Tom Glavine has been rehabbing his shoulder, and was expected to start for the Braves any day now. Instead, he’s been released. The 43 year-old and 305 game winner said via text message that he was “surprised and disappointed,” adding that he’s ready to pitch.

In a prepared statement general manager Frank Wren said: “We appreciate and respect everything Tom has done for and brought to the Atlanta Braves organization and our fans. His accomplishments for our club during his Hall of Fame career is a measure of his dedication that we will always respect and admire. We wish him nothing but the best.”

Tommy Hanson, regarded by many as the best pitching prospect in the minors, is scheduled to start in Glavine’s place Saturday against the Brewers. He’s 3-3 with a 1.49 ERA, a .169 opponents’ batting average, and has 90 strikeouts and 17 walks in 66 innings.

[AJC]

When I first saw that Manny Ramirez received a 50 game suspension for performance enhancing drugs, I kinda shrugged. I didn’t think he was on them in the past, but at the same time, I’m done acting shocked when I find out a great home run hitter is juicing it up.

But after the story first surfaced, it’s now being said that he didn’t test positive for steroids or HGH, and that it’s something that was prescribed to him from a personal doctor.

I’m sure more and more will come out to this. And though he wasn’t right, as The Big Lead points out, you can probably chalk some points up to Jose Canseco.

As is, Ramirez is looking at a 50 game suspension, which will cost him just over $7 million.

[ESPN]

What’s better than being 6-0, having an ERA of 0.40, playing for a team that was supposed to stink and doesn’t, largely because of what you’re doing?

Well, being able to go home after pitching long nine innings to tag this…. that might be better. Zack Greinke’s fiance. Not bad at all. Kind of funny how it takes a really hot girl to talk about the Kansas City Royals.

[The Big Lead]

Here’s the Power Rankings over at ESPN, where they have the Marlins, 11-1, rightfully in the No. 1 spot. They’re followed by the Dodgers, Cubs, Blue Jays and Cards. With four of the five in the NL, is the power shifting? Or does anyone really even give a damn about power rankings, anyway?

Over at Fox Sports, Florida is No. 1, followed by the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Padres and Cubs.

Not that any of their opinions really matter, but it’s always cool to read about how well your team is doing. And when your team is the Braves, it’s always depressing to watch them fall from No. 1 to No. 15 in less than a week. A .190 batting average over the course of five games willl do that to you.

[ESPN]
[Fox Sports]

Instead of doing my own, I’ve promised to post the MLB Power Rankings for CBS, Fox Sports, and ESPN. ESPN and Fox Sports had theirs out the other day; today, CBS released their power rankings. At the top is the Cubs, followed by the Rays (3 losses — really?), followed by the Braves (who can’t hit the Marlins), followed by the Cardinals and Dodgers to round out the top 5. Enjoy.

[CBS Sportsline]

How do you go from having runners on first and second with no outs, to having no runners and being out of the inning? Just ask Cincinnati. They’ll be able to explain it to you. Props to the Reds for being the first team to give up a triple play, and so soon into the season.

UPDATE: I had the video posted, but it’s screwing up the whole site right now (for whatever reason, it’s a larger sized Youtube video than most). Anyway, you can view it here, or just take my word that it was the first triple play. It wasn’t anything amazing. It’s a slow day in sports, people — we’re left with nothing but baseball and the end of a pointless NBA season.

Here’s the link to the Power Rankings on ESPN. And here’s the link to the rankings on Fox Sports. CBS Sportsline is yet to have theirs out, though I’ll keep a watchful eye and update the post when they’re delivered. A couple of notes:

• The top three in both are comprised of the Marlins, Braves, and Cardinals. ESPN likes the Braves more than the Marlins; Fox Sports is the other way around. Both think St. Louis is the third best team one week in.
• Fox Sports really likes the Mariners at No. 5; ESPN thinks they’re barely inside the top 10, putting them at No. 9.
• Both believe the Astros and Nationals are the two worst teams in baseball, with the Nationals taking the cake for being the lousiest. Fox Sports believes the Indians are the third worst team, while ESPN says they’re better than San Francisco and Milwaukee, who both have one more win.

[ESPN]
[Fox Sports]

In sad news today, Harry Kalas, voice of the Philadelphia Phillies, passed away today just before the start of the Philadelphia/Washington game. He had been the voice of the Phillies since 1971. He was 73 years-old.

[ESPN]

How do you blow a seven run lead in the seventh inning? Pull your starter, insert mediocre relievers, and make sure those relievers couldn’t throw a baseball in the ocean if they were 10 feet from it. They hit a batter, walked four more, and at one point walked in three straight runs with the bases loaded. As you can tell, I’m a Braves fan, and as you can tell, I’m a little steamed at how this one panned out. So much for sweeping the Champs.

[AJC]

Above is the video of Joba Chamberlain being arrested for his DUI. In there, you’ll hear some quick shots at Yogi Berra and how short he is, and also that he can’t stand New York drivers. And that the people up north don’t believe in saying “please” and “thank you.” You’ll also see him attempt to walk the worst straight line I’ve ever seen.

[The Big Lead]
[AJC]