Although the Atlanta Braves have won fourteen straight division titles, and I have always been a big fan of theirs, win or lose, I was outraged at their headline bantering in today's New York newspapers.
While in the market today, I picked up a copy of the New York Post. On the back page, was the headline about this weekend's Mets-Braves series in Atlanta, with quotes from the Braves that they are "taking dead aim on the National League East division, and have sights on "sweeping the Mets".
I have news for you, Atlanta Braves, stop shooting your mouths off, and get to a dose of reality here. You are five games under 500, at 48-53, and 12 games out. With 61 games left, if you play 500 ball the rest of the season, which is better than you've been playing this season as a whole, that is 31-30, which would leave you at 79 wins, and not as the wild card. I can understand the Braves being fired up, and wanting to play well against their long time arch rival, the Mets, especially in the first season where the Mets have a better record than the Braves, however, do your talking on the field, not in the papers.
Were I the Braves players, what I would have said was:" We respect the Mets, and know they have had a good season. We believe our team is good as well, and we hope to play well this weekend, and for the rest of the season, to hopefully earn a spot in the playoffs, and if it is as the wild card, so be it" This way, they lend respect to the Mets for their fine season so far, and yet give themselves enough incentive to play well, and get into the playoffs.
Conversely, at 60-41, if the Mets play 19 games over 500 for the rest of the season, as they have so far, they end up 40-21 the rest of the way, and at 100 wins, truly a great season. They may not get to 100, but 90 to 95 wins, and an easy division title win, by at least 10 games, if not more, is likely.
Braves, get real, you have played decent ball in the month of July, before the series with the Marlins. Shut your mouths, play well as you have, win as many games as you can, and hopefully, set your sights on realism, and a wild card spot. The division, unless the Mets absolutely collapse, and you play on fire as you did in 1991 or 1993, is lost, and was with your pathtetic 6 and 21 record in June. As a Braves fan, I always root for my team, but I am a realist. We are only 5 1-2 games out of the wild card spot with 60 games left, not a bad showing, considering we were 10 out of the wild card a few weeks ago. If we continue to play as we have the last month, the wild card is a definite possibility, but we dont need to insight the team that has been the class of the division all year, and basically has never been challenged. Go out, play well, and keep your mouths shut. Do your talking on the field with your play, and not in the papers with your mouths. Let's play well, win every game we can, and just try to get in the playoffs even as the wild card. If we do that, who knows what can and will happen?!
Mitch
One more point of math. If the Mets do in fact play at the 40-21 pace that they have over the first part of this season, nineteen games over 500, Atlanta would have to go 52 wins, 9 losses the rest of the year, just to tie them. Not gonna happen. Wild card, Braves, maybe, if you play well, so shut up, and play, boys, on the field, not in the papers.
While in the market today, I picked up a copy of the New York Post. On the back page, was the headline about this weekend's Mets-Braves series in Atlanta, with quotes from the Braves that they are "taking dead aim on the National League East division, and have sights on "sweeping the Mets".
I have news for you, Atlanta Braves, stop shooting your mouths off, and get to a dose of reality here. You are five games under 500, at 48-53, and 12 games out. With 61 games left, if you play 500 ball the rest of the season, which is better than you've been playing this season as a whole, that is 31-30, which would leave you at 79 wins, and not as the wild card. I can understand the Braves being fired up, and wanting to play well against their long time arch rival, the Mets, especially in the first season where the Mets have a better record than the Braves, however, do your talking on the field, not in the papers.
Were I the Braves players, what I would have said was:" We respect the Mets, and know they have had a good season. We believe our team is good as well, and we hope to play well this weekend, and for the rest of the season, to hopefully earn a spot in the playoffs, and if it is as the wild card, so be it" This way, they lend respect to the Mets for their fine season so far, and yet give themselves enough incentive to play well, and get into the playoffs.
Conversely, at 60-41, if the Mets play 19 games over 500 for the rest of the season, as they have so far, they end up 40-21 the rest of the way, and at 100 wins, truly a great season. They may not get to 100, but 90 to 95 wins, and an easy division title win, by at least 10 games, if not more, is likely.
Braves, get real, you have played decent ball in the month of July, before the series with the Marlins. Shut your mouths, play well as you have, win as many games as you can, and hopefully, set your sights on realism, and a wild card spot. The division, unless the Mets absolutely collapse, and you play on fire as you did in 1991 or 1993, is lost, and was with your pathtetic 6 and 21 record in June. As a Braves fan, I always root for my team, but I am a realist. We are only 5 1-2 games out of the wild card spot with 60 games left, not a bad showing, considering we were 10 out of the wild card a few weeks ago. If we continue to play as we have the last month, the wild card is a definite possibility, but we dont need to insight the team that has been the class of the division all year, and basically has never been challenged. Go out, play well, and keep your mouths shut. Do your talking on the field with your play, and not in the papers with your mouths. Let's play well, win every game we can, and just try to get in the playoffs even as the wild card. If we do that, who knows what can and will happen?!
Mitch
One more point of math. If the Mets do in fact play at the 40-21 pace that they have over the first part of this season, nineteen games over 500, Atlanta would have to go 52 wins, 9 losses the rest of the year, just to tie them. Not gonna happen. Wild card, Braves, maybe, if you play well, so shut up, and play, boys, on the field, not in the papers.
