something about a simple economic concept called an Opportunity Cost. Opportunity cost means that if someone uses an economic resource in one way, the cost is that it can't be used in another way. For example, if you sell a piece of land, you can't build a house to live in on it. If you eat the box of cookies you got from Grandma, you can't bring them to the New Year's party to share. (burp) If you pay your mortgage, you won't be able to buy that three-box case of Sport Kings. And so on.
I don't think anyone disputes that Tom got a better monetary offer from the Mets, although the amount is in dispute. Tom got more money to go to the Mets, but what was the cost? First he didn't have Andruw Jones snagging fly balls behind him in center field and instead relied on Jeff Duncan, Timo Perez and Tsuyoshi Shinjo to catch his fly balls. His ERA jumped a full run and a half that first season, so take that how you will. Who knows who would win the division if he stayed with the Braves, but other than 2006 he sure didn't have any postseason opportunities. What about his family? Tom has been really weepy about how he hated to leave his family behind when he signed with the Mets. Why wasn't that taken into account when he decided he simply could not work with Schuerholz? Again, an opportunity cost that doesn't show up in the Accountant's books, but is much more real than any line in a ledger. How about advertising opportunities? I seem to remember him having a few local endorsement deals here in the ATL, did he make as much in New York? If he stayed here, he would be first in line to take up Hank Aaron's mantle as Mr. Brave. How many future opportunities would that have given to Tom? Now he's a great player who will still get sponsor deals in Atlanta, but they're sure not naming the street in front of the stadium after him. Tom got more money, but also gave up a lot to get that extra cash. I'll root for him at a game (as long as he doesn't have one of his patented first inning meltdowns), I'll still collect his cards and I'm glad that he'll (likely) end his career with the Braves and go into the Hall with an A on his cap. But after the crap he pulled in 2002, I simply can never be a devoted fan ever again, and there are others who agree with me. One more cost of putting on that Mets uniform.
3 comments:
Wow. A whole post dedicated to my/our hatred of Tom Glavine. I will say that him resigning with the Braves has taken the edge off my total and complete hatred of him, but I still don't fully trust the guy. Like I stated in the blog, I could see this coming since '94 when he was representing the players (but who was actually right in the whole strike thing is another issue). I knew back then there was something fishy and I was 11 or 12 at the time. I mean when a kid can tell you that something is wrong with the way things were happening that deals with complex economic issues, that's gotta say something. And this is weird timing, but there will be a Glavine centric post tomorrow as I found some goodies as I was going through some of my cards at the parents house over Christmas.
Heh, taken the edge off is the perfect phrase. If he would have signed last year and gotten #300 with the Braves, I might have liked him again. Now I just feel mild disdain. I hope that he can post some good innings in '08 and that the Mets bungle the draft pick. I'm looking forward to your Glavine post! :)
here's links to my 2 blogs
www.baseballcardsandmore.blogspot.com
www.cardtradeblog.blogspot.com
I havent done to much on the 2nd one because i haven't had to many people trade with me.
Post a Comment