Tom Glavine to hang up his spikes?

After leaving during the second inning of his minor league start with shoulder tightness, Tom Glavine’s return to the majors is very much up in the air. Glavine received good news from Dr. James Andrews, his recently repaired shoulder was only experiencing inflammation, but at age 42 how much longer can Glavine go? Especially while feeling the pain.

"For me now, the glass is probably half-empty simply because I'm frustrated and tired with this whole rehab thing," Glavine said. "But at the same time, being as close as I was, I'm not willing to just say, 'OK, that's it.' I'm willing to put in a little more time. But I'm not willing to put in another six weeks to eight weeks, because by then I'm going to have to start all over again, and I'm not interested in doing that."

So does this mean Glavine will be hanging up his spikes before the season is out?

"This [shoulder] has logged a lot of innings," Glavine said. "Sooner or later, it's going to tell me I can't do this anymore. I hope this is not what it's trying to tell me. But I'm prepared if it is."

So basically, his retirement status is still up in the air.

A few months ago this news would have hit me hard. Another member of the Braves of my youth calling it quits. Sometime after Greg Maddux retired and John Smoltz left I realized it’s time to move on. A new crop of stars will populate the Braves universe and hopefully bring home a World Series title and I’ll be totally ok with that. And frankly, from a not selfish stand point, there is no reason for Tommy to put himself through this much work only to see him have another set back a month or two down the road. He’s 42, he’s had a Hall of Fame worthy career, just coming back for a month or two will not change that fact.
(Photo: AP; source)