Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine throws to a New York Mets batter during the fist inning of a spring training baseball game, Saturday, March 21, 2009, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

The Atlanta Braves released the wrong employee on Wednesday. That was the understandable knee-jerk reaction to the news that 43-year-old Tom Glavine was no longer on the roster.

A guy wins 244 of his 305 career victories in your uniform, limits the opponent to one hit over eight innings to clinch your town's lone World Series crown in 1995, conducts both his public and private life with the utmost professionalism for the entirety of his career, well, a guy like that deserves to leave the game on his own terms.

So if anyone deserved to be pink slipped on Wednesday it was surely Braves general manager Frank Wren. I mean, who does this guy think he is — John Schuerholz? First he runs off John Smoltz over the winter, now Glavine. Can Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones be far behind?

Heck, why not remove “Turner” from Turner Field? Rip the tomahawk from the uniforms. Obliterate any and all references to Hank Aaron's 755 home runs from the Braves’ proud history.

This guy should be named Frank Wrong instead of Frank Wren.

But let’s say you're Wren. You have a pretty good team that could be a good bit better if minor league pitcher Tommy Hanson is close to as good as predicted.

By Wren’s own words Wednesday, he had hoped Glavine would be ready to pitch in mid-April after recovering from August surgery on his left elbow. But then he aggravated his shoulder, which considerably backed up his 2009 debut. When that debut was slowed to the point that it now threatened to be overtaken by Hanson's career debut, Wren decided to choose Atlanta’s future over its proud past.

“We were hopeful that Tom Glavine would pitch for us,” Wren said. “After (Tuesday) night, we reached the final decision that it wouldn’t happen.”

What did happen on Tuesday night was that Glavine threw six scoreless innings in a rehab assignment with the Class A Rome Braves. Following such good work, Glavine pronounced himself ready to pitch again in Atlanta.

But Wren clearly thought otherwise. He knew that Hanson had forged a 1.49 ERA during 11 outings at Class AAA Gwinnett this year. He knew that the 6-foot-6, 22-year-old is widely regarded as the best right-hander in the minors, the next Can’t Miss Kid.

And fair or not, Wren also knew that he owed Glavine a $1 million bonus the second Glavine joined the big club.

So after asking Tommy Gun to retire, he cut him loose when Glavine refused to go quietly.

And clearly it stinks. Especially if it’s only about the money. Glavine had worked so hard to return from surgery. He had once again showed the toughness and professionalism that made him the perfect teammate to teach a young, talented squad the right way to play professional baseball.

But hard as this might be for anyone who remembers Oct. 28, 1995, the chilly Saturday night when Glavine's left arm led the Braves to a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the sixth and final game of that year's World Series, this is also life, especially in pro sports.

Athletes retire, even the best of them. Tommy G is replaced by Tommy H, hopefully because, in Wren’s words, “It’s a decision based on who gives us the best chance to win on a daily basis.”

And Atlanta is showing signs of improvement so far this season. After Wednesday’s loss to the Cubs, the Braves actually have a better road record (14-13) than home mark (12-13). Their 9-8 record in one-run games further hammers home their feistiness. Atlanta may not make the playoffs but it will almost assuredly play a large role in who does.

But that’s also why Glavine seemed so important. He appeared the perfect veteran to teach the young guns how it’s done.

“It was not a business decision, it was a performance decision,” Wren repeated. “This was not easy. We were hopeful this would produce a different outcome. Tommy Glavine is a special guy in a lot of ways.”

With the last special pitcher from 1995 now gone, Wren’s performance will be judged daily from this point forward. Yet if Hanson’s as good as advertised, few Braves fans will wish this had produced a different outcome. That’s the real business of sports.