Will He Stay Or Will He Go? DANANA-NANA-NANANA

To Mark Bowman's Mailbag! What nice ditties hath he for us today?

With Tom Glavine filing for free agency, what are the odds of him becoming an Atlanta Brave?
-- Jordan U., Scranton, Pa.

As much as I'd like to see Glavine back in Atlanta to win his 300th game, I just don't see it happening. The Braves don't need him as much as the Mets and won't be able to financially match the offers made by New York.

The Braves don't need him as much as the Mets? Ummmmmm... I'd say Glavine is needed by both teams equally. I have zero confidence in Kyle Davies and Horacio Ramirez, and I would like to see Ramirez gone. Someone else in the Braves system can be developed to be better than him, I'm certain of that. Whoever it is, I don't know, but anyone can probably be more consistent than Ramirez was last year.

There's no doubt in my mind that Glavine would love to end his career with the Braves. Thus, he's holding out hope that Atlanta would overwhelm him with an unexpected offer.

Or not. They don't have the money to spare, that is the impression I get.

But by keeping the Braves in the mix, he's also putting pressure on the Mets to make their best possible offer. This combined with the fact that Pedro Martinez's future is unknown provides him great leverage in his negotiations with his current employer.

Ding ding ding! Give the man a prize, he knows something! :D

Until the Mets decline to exercise their option on Nov. 20, the Braves can't even give Glavine any indication of what they'd be willing to offer. But unless a high-salaried player like Tim Hudson or Andruw Jones was moved, it doesn't look like they would be able to offer anything more than a $7 million annual salary.

That would be stupid to move Andruw just to get Glavine for one or two years. No one will take Tim Hudson and his huge contract, as I said, after his career-worst year.

Of course, if Atlanta deals somebody like Hudson or Jones, Glavine may see this as a move that decreases the Braves' chances of getting into the postseason. Thus, that could lead him back to the Mets, who have the finances to fill their many needs.

HA! Moving Tim Hudson INCREASES the Braves' postseason chances just by getting rid of his horrible inconsistency! As I said, I'm certain that anyone can step in and perform better than him. ANYONE. Make Oscar Villarreal a starter, I don't care, just get Hudson as far away from the Braves as possible.

As for getting into the postseason altogether, the Braves need pitching, pitching and more pitching. Their offense was very good last season. Even without a true leadoff hitter and super, they still were third in runs per game in the National League.

If the Braves were in desperate need to strengthen their starting rotation,

If? IF?! They ARE!!

they may be more apt to do whatever necessary to bring Glavine back. But with John Smoltz, Mike Hampton and Hudson currently in place, there isn't a need for desperation.

Smoltz good. Hudson crap. Hampton BIG question mark. Davies and Ramirez super crap. Seems like a good time for a remedy to me.

Over the next few weeks, you'll continue to hear Glavine say he'd like to do whatever is best for his family, which still resides in Atlanta. This obviously leads one to believe he'd be willing to provide the Braves a great discount.

Although he's likely already financially set, I just don't see this happening. He's a sharp individual who understands his business both on and off the field. Thus, he'll keep a poker face over the next few weeks and force the Mets to provide him their best possible offer.

I agree with this, but that's all. The Braves need to have Glavine, or at the very least someone like him; a stablilizing force in the roation. Kyle Davies and Horacio Ramirez are NOT stabilizing forces by any stretch of the imagination. Someone else needs to be in there.