Normally there is nothing fake about left-hander Tom Glavine, as normal and decent a person as one would want to meet anywhere, never mind in a major league clubhouse. But his smile in recent days looks forced, because it is.
Glavine is not a loud guy but his quiet confidence commands a room, so his subdued demeanor these days is significant. And understandable. On the 15-day disabled list for the second time this season after never having been on it in his career (first, a strained right hamstring; now a strained left flexor tendon), Glavine deals with a sensation many injured players encounter -- not feeling like a true part of the team because they are unable to go out on the field.
Glavine's ruminations are amplified by the fact that he doesn't like uncertainty. As he continues to rest his left elbow for the prescribed number of weeks, he has no idea what the outcome of his forced inaction will be.
If he does nothing now and that solves the problem, well, then, the time has been an investment.
If he does nothing and that does not solve the problem, then that is time wasted. That is time that could have been spent in rehab, if surgery turns out to be necessary.
Glavine is in the same boat as his longtime friend John Smoltz, who is out for the season following right shoulder surgery and various related repairs. No matter how well they come back from these injuries, neither knows whether there will be room for them on the Braves' roster next season. And neither would want to play anywhere else. But both still feel the desire to pitch. At least for now.
PHILLIES 7, BRAVES 3: RHP Jorge Campillo made "the pitch of the game" to Ryan Howard in the third inning, and Howard knocked a three-run homer out of the park with one hand. The Braves failed again with runners in scoring position; 1B Mark Teixeira hooked one just foul with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
