Glavine Retires; Headed for Hall

Tom Glavine officially announced his retirement yesterday after 22 seasons as a major league pitcher.  Glavine was instrumental in the Braves unprecedented 14 consecutive NL East pennants.  He began his career with the lowly Braves of the late 80s before helping turn the team around going from worst to first in 1991.  The trio of Glavine/Smoltz/Maddux is still one of the best starting rotation in the history of the game.  Glavine won two NL Cy Young awards (1991, 1998) and is fourth on the all-time wins list for left-handed pitchers with 305, behind guys like Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton and Eddie Plank and just ahead of recently retired Randy Johnson.  He pitched his last game in 2008, which makes him eligible for the Hall of Fame induction in 2014, the same year that former teammate and friend Greg Maddux will be eligible.  Glavine went to the New York Mets in 2002 where he eventually won his 300th game before returning to the Braves at the end of 2007.  Glavine will be remembered as one of the good guys both on and off the field.

Lackey in Talks with Red Sox

Reports say that John Lackey is taking a physical for the Red Sox which indicates that a deal must be close. Lackey would be a welcome addition to the Sox rotation however, he better be amazing in order to make up for the Sox’s losses in the lineup. With Lowell on his way to Texas and Jason Bay now likely to follow the money out of Beantown the Sox lineup will take a big hit. Talks between Boston and Adrian Beltre also seem to have hit a standstill leaving a huge hole in the outfield and at third. With the World Series Champion Yankees adding Curtis Granderson to an already stacked lineup and Boston appearing to be heading in the opposite direction, 2010 could be a long season. Hopefully Theo makes some big changes….and soon!