Tag: atlanta-braves

The Atlanta Braves: the Common Enemy

If it’s a Sunday in September, then you know it’s an important day on the baseball calendar. It is September 29, so it is the final day of the regular season. The final two playoff positions come down to three different teams so it will be indeed a wild day. Two of our three teams, the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies are comfortably in the playoffs. The third team, the New York Mets, are limping into Game 162 as one of those three teams fighting for the last two postseason berths. What most likely awaits them is a trip on Monday to visit one of the other teams they are fighting and the team both Caitlyn and Matthew can’t stand: the Atlanta Braves.

Matt Olson and the Atlanta Braves: Public Enemy #1. Photo from Sports Illustrated

Yes, the Braves. I don’t think there is a Mets’ fan in the world that believes the trip down south is going to end well. It seems like forever that the Braves have continually haunted the Mets. Even Matthew, despite being 13, knows the scars. After all, it was 2022 when the Mets needed to win only one game in Atlanta to win the National League East. Instead they were swept and then proceeded to lose the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres. It was earlier this week when Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach sent New York into a possible, fatal tailspin by throwing seven innings of one run ball. In 2022, Matthew actually went to Game 3 of that Wild Card round and though that was a bitter loss, the constant pounding of the Mets by the Braves has worn the kid down.

As for Caitlyn, you would think she looks down on Atlanta. The Phillies have beaten down the Braves in both the 2022 and 2023 divisional round. I actually think she dislikes them even more than Matthew does. Perhaps it starts with the fact that despite beating the Braves that last two years in the playoffs, Atlanta has finished ahead of them in the division. There is also Marcell Ozuna whose checkered history includes a battery and aggravated assault charge for allegedly hitting his wife as well as his DUI arrest. Of course, the Braves also employ Orlando Arcia, the man who, after Game 2 of last year’s NLDS mocked Bryce Harper with the immortal phrase, “atta boy Harper’. I do believe she is nervous about potentially facing that team a third consecutive season in the playoffs, all the more reason for her dislike towards them.

As for Ryan, the Braves mean nothing to him. There is no Yankees-Braves rivalry until they potentially meet in the World Series. But since his brother and sister don’t like them, he is not a fan, either. A Lynch nightmare scenario does exist in 2024. The Braves can prevent the Mets from making the playoffs, beat the Phillies in the National League playoffs and beat the Yankees in the World Series. If that scenario plays out, the Lynch family won’t be taking a road trip to Atlanta any time soon.

Can the New York Mets Get Off the Floor One More Time?

Well, that game stunk. Matthew lost faith quickly and though I tried to be positive, the effort seemed futile. The New York Mets dropped the first game of their critical three game series against the Atlanta Braves by a score of 5-1. Luis Severino did not have it, pitching with traffic all game and surrendering four runs in four innings. At one point, Mathew called him a bum, an understandable but clear overreaction to a guy who has given the Mets plenty of solid outings in 2024. With five games to go and the playoffs not a guarantee, can the Mets rebound one last time in 2024?

Carlos Mendoza will not let the team be the same old Mets. Photo from NY Post

Despite being one game in front of the Braves, New York faces a daunting five days. First, they must find a way to beat the best pitcher in baseball on Wednesday. Chris Sale is 18-3 and on his way to the National League Cy Young Award. He faced the Mets once already this season, on July 25, pitching 7 1/3 innings and allowing two runs. The Mets would win in 10 innings by a score of 3-2. He has pitched 24 innings in September and has allowed only three earned runs. Yikes. If the Amazins’ can’t win on Wednesday, they will be tied with Atlanta going into Thursday’s game which, if the weather holds true, will be rained out. So that means they will be tied with the Braves heading into a weekend series in Milwaukee against the Central Division champion Brewers. Meanwhile, Atlanta gets to host the free-falling Kansas City Royals. If the two teams are tied for the final spot after Sunday, guess what? Game 163 against one another with a second showdown in five days with Chris Sale. Not appetizing to say the least.

If this is truly not the same old Mets, the Mets that would have been buried by July 1, then they will find a way to beat Chris Sale and the Braves to go back up by two games. Nothing about 2024 has screamed LOL Mets. At 11 games back they rallied, after the brutal loss on that August Sunday in San Diego, they dusted themselves off and kept winning. Even the recent injury to MVP candidate Francisco Lindor hasn’t slowed them down. However, should they fall short of the playoffs, this season will almost feel like a waste. It really would be the same old, LOL, lovable loser Mets. That’s not happening. I feel like the page truly has been turned for the organization with an owner that will spend money and stability at the top of the front office.

Prediction for Wednesday, September 25: New York Mets 6 Atlanta Braves 3

Dreaming of Darrell Evans and the Hall of Fame

Dreams are funny. Why do we dream about steak when we had ice cream at 10 PM? Why do thoughts of Winter during a 2 AM snooze in the Summer suddenly arrive in our craniums? And why is it that Sunday night/Monday morning was I having an argument with a faceless individual, insisting that Darrell Evans belongs in the Hall of Fame?

Darrell Evans did not hit 600 home runs as advocated in my dream. Photo from Vintage Detroit

Oh man, I was flipping out. I was insisting that it was a sham that Evans, who had retired with over 60o home runs was getting shafted out of his rightful place in Cooperstown!

Wait, over 600 home runs?

Awake me knows that Darrell Evans didn’t have over 600 dingers. But dreaming me knew darn well he was only one of ten players to ever eclipse that magical number. I was so convinced of this in my dream that when I temporarily opened my eyes in the middle of the night, I just knew Evans had a great case for the Hall of Fame based on his power numbers. I went right back to sleep and right back to my one sided argument. There really wasn’t a lot of dialogue, just me doing all of the talking and gesturing, pleading with this unnamed person to hear me out about Evans’ candidacy.

When I woke up for good, I had to figure out how many home runs Darrell Evans actually hit. I knew it was over 400 so I guessed 450. The number was actually 414. I knew about some of his other accomplishments. For instance, in 1973, he, Hank Aaron and Davey Johnson all hit 40 or more home runs for the Atlanta Braves, the first time three teammates hit at least 40 or more homers in one season. He was the first player to hit 40 home runs in one season in both leagues. He was a World Series Champion as a member of the 1984 Detroit Tigers. Perhaps most importantly, he is my go to guy for a Braves-Giants-Tigers spot in Immaculate Grid.

Upon researching further, I realized Evans was more than just a power hitter. He twice led the National League in walks, while striking out more than 100 times in a season only three times over the course of his 21 year career. He finished with a .361 on-base percentage and at the time of his retirement after the 1989 season, he was only the 22nd player to hit 400 or more home runs. When Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record, it was Evans who was on first base.

It only took up about 1% of my overall sleep that night but it felt like an all-night jam session. I woke up kind of tired because of the energy I put into my argument. No, Darrell Evans did not hit 600 home runs. But he was an even better player than what I remember.