Robert Christy's Blog
Posted by Robert Christy
Tom Glavine has decided that Atlanta isn't the place to be after all. He's made the decision to resign with the New York Mets for at least another year. In doing so, his 1 year contract will pay him $10.5 million.
Specifically, he'll earn $7.5mm in salary for 2007. There's a vesting option for 2008 that ranges from $9-$13mm. The contract also includes a buyout of $3mm should the Mets choose to not resign him for 2008.
Glavine, who lives in the North Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, wanted to return to Atlanta and finish his career with the team he started with.
John Schuerholz, the Braves GM, worked hard to get a deal done, but simply ran out of time. Glavine had promised the Mets a decision before the winter meetings which start on Monday.
The hurdle that Schuerholz faced was the salary cap. The Braves have a firm cap set at $80mm and as of right now, have little room to work with. The Braves are rumored to be shopping both 2B Marcus Giles and RHP Tim Hudson. Without a trade in hand for either, the Braves GM wasn't in a good position to make Glavine and offer.
Glavine, who is 40, will start 2007 just 10 wins shy of 300. The future Hall of Fame candidate is a 2 time Cy Young Award winner and was the MVP of the 1995 World Series. He finished 2006 with a 15-7 record and his ERA was 3.82.
Schuerholz said he was disappointed that he couldn't get something done because he wanted to reunite Glavine and John Smoltz so that they could end their careers together in Atlanta.
Posted by Robert Christy
At last week's baseball winter meetings, Paul Snyder was named the 2006 "King of Baseball" by Minor League Baseball. He was honored for his years of dedicated service to the sport.
Snyder, 67, is the director of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves.
To be honest, I've never heard of this award. From what I've read, this is a REALLY big deal. I spend a little time here and there looking over the minor league reports, but this one really jumped out at me.
When you think of the number of people in baseball below the major league level, it makes sense to honor people who have given their lives to the sport they love.
Snyder has been in baseball his entire adult life having served as the Braves director of scouting for years. Some of the players he is responsible for signing include: Bob Horner, Dale Murphy, Tommy Glavine, Chipper Jones, David Justice and Javy Lopez to name just a few.
When you look at the Braves record of success, GM John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox get most of the credit for all of the Division titles. The keystone of their success is the breadth and depth of the minor league system. Paul Snyder is the person responsible for best minor league system in baseball. No mention of the Braves minor league system is complete without mentioning the contributions of Paul Snyder.
For Snyder, the honors didn't stop there. He was also named as one of Baseball America's 25 most influential people in baseball over the past 25 years. Other Braves making that list include General Manager John Scherholz and CF Andruw Jones.
Posted by Robert Christy
Major League Baseball Commissioner Bug Selig has told reporters that he'll step down at the end of his current contract and retire.
Selig's tenure as commissioner started in 1992 and will have spanned 17 years at the end. His biggest achievement will have been to change the economic landscape of baseball by introducing revenue sharing among the teams and imposing a luxury tax on big-spending teams.
On the other side of the coin, he led baseball to the brink of destruction which resulted in strike of 1994. And who can forget the shameful tie in the All-Star game. Does anyone remember the relocation issues? What about the Expos moving out of Canada? He tried to eliminate the Twins even though his Brewers were in a smaller market and drew fewer fans.
I think he'll be mostly remembered for his inaction on the drugs and steroid issue. His head in the sand approach allowed the situation to fester for years.
I've been in baseball a long time. I know a lot of the players, coaches and umpires. Were steroids a problem? No question. Still are. That's only the tip of the iceberg, though. What about the uppers or "greenies", the pain pills, the new-age vitamin pills, growth hormone, etc. Players gobble these like M & Ms.
Drugs are still a problem and will be until a strong commissioner sits down with the players and gets all of the dirty laundry out in the open.
Bud Selig was a weak owner and even a weaker commissioner. I hope the next person appointed commissioner will be better for baseball.
