Yes, I know it's only April, but tonight at Shea Stadium in New York, is the beginning of a potentially important series between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves.
As most who follow baseball are aware, the Mets are off to a very hot start, at 9-2, while Atlanta is struggling at 6-7, with many injured players. Tonight ace Pedro Martinez will take the ball for the Mets, while on Wednesday afternoon, there will be what should be a great pitching matchup in the final game of the series, Tim Hudson for Atlanta, and Tom Glavine for New York.
Although it is only April, and Atlanta really needs to take two of three to inch closer to the Mets, two out of three by either side will not be backbreaking. A Mets sweep would put Atlanta seven games out after only sixteen games, and while nothing at this early stage means the end, psychologically, it would seem hard for the Braves to recover from that kind of deficit.
The teams play each other, through a fluke of a strange schedule this year, nine times between tonight, and May 7, with six played at Shea, and three in Atlanta. After that, they have only one three game series, in Atlanta, for the four months after that, in July, before meeting six more times in Sept. This should be a very interesting series, and I will certainly be watching it. It could well be that the Mets have a great opportunity here, catching the Braves when the Mets are hot, the Braves are not, and several of Atlanta's key players, such as Chipper Jones, are on the Disabled List.
So, bring it on! I am looking forward to the next few weeks, with the old arch rivals, the Mets and Braves, doing battle.
Mitch
As most who follow baseball are aware, the Mets are off to a very hot start, at 9-2, while Atlanta is struggling at 6-7, with many injured players. Tonight ace Pedro Martinez will take the ball for the Mets, while on Wednesday afternoon, there will be what should be a great pitching matchup in the final game of the series, Tim Hudson for Atlanta, and Tom Glavine for New York.
Although it is only April, and Atlanta really needs to take two of three to inch closer to the Mets, two out of three by either side will not be backbreaking. A Mets sweep would put Atlanta seven games out after only sixteen games, and while nothing at this early stage means the end, psychologically, it would seem hard for the Braves to recover from that kind of deficit.
The teams play each other, through a fluke of a strange schedule this year, nine times between tonight, and May 7, with six played at Shea, and three in Atlanta. After that, they have only one three game series, in Atlanta, for the four months after that, in July, before meeting six more times in Sept. This should be a very interesting series, and I will certainly be watching it. It could well be that the Mets have a great opportunity here, catching the Braves when the Mets are hot, the Braves are not, and several of Atlanta's key players, such as Chipper Jones, are on the Disabled List.
So, bring it on! I am looking forward to the next few weeks, with the old arch rivals, the Mets and Braves, doing battle.
Mitch
