Can They Beat The Braves?

By Shari Forst
Posted Saturday, August 25, 2007

It finally seems as if Carlos Beltran's bat has been awakened since he came back from that oblique pull, and now with Moises Alou finally back in the lineup, one has to wonder if the Mets can finally win one forsaken series from their nemesis in the NL East -- the Braves.

The last few times the Mets faced the Braves, they were not firing on all cylinders. If the pitching was good, the offense was non-existent, and vice-versa. Now with Beltran and Alou both going well, and the possible return of fan-favorite Endy Chavez and even Pedro at the end of this month, do I think it's possible for the Mets to finally take this upcoming series from the Braves? My answer is -- that depends.

The Braves are certainly beatable and always have been. The Mets just have this mental block when it comes to playing them. No matter what the configuration of the Mets, it has been beaten into them that they cannot beat the Braves. With the exception of their running away with the NL East last year, the Mets act like the Braves are their kryptonite.

How can the Mets beat the Braves this time? For one thing, they can not get psyched out by them. This is 90% of their problem. it has been drummed into them that they simply cannot beat this team no matter what. That is pure rubbish. Their pitching is not any better than the Mets', and they have a knack for taking a lineup of no-names and getting them to perform above their potential. The Mets have the ability to do the same thing. If you look at who the Braves have had on their teams in the last several years, most of them have gone on to be mediocre on other teams. The key to the Braves' success is in their coaching and ability to hone their home-grown talent. Something the Mets can do equally as well.

I think that the Mets just have to believe in themselves, the way we Met fans have all along. The only quality starters the Braves seem to have are Smoltz and Hudson. I would like to think that Glavine, Maine, El Duque and Perez could match up and win. Even their position players aren't better than the Mets'. They need to go to some deprogramming seminar to get this craziness out of their heads as they come down to the end of the season.

I have the feeling this may wind up like the 2000 season, one I was never truly satisfied with because they never managed to take a series from the Braves. My belief is that you should be able to take at least one series from a division rival in order to be worthy of the pennant, and that didn't happen in 2000. It has bothered me ever since. I'd like for them to make it right this time, with everyone back in top form now there should be no reason for them to falter in Atlanta next week.

Related info:
Discuss in our lively forums

 E-mail this page
 Printer-friendly page