Glavine Sharp In Triple-A Start

((HT: AJC/Vivlamore))

Tom Glavine ((pictured, thanks Johnny Crawford/AJC)) proclaimed himself nearly ready to return to the major leagues — in word and deed.

Glavine threw five scoreless innings and earned his first minor-league win in 22 years for the Class AAA Gwinnett Braves Thursday in a rehab start against Indianapolis. He gave up six hits, striking out two and walking one. He left the game with a 7-0 lead and the G-Braves went on to win 11-6.

Glavine said he will pitch again Tuesday, either with the Atlanta club or in a final minor league rehab start. That game would come at Class A Rome against Augusta.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m 100 percent thrilled with my location," said Glavine, who has been on the disabled list all season while recovering from shoulder and elbow surgeries last August. “I’m 100 percent thrilled with my stuff but not necessarily with my location. But, hey, I might throw a side session on Saturday or Sunday and say ‘Boom, there it is.’ We’ll play that by ear.”

Glavine said he expected to speak with the Braves about his plans by today.

“I’m going to pitch another [rehab game] Tuesday or I’m going to pitch in the big leagues Tuesday,” Glavine said. “I think part of that will be largely on how I feel about where I am and how I would feel about going in and pitching to a big league lineup right now. The other part is going to be how I feel. So far, I felt good during the course of the game and everything I’ve experienced after I go out there and throw has been pretty consistent.”

Glavine threw 67 pitches Thursday, 41 for strikes. He was consistently in the low-80s on the radar gun, but his fastball occasionally reached 86 mph. In his previous start last Saturday, he gave up three earned runs and five hits in a three innings also for Gwinnett, when he threw 56 pitches, 33 for strikes.

“I did a much better job of pitching than the other night,” Glavine said. “I felt like my location was a lot better.”

Glavine got out of two jams with double plays. In the third inning, he escaped a first-and-third, no-out situation with a foul-out and a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. In the fifth, Indianapolis put runners at first and second with no outs after a double and a walk. Glavine induced a 5-4-3 double play and then ended his day by fielding a sharp come-backer.

“If I hadn’t got my glove up, it would have hit me in the mouth,” Glavine said.

The 43-year-old lefthander suffered a setback April 12 when he re-aggravated his shoulder swinging the bat in a rehab start for Class AA Mississippi. Thursday he took his first live at-bats since the injury. He had a two-strike sacrifice bunt in the second inning and looked at three straight strikes in the fourth.

“I’m not going to say I’m not concerned about [hitting], but it’s not like I’m going up there afraid to swing the bat,” Glavine said. “I’ve been swinging the bat at the ballpark, taking BP, and I haven’t had any problems… . I know at some point I’m going to have to swing the bat and I fully intend to do it but for right now, I’m more concerned with going out there and getting comfortable, building arm strength and those types of things. I don’t think they care too much about my hitting.”

Glavine was 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA in 13 Atlanta starts in 2008 before season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow and clean out wear-and-tear damage to the shoulder.

He had never been on the DL before last season.

The 305-game winner is working on a one-year, $1-million contract that includes up to $3.5 million in bonuses, including $1 million if he makes the active roster.

"Gwinnett" Glavine Struggles In Rehab Start

((HT: AJC/Jeff Schultz))

After extensive rehab and a setback or two, he was owned by the Toledo Mud Hens, which is not the way a legend wants to end it. He threw two shutout innings, then was tagged for an RBI triple and a two-run homer in the third, before exiting for an ice bag.

There was some good news. Glavine ((pictured, thanks Jason Getz/AJC)) had strength, just little control. On a lighter note, Clint Sammons’ three-run homer in the fourth got him off the hook. “That’s good — I won’t get my first minor-league loss in 20-something years,” he said.

He’s trying to keep it real. He’s encouraged but that’s it. He admitted before the game, “There’s some days it doesn’t feel great and I’m like, ‘You know, what are you doing this for?’ But I just think if I didn’t find out if I could do this, I’d be kicking myself. … Having had the surgery I had and putting in all the work, I just can’t find it in my heart to say no. I’ve got to find out.”

Eight-plus months of rehab will wear anybody down. Glavine has an acceptance level about retirement that wasn’t evident before.

“The way things have gone, I’m a little more open-minded to things happening,” he said. “I’m just in the mind-set of: I’m going to push it and try to go. If everything goes well and I can come back, great. If not, at least I tried.”