Tommy Knocking

Well, Tom Glavine finally decided which team was going to take him to the prom, the Mets. My first reaction is that it's always a shame when a Hall-of-Famer leaves the team that he's always played for to finish out his career elsewhere. I don't know why, but it just does. Those rumors of Mike Schmidt ending his career in St. Louis, for example. It just seems wrong.

My next reaction was that my Phils lost their Bell-Thome-Glavine trifecta, which was a shame. The next reaction was relief that the Phillies didn't end up breaking the bank to givehim the 4 years at $44 M he had been asking for. Now, maybe they can pursue potentially as good or better pitchers (Maddux and Clemens) whose demands are potentially not a s high.

My last thought was that if Glavine bombs, this has to be the last straw for Steve Phillips. Phillips survived the ineffectual roster resctructing of the last offseason but just barely. Another high-profile acquisition that does not pan out might be anough to tip the scales against Phillips.

Besides, should the number one priority for the Mets be a 36-year-old starting pitcher when they have so many holes on offense? The whole left side of their infield is in flux. The right side was a disappointment last year. And their outfield, as always, is a mess. Why didn't the Mets, just go out and re-sign Steve Trachsel, who has been tremendous over the last year and one half and then use the remaining cash to re-build their offense. Well, maybe it has more to do with filling the seats for the Mets' multi-tiered pricing strategy in 2003.