Tuesday, October 12, 1999
No love lost in NLCS
War of words spices up Mets-Braves
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ATLANTA — Appearing jointly on The Jerry Springer Show or facing off in a World Wrestling Federation match seemed to be the logical next step for the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves.
But the National League Championship Series got in the way.
The insults and verbal jabs stemming from the Braves' lopsided regular-season advantage over the Mets will officially become a sideshow tonight, when the teams begin the best-of-seven showdown for the right to advance to the World Series.
Both sides spent their free time during Monday's workouts at Turner Field trying to mute the controversy that started after Atlanta won five of six games from New York in a 10-day span in late September.
The Braves' dominance enabled them to beat out New York for the NL East title, prompting third baseman Chipper Jones to say on Sept. 30: “This is the next-best thing to winning the World Series ... Now all the Mets fans can go home and put their Yankee stuff on.”
Never one to mince words, Mets manager Bobby Valentine renewed the fuss in a Sunday conference call. “They've shown us very little (respect),” Valentine said of the Braves.
Monday, Jones backed off slightly, claiming his remarks were directed more at Mets fans than players.
“You always say things in the heat of battle that you don't mean at the time,” he said.
Jones remained cool in the wake of Valentine's Sunday tirade, in which the Mets skipper called his Sept. 30 statement “premature and incorrect.”
Said Jones: “That's fine with me. If you've got to motivate your club, you've got to motivate your club. He's doing his job as a manager ... The last thing I want to get into is a newspaper-reading war with Bobby Valentine.”
Some of the principals tried to avoid the fuss.
“Ever since I had kids, it's no more ESPN. Now we're watching Franklin,” said Game 1 starter Greg Maddux of the Braves, citing the friendly animated turtle.
“It's funny how the trash talking gets sort of magnified,” Mets catcher Mike Piazza said.
Atlanta manager Bobby Cox ridiculed the notion that the Braves don't respect the Mets, calling it a “joke.” Said Cox: “Anybody who's in the playoffs, you'd better respect them ... You either come to play baseball or you come to talk, and you better come to play baseball.”
Few do that better than the Braves, who reached their eighth consecutive NLCS by outlasting Houston in a four-game Division Series after posting the majors' best record (103-59).
Atlanta won the regular-season series 9-3, outscoring the Mets 63-40, outhomering them 18-7 and outhitting them .260 to .224. While Braves stars Jones (.400, seven homers, 16 RBI) and Brian Jordan (.359, three homers, 13 RBI) hurt the Mets, many of New York's big hitters struggled against Atlanta, such as Edgardo Alfonzo (.159), John Olerud (.229), Robin Ventura (.140) and Piazza (.211).
Maddux (3-1), Kevin Millwood (1-0) and Tom Glavine (3-0), Atlanta's first three starters in this series, combined for a 7-1 record against New York.
“We're the proverbial kid on the block who's trying to work out, get stronger or do something different to beat up the bully,” Piazza said.
Many observers view the Mets as charmed, especially after they eliminated Arizona in a four-game Division Series with Todd Pratt, replacing the in jured Piazza, homering to win the clincher.
“I'm really shocked to see how they had to squeak into the postseason with a one-game playoff against the Reds,” Braves reliever John Rocker said. “I thought they should have run away with the wild card or even beat us out for the division, just looking at their talent versus our talent on paper.”
Hearing that remark, Valentine said, “I guess he feels we underachieved.”
Obviously, it's time to stop talking and start playing.
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