After having to leave through three innings last night, ex-Met Tom Glavine is headed to the DL with a strained left elbow. Glavine has been average at best thus far, with a 2-3 record through 12 starts with a 4.85 ERA. This is only Glavine’s 2nd stint on the DL throughout his 22 year career.

According to the Camden Riversharks, an independent league team, the Braves have added depth that is familiar to the Mets. They purchased the contract of SP Brian Lawrence, who made six starts between August and September for the Mets last year. Lawrence had been pitching for the independent league Camden Riversharks and will be assigned to AAA.

The Braves placed ailing SP Tom Glavine on the DL for the first time in his 22 season career. He was preparing to make his next start, but team doctors decided that his wounded hamstring needs more time to heal.

His DL stint is retroactive to April 14th. Taking his place on the roster is SP Chuck James from AAA Richmond.

My feelings are torn about Glavine, but all I can say for now is that even the best fall down sometimes.

Tom Glavine left today’s Brave game without having recorded an out.  He appears to have suffered a hamstring injury. He faced four Nat’s batters, giving up 3 hits and a walk before the injury sidelined him. It joins an occasion in 89 and The Game That Shalt Not Be Mentioned as one of his shortest outings of his career.Glavine entered todays game with a 0.79 ERA and a 0-0 record over two starts. He’s given up just one earned run and ten hits.

Last season, I watched Opening Day from Row U of the Upper Deck of Shea Stadium. This year, having advanced in age, I decided to watch Opening Day from the comforts of the couch in my rec room. Each method of game-watching has its advantages. As it turns out, I’m very glad I didn’t have to wait for the 7 train amongst a mass of angry fans after the disaster that took place out on the field yesterday.

Before I get into the negatives from the game (and of course, there were plenty), let me mention two very small positives to take away. I enjoyed the cut of the outfield grass. I can’t remember seeing Shea in that particular triangle pattern before, and the contrast in greens really showed up well on the broadcast. Our stadium looked as good as it can in its final opener.

Also, I was weirdly happy for the home plate umpire, veteran Doug Eddings. Eddings has had his share of hard times (see his indecisive umpiring in Game Two of the 2005 ALCS for the most obvious example), but maybe those hard times forced him to perfect his craft. I think I agreed with every one of his ball and strike calls—and I never agree with the home plate umpire on balls and strikes. Not only that, Eddings was clear, immediately declaring “ball outside” or “ball low” as soon as the pitch hit the catcher’s mitt. He’s come full circle from his own Buckneresque moment of a few years’ back. If we get quality umpiring like this all season, I’ll have that much less heartburn.

Unfortunately, neither of these positives has anything to do with the quality of our baseball team, but I think right now we should take whatever victories we can get.

The game itself started to go bad for us when Oliver Perez walked the 45-year-old opposing pitcher who was trying to sacrifice bunt. It continued to go bad when every other one of our pitchers continued to walk everyone else. Met pitchers had seven walks yesterday against two strikeouts. That’s just not going to get it done against a good team.

Then, of course, we have the glaringly obvious problems with our team that were on full display in the home opener. 1) Our manager doesn’t know how to use his bullpen. Many of us have been saying it over and over—Scott Schoeneweis should never face a righty. And yet Willie Randolph had Show in there against two righties yesterday. Unfortunately, I don’t expect this to change. Show faced more righties than lefties last year. Utterly ridiculous. 2) Carlos Delgado is not good at playing first base. His lack of defense was much less of a problem when he was hitting 38 home runs. Now that those days are past him, it’s clear we’re going to get well-below-average production from the first base position this year, much as we did last year. 3) Many of our guys are old. Case in point, 32-year-old Luis Castillo pulls himself out of the game (presumably because it was too cold out), and he is replaced by someone six years older. A lot of our regulars are teetering on the brink of the DL all the time, and we’ll have to deal with it all season long. 4) We’re just not that good, especially without Pedro Martinez. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Over our last 162 games, we are now 86-76. Even if Johan Santana adds five wins to our total (and that’s a monster number for one player to add, considering that he’s replacing a serviceable major league pitcher in Glavine), that makes us a 91-win team. Ninety-one wins would be all fine and good, but it’s foolish to think we’re an elite team who can threaten 95 or 100 wins. We’re a decent team, but certainly a flawed team, at least for now—and we’re going to need some things to go right to beat out the Braves and Phillies for the division title.

But there is always hope. Today, hope comes in the form of our beleaguered starter Mike Pelfrey. I think I speak for all of us when I say Go Big Pelf! Let’s put the seven walks, one error, and two passed balls behind us and let’s actually enjoy baseball tonight. Let’s Go Mets!

For Fox Sports, John Halpin writes a prediction (or two) for every NL team.  However, his prediction isn’t about wins and losses, its about individual players.  For the Mets, he writes about Jose Reyes:

Reyes scored 119 runs and stole 78 bases last year, so this phrase is going to seem strange: Now he’s going to get really good.

The 24-year-old shortstop progressed from hacker in 2005 (27 walks) to very patient hitter in 2007 (77 walks). With improved patience often comes power, and because of Reyes’ age, I’m willing to chalk up his second-half slump last year to the team-wide malaise that affected the Mets, whether it makes sense or not. We could get a .300 average, 20 home runs, and the same numbers of steals and runs from Reyes, and that would be phenomenal. Hanley Ramirez, watch your back.

I love it, let’s just hope its true.

Spiteful Mets fans also might be happy about the fact that Halpin predicts that Tom Glavine’s ERA will be above 5.00.

Peter Gammons of ESPN has reported that the Mets don’t currently have the trading chips to acquire one of the Athletics pitchers, Dan Haren or Joe Blanton. They were also denied a trade for Erik Bedard late last week. With that said, it may be time for the Mets to look elsewhere. Here is a list of potential targets and what they are valued at.

LHP Dontrelle Willis (Florida Marlins) - The Marlins have stated that they are willing to listen to offers for Willis, though they are expected to retain him for the 2008 season, or at least until the July 31st trading deadline. Willis is coming off his worst season of his career, going 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA. Throughout the past three seasons, Willis’ strikeout to walk ratio has decreased each season. In 2005, Willis struck out 170 while walking 55. The following season in 2006, he notched 160 strike outs while walking 83. Finally, last season, he struck out 146 and walked 86.

Potential Suitors: Mets, Reds, Mariners, and Diamondbacks

Cost: Two young players

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Bartolo Colon (Free Agent) - Colon could definitely be a high-reward/high-risk signing for any team that picks him up. He has played only 28 starts due to his battle with shoulder and elbow problems since the beginning of the 2006 season. Omar once traded prospects Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips in a deal for Colon when he was general manager for the Expos.

Potential Suitors: Mets, Padres, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Mariners, Nationals

Cost: One-year, $9 million deal or two-year, $16 million

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Carlos Silva (Free Agent) - The 28-year old Silva currently leads a very thin market of starting pitchers. He went 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA for the Twins last season and figures to cash in at around $10 million a season with another team. Plenty of teams remain interested in him, though most of them plan to use him as a fall back option and prefer to look to the trade market before committing a large contract to him.

Potential Suitors: Mets, Royals, Cardinals, Tigers, Phillies

Cost: 4-Years, $40 million

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Livan Hernandez (Free Agent) - Hernandez is an innings eater. He has not pitched less than 200 innings in any season since 1999. He went 11-11 with a 4.93 ERA for the Diamondbacks last season. The Mets lost a 200 inning pitcher in Glavine to the Braves via free agency and they need to find a way to fill those lost innings. The team have made it known that Livan is more likely a Plan C or D. The fact that his half-brother El Duque is on this team and his history with Omar in Montreal makes him a strong candidate to be a Met in 2008.

Potential Suitors: Mets, Astros, Cardinals

Cost: Three-years, $21 million

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Hiroki Kuroda (Free Agent) - The 33-year old right hander went 12-8 in 26 starts with a 3.56 ERA for the Hiroshima Carp last season in Japan. Scouts project him to become a middle of the rotation starter in the MLB. Conflicting reports have come out recently that the Mariners have have offered him a contract. One report says that it was for three-years, $30 million. The other states that they offered him four-year, $44 million.

Potential Suitors: Mets, Mariners, Dodgers, Royals, Phillies, Cubs, Rangers

Cost: Four-year deal, $45 million

Tom Glavine told reporters at his press conference today that he was never considering coming back to the Mets in 2008, reports Don Burke of the Star Ledger.

“Honestly, had I decided to play and was faced with having to do it in New York or somewhere else, I honestly don’t think I would have played. I think that would have been the end for me because it’s just not worth …being away from my family.”

Glavine was complimentary about his time with the Mets, but missed being a part of the Braves organization throughout his time in New York. Glavine said he realized on the weekend the Mets were eliminated from the National League East playoff race that he had to choice but to return to Atlanta.

According to FOXSports.com, former Mets ace Tom Glavine will be returning home next season to Atlanta as he has signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Braves. Glavine has reportedly already taken a physical for the team.

Glavine, who is undoubtedly a hall of fame pitcher, notched his 300th win with the Mets last season. In 34 starts, he went 13-8 with a 4.45 ERA.

Glavine’s last start in a Mets uniform was his worst. With the season on the line, Glavine failed to retire more than two batters, but gave up 7 earned runs in the process.

Glavine is a Type-A free agent, and by signing with the Braves before December 1st, the Mets receive the Braves 18th overall draft pick in the 2008 amateur draft as well as a supplemental pick.

David Wright was a supplemental pick in the 2001 draft and Scott Kazmir was the 15th pick overall in the 2002 draft.

Martin Gandy at Braves blog Talkin Chop isn’t thrilled about the Mets taking away the Braves first round pick.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the offer made to Tom Glavine is worth around $7 million, a one-year deal.

Glavine declined a $13 million option to return to the Mets this year.

Glavine’s agent, Gregg Clifton, believes a deal could be struck as early as today.