The race for first place in the NL East is close to being declared
history, which means the division's real intrigue rests in a question that's
spanned three long seasons:
Will the Mets defeat the hex of Turner Field?
Ever?
|  | | Brian Jordan, right, and the Braves are where the Mets desperately want to be -- in control of the NL East. |
It sounds crazy, but who would've ever believed the Braves could take 19
of 21 games against the Mets at home dating back to 1998? Atlanta's 6-3 victory Monday was just one more example of the gap that still exists between
these two NL powerhouses -- if not real, then at least perceived.
The Mets are, after all, authors of 15 come-from-behind wins after the
sixth inning, the most in the big leagues. They've conquered the
Diamondbacks, neutralized the Giants, even played the Yankees to a standoff
in interleague action.
But the Braves ... well, can the gulf really be this wide? Bobby Valentine
no longer bothers with in-depth, analytical explanations. Instead, the
tight-lipped manager is counting on "the odds being in our favor" as his
team's best hope Tuesday night, when Glendon Rusch goes against Andy Ashby.
That sentiment is mouthed throughout the Mets' clubhouse, too. Outfielder
Jay Payton said the Braves' dominance "can't last forever. It's got to
change sooner or later."
He says so hopefully -- putting the best-possible spin on a disappointing
night. The Mets were leaning heavily on Mike Hampton to outpitch Greg Maddux
in the first game of this series, and even though there are still five more
chances for the Mets, including three at Shea next week, it's one-on-ones like these that compelled the Mets to acquire Hampton from the Astros last
winter.
What the Mets didn't count on, though, was facing a nearly-unhittable
Maddux, who retired the Mets on just five pitches in the first inning, and
was already on his way to another seven shutout innings.
Maddux, who hasn't allowed a run in 29 1/3 innings -- the second-longest
scoreless streak in Atlanta Braves history -- was at his precision-best
inning after inning, feathering the strike zone with that magical two-seam
fastball. He allowed only five hits, walked no one and was, in Payton's words "typical
Maddux."
Even Hampton was forced to call Maddux, "a master" at expanding the
strike zone, somehow making the outside corner more and more unreachable for
right-handed hitters as the game progresses.
"He just puts one on the corner, and then little by little goes further
and further," said Hampton. Actually, the Mets lefty works similarly on his
good days, but he found out early in the game he had no command of the inner
half of the strike zone.
Hampton said, "Basically, any pitch I threw inside was a ball, so after a
while, guys stopped respecting it. They knew they didn't have to swing, and
they could start diving out over the plate."
That's exactly how the Braves scored three critical runs in the third
inning. Hampton's own throwing error past Mike Piazza in a second-inning
squeeze play created Atlanta's first run. But it wasn't until three straight
singles -- from Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones and Brian Jordan -- that the Braves
took a 4-0 lead and all but ended the game.
It must've been disheartening for the Mets to see Hampton hit so hard -- literally. He absorbed a line drive off his right wrist in that decisive
third inning, a blur off Andres Galarraga's bat that practically knocked
Hampton's glove to the ground.
He made the putout, however, and subsequent X-rays were negative. Still,
Hampton lasted only six innings, by which time the Mets were trailing 5-0.
Oh, they made some noise, thanks largely to Bobby Cox's decision to lift
Maddux after the seventh. Derek Bell's solo home run off Kerry Ligtenberg
started a three-run rally that, for a moment, created some tension at Turner
Field.
In fact, the Mets forced Cox to go to his pen three times in the eighth
inning, and the Braves didn't wriggle free until John Rocker sprinted in from
right field and got pinch-hitter Bubba Trammell, the potential tying run, to
pop to short to end the rally.
Rocker whipped through the Mets in the ninth inning, too, despite Bell's
one-out single to left, his third hit of the night. But that mini-rally
died, too, when Edgardo Alfonzo fouled out to first to end the game.
Afterward, in the subdued Mets clubhouse, Alfonzo stated an obvious truth
about the Mets' position in the standings, saying, "We have to win them all
now."
Across the stadium, the Braves had the look of runners almost at the
finish line -- tired but thrilled, fueled by late-September adrenaline.
Said Jordan, who homered in the seventh, "I love to rise to the
occasion."
No one in the room -- or the NL East -- could argue the point.
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record writes his Baseball in the Big Apple column throughout the season. | |
ALSO SEE
Masterful Maddux puts Braves four ahead of Mets
Klapisch: Time for excuses is over
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mike Hampton comments on falling behind in the count and battling against the Braves.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Manager Bobby Valentine wants to forget about last year's team and concentrate on this series.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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