Tom Glavine tells Newsday’s Ken Davidoff that he wouldn’t mind seeing a former teammate join the Mets’ starting rotation.
“I’ve certainly mentioned it to Omar,” Glavine said yesterday, before the Mets’ 6-5 loss to Cincinnati. “I don’t know how serious that is, or anything like that. I’m sure every team that’s in contention would love to have a chance to get Smoltzie, but I would still find it hard to believe that they would be in a position that they would trade him.”
Me, too. I’d bet two weeks of Glavine’s current salary that John Smoltz, miserable as the Braves’ empire crumbles around him, would conclude both this season and his career in Atlanta.
But from Glavine’s proactive heads-up to his general manager, one can confidently infer a couple of items:
1. Smoltz, who speaks regularly to his former Braves teammate Glavine, is quite unhappy with the Braves, despite his attempts to backtrack from his original comments that set off a mini-firestorm.
2. More relevant to the Mets, their concerns about the back end of their starting rotation haven’t been assuaged. Even though they’re in such control of the National League East, still 9 1/2 games in front, that they can essentially shrug away ugly sights like Billy Wagner’s collapse against the Reds last night.
Eric Milton has a 1-0 lead against the Mets this afternoon thru 1 1/2, as Cincinnati attempts to take 3 of 4 during their midweek visit to Shea. Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca have the afternoon off, but presumably they’re available to pinch-hit or polish Lasting Milledge’s jewelry if need be.