ATLANTA -- The entire Atlanta Braves 25-man roster, coaching staff, some former players and almost 900 fans were in attendance today to watch Greg Maddux become the 21st player in Braves history to enter their Hall of Fame.
Joe Simpson was the Master of Ceremonies today at a luncheon celebrating the career of Greg Maddux, which spanned 11 seasons in Atlanta and ended with the pitcher landing eighth on the all-time wins list with 355 career wins.
Instead of focusing on his four consecutive Cy Young Awards, a feat nobody has ever matched, or his 18 Gold Gloves, fans were treated Friday to stories about Maddux the person and teammate; stories which not only proved his worth as a ball player, but showed us all that Greg Maddux lived, breathed and loved this game, and wanted not only to be the best, but have fun doing so.
When the Atlanta Braves suddenly released two-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine earlier this month shock waves were felt throughout the baseball community. It doesn't matter which side of the "were the Braves right or wrong with how they handled this move" fence you sit, what matters now is the fact that Glavine says that he isn't going to pitch again.
At least not in 2009.
In a text message conversation with FOX 5 Atlanta's Buck Lanford, Glavine said, "I'm not going to pitch or do anything in baseball until at least next year."
It happens. Guys such as Tom Glavine spend much of their baseball careers shining brighter than the sun. Then, when nearly everything surrounding their stardom begins to dim near the end, they just won't leave.
"Believe me, I was ready to retire, and the game went on, just like it did after Babe Ruth retired and when Willie Mays retired, and it's going to continue that way whether folks realize it or not," said Aaron, 75, baseball's legitimate home-run king, chuckling during an exclusive interview with FanHouse. He has spent the last three decades or so as an Atlanta Braves executive, a noted philanthropist through his Chasing the Dream Foundation and an eternal straight-shooter on all sorts of things.
In light of the backlash against the Braves for their handling of Tom Glavine's release, team president John Schuerholz has issued an apology.
But he could conceivably have to offer up more than that.
Glavine could pursue a grievance through the players' union, claiming he was released for financial and not performance reasons, though it would likely be a very difficult case to prove.
The Braves have been adamant that they believe Glavine could not succeed with a fastball in the 82-mph range. But Glavine, 43, was never expected to build up any more velocity than that.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Sorry for the delay, kiddos, on the Power Rankings. I'm sure you spent the entirety of Wednesday wondering "WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE THEY??? WITHOUT THEM I'LL HAVE NOTHING TO BANTER SENSELESSLY ABOUT TO MY CO-WORKERS!!!1" Or something like that. Either way, it's time to debate the worthlessness of your favorite baseball team in numerical form once again. Do enjoy.
The FanHouse Podcast: Because bloggers are much sexier on the phone.
The NBA Finals start tonight and FanHouse columnist Kevin Blackistone is in Los Angeles for Game 1. Before heading to the Staples Center he talked to Will Brinson and Ryan Wilson about what the Magic will need to do to have a chance in the series (apparently, "more J.J. Redick" isn't the correct answer).
Kobe Bryant is the main story, but Kevin also discusses what this could mean for Stan Van Gundy's legacy (while also making the astute observation: "Do we really know that Stan and Jeff are brothers?").
The conversation then turned to the news that Rodney Harrison will join NBC's Football Night in America and Kevin points out that a player suspended for using HGH would never get a studio gig in baseball. We also touch on drug-testing in NASCAR, before Will wonders if Tom Glavine got a raw deal in Atlanta.
Hours before Randy Johnson went for his 300th win, the Braves released the last pitcher to reach the milestone.
Rather than pay $1 million to activate Tom Glavine from the disabled list, with $2.5 million more in possible bonuses down the line, Atlanta released him.
Agent Gregg Clifton said in an interview on the MLB Network that Glavine "definitely" will pitch again in the majors.
"We've already had a number of teams call us in the last few hours," Clifton said. "Tom has said to me he's not retiring. He feels good."
Glavine, 43, has a 305-203 career record, with 244 of his wins coming for Atlanta (but No. 300 with the Mets).
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That umpire Todd Tichenor made quite a name for himself in a big league cameo as a vacation replacement. Tichenor, a 32-year-old Triple-A ump, ejected both managers and both starting catchers in one inning of the Red Sox-Twins game on Thursday afternoon.
"Sometimes, those things happen -- everybody handles thing differently," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "It looked like he had his hands full today."
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was tossed for the 43rd time in his career. An expert on ejections, he said that Tichenor acted too quickly. Tichenor did not make himself available to the media to explain himself.
In the top of the seventh, Twins catcher Mike Redmond argued with Tichenor after he called Jeff Bailey safe at home. Redmond got ejected, and then Gardenhire got ejected when he came out. In the bottom of the inning, Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett and catcher Jason Varitek both expressed their displeasure at not getting a called third strike. Tichenor ejected Varitek and then Francona, who came out to defend his catcher.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
With the recent news that Mark DeRosa is on the trade block and the White Sox have possibly landed Jake Peavy, junkies of major league baseball trade rumors got an early glimpse at what promises to be a very interesting July. It's far to0 early to know exactly who will be in the market for what -- or who can afford to take on temporary payroll in this economy -- but it's certainly fun to speculate. Let's do it.
NEW YORK – Tom Glavine, baseball's only non-retired 300-game winner, could return to action for the Braves in less than three weeks.
Then again, Glavine is more day-to-day in his mindset than ever before.
"I'm 75-85 percent confident I'll get back out there," Glavine, 43, said Monday before the Braves played the Mets.
"I'm more prone to live in the moment than at any time in my career. ... I want to get back out there. I want to go back out there and pitch. I don't want to end my career with an injury. But if it doesn't work out, I'm perfectly fine going home."
ATLANTA -- The entire Atlanta Braves 25-man roster, coaching staff, some former players and almost 900 fans were in attendance today to watch Greg Maddux become the 21st player in Braves history to enter their Hall of Fame.
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MLB Power Rankings
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Hours before Randy Johnson went for his 300th win, the Braves released the last pitcher to reach the milestone.
Starting Five
NEW YORK – 
