Maddux Notes: Number Retired Today

My wife and I are about to head down to the ballpark to see Maddux get his number retired tonight. Gotta say, it has been a number of years since I've been this excited about going to the ballpark. I'll have pictures up from my wife's camera tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's some news from around the web about old number 31:

• Ray Giler of the NY Times tries to stir up further trouble between the Frank Wren and Tom Glavine while discussing Glavine's absence from tonight's ceremony. Nobody bites. (Glavine will miss the ceremony since his kid is in a baseball tournament out of state. I think he's doing the right thing, but people are so mad at Glavine right now that they aren't thinking straight.)
• Mark Bradley has a poll up at the AJC website along with a short discussion about which of the Big Three was the better pitcher. It was clearly Greg Maddux. Anyone who truly knows baseball knows this of course. Still, 269 people have voted for Smoltz and 62 have voted for Glavine. (Yes, Maddux won the poll in a landslide.) After reading the comments, I've come to two conclusions. There are many Braves fans who don't really know baseball very well and most Braves fans lack a proper understanding of just how great Tom Glavine was for so long. I think any objective consideration of their careers would point to a Maddux then Glavine then Smoltz list ... but any chance of that is out the door at this point. People will remember the glory days the way they see fit. So be it.
• Bill Price, a writer for the pathetic NY Daily News had the following quote about the Braves ceremony tonight, "Tonight’s Met game will start at 7:45 as the Braves are retiring Greg Maddux’s number before the game. You just wonder if Maddux will ask out of the ceremony before it’s over." If you're going to make a joke, at least try and be funny. (His comment on the picture of Frenchy and David Wright at the link IS funny however.