CUE THE outrage.

Instead of promoting franchise icon Tom Glavine at the end of his rehab assignment, which everyone expected, the Braves chopped him instead. The winning pitcher from the clinching game of their only world championship was dumped after pitching six shutout innings for Class A Rome.

John Smoltz, another touchstone of the team's 14-season run of first-place finishes who was forced to sign with the Red Sox after the Braves made it clear last winter they weren't interested in bringing him back, spoke for many. "That ain't right to let him go after getting that far in his rehab," he clucked.

Glavine, in a text to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said he was "surprised and disappointed."

Here's the thing, though. While the Braves may have made a mistake - and lack of velocity is an oddly unconvincing explanation for those of us who watch Jamie Moyer every fifth day or so - general manager Frank Wren did the right thing.

The unpopular thing, maybe. The erroneous thing, perhaps. But still the right thing because he made a baseball decision that superprospect Tommy Hanson gave his team a better chance to win.

It's fine for fans to root, root, root for the home team, wear the colors, take pride in the accomplishments of the mercenaries who gather each season and then scatter again after the last game.

But sentiment is a luxury only the paying customers can afford. Try as we might to ignore the fact, professional sports are a big business.

The Braves are trying to put their best team on the field. To that end, they demoted another hot prospect, Jordan Schafer, earlier this week. Then they improved their outfield by giving up a chunk of their future for Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth.

Glavine is 43 years old. He's a class act, a 305-game winner, a future Hall of Famer. Maybe he will sign with another team, pitch great and prove the Braves wrong. Maybe Hanson isn't ready.

Doesn't matter. It's Wren's duty to make the moves he thinks are necessary to make Atlanta competitive. And that's exactly what he did.

The hot corner

 

* Even though the Cardinals got good news on disabled third baseman Troy Glaus - they now expect him back before August - general manager John Mozeliak said he plans to "ramp up" his efforts to add another bat to the lineup as soon as possible. "We're looking to add offense," he said.

* Oakland's Matt Holliday said in a radio interview that he likes playing for the A's, but added: "I would say if it looks like we're not going to be able to get back in the race or get healthy, I think every player wants a chance to win. So ... I'd be OK with getting a chance to go try to make it to the postseason and play in October."

* The Twins are cautiously optimistic they'll be able to keep All-Star catcher Joe Mauer, even though there is already speculation he could command a 10-year, $200 million deal when he becomes a free agent after next season. "All indications are that he's more like [Kirby] Puckett and [Kent] Hrbek than some other [former Twins] who wanted to play on a bigger stage," club president Jerry Bell said.

Around the bases

 

* Pirates manager John Russell insists that the trade of face-of-the-franchise star Nate McLouth doesn't mean the organization has given up on the 2009 season. "We're not throwing in the towel at all; far from it," he said. "We made a trade that will help our organization for the long run." To replace McLouth, the Bucs have called up Andrew McCutchen, one of their top prospects.

* The Athletics have three pitchers in their rotation who are 22 years old or younger: Vin Mazarro, Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill.