The Betting Man's Best Friend

I know by the title it makes it sound like this was an easy victory and I was not worried at. This was not the case. On the march afternoon when Sam and I made the bet that Tom GlavinE would win 15games in the coming season I was fairly confident because since the All-Star break of the previous season he has won over 10 game.

Through the first half of the season Glavine accumulated 11 wins and was the first in the majors to 8, 9, and 10. However Glavine started going down hill the day he got his 11^th win. He pitched on three days rest and gave up 7 runs but still managed the win. Between July and Aug he got two more wins raising his total to 13. By this point mark and I were already in Rochester. This is where Mark informed me of the news that blood clots were found in Glavine’s pitching shoulder and it could be career ending. Needless to say this did not bode well for the bet. When all of a sudden I received a ray of light in the form of a text message. It was Sam’s order, a large cheese pie. The over confidence was a great sign because these premature declarations of victory often do not end well for the over zealous party. Glavine ended up missing 15 days.

Tom was reinserted in a six-man rotation, decreasing the total number of starts he had remaining. I was constantly going back to the schedule to recalculate how many chances he would have. The 14^th win came in dramatic fashion. Glavine pitched 8 strong innings but was on the short end of the stick. In the bottom of the 8^th Glavine was pulled from the game. It seemed like another wasted change but Michael Tucker single in the wining run. Tom pitched like shit his next start so it was down to his final start and the second to last game of the season.

Glavine got his 15^th win with the backing of 13 runs to his 6 scoreless innings. It was all to appropriate that Julio Franco had 5 of the first 6 RBI (including and 3 run homer in the first) because for the last two weeks whenever Franco would come to bat Mark and I would start with our “why are you putting him in, all he does in ground out,” “why is this guy even still on the team, send Woody up there,” and so on.

I know Lim will want to comment about Pedro being out till the next All-Star break. However even if he never pitches another game as a Met he will be worth every penny. Without Pedro, Beltran and Wagner would have never signed. But more importantly he brought the winning attitude and clubhouse charisma they have today.

So while some of you might make fun of Sam and his Natty bets for anything, I salute him. It truly was a great battle…Almost like facing a ninja. Yes, Ninja Sam....