On Thursday of last week, Tom Glavine returned to the mound for the Atlanta Braves for the first time since June 10th. Things didn't go very well, as the 300-game winner gave up seven runs in four innings, and still felt pain in his elbow after the game. It's because of this pain in his elbow that we now know Glavine has pitched his last game in 2008, as he's going to be shut down for the season.

The real question is, will Thursday's start against the Cubs be the last of Tommy's career. He's scheduled to visit with Dr. James Andrews next week, and the results of his tests there will determine what Glavine decides to do.

"All the discussions I've had, and the MRI I had before, were that it's my flexor tendon," Glavine said. "The soreness I have now is the same soreness I had then. You can pinpoint a needlehead as to where the pain is, and it just puts me through the roof when you touch it, so it's very similar in that regard. There have been some discussions about what my ligament might look like, but I think there's a very low percentage that there might be something wrong with my ligament.

"And if there was, honestly, I'd leave it alone and I'd be done. I wouldn't come back from that kind of surgery now. I'd fix the flexor tendon and leave the ligament alone and live the rest of my life."

So if it's just his flexor tendon that's the problem, Glavine will have surgery done to fix it, and the rehab for that type of surgery only takes three to four months. That would leave Tom plenty of time to recover for next season. If it's a ligament and requires Tommy John surgery, he's done.

Can't say I blame Glavine for the decision either. It's tough enough to pitch well in the Major Leagues when you're 42 years old, and going through another year or so of rehab just isn't worth it at his age. He can just retire, play some golf, and sit around for five years waiting to get into the Hall of Fame.