NEW YORK -- Like the third-base coach who waves the runner home with his left hand and stops him with his right, the arrows clearly point in two directions -- toward Atlanta and toward Flushing. The signs seem to say that Tom Glavine has one foot just outside Turner Field, the other at the threshold of Shea Stadium.

The Mets say unequivocally that they want him back. The Braves says little publicly and, evidently, not much more when they speak with Gregg Clifton, Glavine's agent.

"He can't even evaluate that they really want him if he doesn't have an offer," Clifton said on Wednesday when he shared this thoughts with The Associated Press. "The bottom line is, we're waiting to see if Atlanta wants to make a proposal to us. We've had really nice dialogue on a few occasions and we've kind of left it: We're open. We're waiting for John [Schuerholz, Braves general manager] to give us a call if he would like to."

Other indications suggest the Braves will make an offer. An agent -- not Clifton or his associate Terry Bross -- said Wednesday he had spoken with a person in the Braves hierarchy who told him that a proposal was in the offing, presumably to be presented before the Monday start of the Winter Meetings, Glavine's self-imposed deadline for telling the Mets of his decision.

But who knows? Chances are Glavine is still wrestling with his decision. Perhaps an offer from the Braves won't sway him.

"As time has gone on, I think it's actually been the potential pull and the desire to go back to New York and be a Met that has delayed this process and further complicated his decision-making," Clifton said to the AP.

Glavine is pulled by many forces, not the least of which is his family considerations. Spending April, May, some of June and September as an absentee father and husband wore thin during his four seasons with the Mets. The day he filed for free agency, Nov. 9., he said "I'm trying not to be overly influenced by how much I'm enjoying being home."

Those are words of internal conflict. But there is more: Glavine's affection for Braves manager Bobby Cox, his respect for Mets manager Willie Randolph, his desire to share a clubhouse with John Smoltz, the likelihood that the Mets will be a more productive offensive team than the Braves in 2007 and thereby make his quest for his 300th career victory (he needs 10) easier.

And there is some uncertainty for him about the composition of the Mets. He can't know who will be on the pitching staff. Javier Vazquez? Barry Zito? Ted Lilly? Dontrelle Willis? Mark Mulder? Jeff Suppan? Gil Meche? And it's always comforting to know with whom you'll be warming up in Spring Training.

The Braves evidently have been slow and measured in their dealings with Clifton. The Mets, meanwhile, have been candid in their desire for his return and so patient in waiting for Glavine to decide that Clifton was moved to say: "They're showing an incredible amount of class, because at the end of the day, they have allowed him to do everything he asked to, which was to go home, to get back into the normal family mode and give him an opportunity to really think this thing through. I think it's working to their advantage, to be honest with you."