TRY WINNING THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY.Byline: Murray Chass Murray Chass is a New York sports journalist for The New York Times. In 2003 the Baseball Writers Association of America honored him with the J. G. Taylor Spink Award. He is a pioneer in the coverage of business and labor issues within baseball. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Brian Jordan • • [ fans to assist the Mets by taking the Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Braves have played in Turner Field. out of their game this weekend, when their pennant playoff goes to New York. ``We're not at this level for nothing,'' Jordan said Monday. ``Gee.'' Then he added, ``The fans won't have any effect on our play - unless you jump out on the field and hit one of us.'' As intelligent and as talented as the Braves right fielder right fielder n. Baseball The player who defends right field. Noun 1. right fielder - the person who plays right field outfielder - (baseball) a person who plays in the outfield is, he was probably not too wise in raising that idea. One or more of manager Bobby Valentine's fan-followers might actually try that tactic. The Mets have to come up with something different in their attempt to beat the Braves one more time in the next week than they did during the season, but mayhem doesn't seem like a good idea. Stop Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, Jr. (born April 24, 1972, in DeLand, Florida), is an American Major League baseball player. Although initially a shortstop, Chipper has spent most of his career as the starting third baseman for the Atlanta Braves. , all right; neutralize Jordan, for sure. But do it with sliders sliders a species of tortoise kept as pets. They have a black shell and a red stripe behind the eye. Called also Chrysemys scripta elegans, red-eared sliders. and changeups and fastballs on the black, not with cross-body blocks across the back of the knees of an unsuspecting player minding his own business on the outfield grass. The Braves beat the Mets nine of the 12 times they played this season. The Braves won five of the six games the teams played in a pivotal 10-day period late last month. The Mets can't afford to allow the Braves to continue that pattern in the National League Championship Series. If the Braves win four of seven or fewer games, the Mets' march to the World Series will end prematurely. So what to do? ``We have some good information on them,'' John Stearns John Hardin Stearns (born August 21, 1951) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets from 1975 to 1984 (he also played a single game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1974). , the Mets' advance scout, said at Turner Field • • [ Monday as the Mets went through a brief round of batting practice. ``But you can get all the information in the world; the guys still have to go out and get it done.'' Stearns had come from Houston, where he had watched the Braves complete their division-series victory over the Astros. In that series, he watched Jordan rip Houston pitchers at the rate of .471. He also saw Jones, who devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. the Mets here three weeks ago, hit only .231. ``Chipper chipper Drug slang An occasional user of illicit drugs. See Recreational drug use Tobacco A popular term for a person who smokes < 5 cigarettes/day, who may be resistant to nicotine dependence or addiction, and often born to non-smoking parents. was more impatient than he was earlier,'' Stearns said. Don Baylor baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; , had made the same observation. ``They were pitching around him and he came out of his way of hitting,'' Baylor said. ``He became so impatient that he swung at a 3-0 pitch, swung at a first-pitch changeup. Normally he doesn't do that.'' Three weeks ago, the Mets didn't pitch around Jones, and he banged four home runs and drove in 7 of the 13 runs the Braves scored in their three-game sweep. In New York the following week, however, the Mets pitched much more carefully to Jones, the Braves' third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker , and he collected only three singles and knocked in two runs in 12 at-bats. But Jordan assumed the offensive load in that series, showing the Mets the difficulty of the task they face in this series. ``The main thing is to not let Chipper Jones beat us,'' Darryl Hamilton The Mets should not expect to see the impatient Jones the Astros saw. Baylor said he planned to talk with him before Game 1 Tuesday night and tell him to be aggressive and not be lulled into thinking the Mets will pitch around him. Baylor, however, wasn't planning to say anything to Jordan. ``When he gets a man on,'' Baylor said, ``when he gets two strikes, I'm at ease. I know one thing. He's going to put the ball in play somewhere, off the end of the bat, off the knob, he's going to put it in play and try to get that run in. He gets into that bunker mentality bunker mentality n. An attitude of extreme defensiveness and self-justification based on an often exaggerated sense of being under persistent attack from others. Noun 1. . Not too many times he's not going to put a good at-bat on.'' Jordan was hit on the right hand by a pitch in June and was not much of a factor in the Braves' lineup for weeks. He was in so much pain swinging the bat at one point that he wanted to call it quits for the season. ``I was in so much pain, I basically had given up on myself and it affected me mentally,'' Jordan said. But a method of treatment he called cross-friction, a painful procedure, restored the hand and wrist to game-ready status. ``Now I don't even think about it,'' he said. NEW YORK METS
National League Championship Series Best-of-seven series Gm 1: Today at Atlanta, 5:12 p.m. N.Y. - Yoshii (12-8) vs. ATL (Active Template Library) A set of software routines from Microsoft that provide the basic framework for creating ActiveX and COM objects. Stemming from the standard template library (STL) that comes with C++ compilers, ATL includes an object wizard that sets up . - Maddux (19-10) How they match up BRAVES PITCHING The Braves are playing in the NL championship series for the eighth consecutive time, and it's no secret their pitching is the reason. Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is a pitcher for the San Diego Padres. He was the first pitcher in Major League history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years (1992-1995), during which he had a 75-29 record with a 1. , Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25 1966 in Concord, Massachusetts) is an American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently a free agent, having last pitched for the New York Mets. and John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967 in Warren, Michigan) is a Major League Baseball player currently playing with the Atlanta Braves. He is predominantly known as a starter and former Cy Young Award winner. are the veterans, but the most consistent starter has been the least experienced, Kevin Millwood Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974 in Gastonia, North Carolina) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who plays for the Texas Rangers. Millwood was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 11th round of the 1993 amateur draft. . All he did in the division series against Houston was pitch a one-hitter in Game 2 and pitch the 12th inning for the save in Game 3. John Rocker, with one full season in the majors, has become a top-flight closer. He gained saves with ninth-inning appearances in each of the team's three victories over the Mets at Turner Field last month. HITTING The lineup doesn't have Andres Galarraga and Javier Lopez, but Chipper Jones and Brian Jordan have shown remarkable ability to dominate a series. Jones did it against the Mets last month, hitting four home runs and driving in seven of the Braves' 13 runs in a three-game series sweep. Jordan did it against the Astros the past week, hitting .471 and driving in seven of the team's 18 runs. The Mets kept pitching to Jones and he kept beating them. The Astros pitched around Jones, and Jordan beat them. The danger both present grows in proportion to the number of times Gerald Williams and Bret Boone get on base ahead of them. FIELDING Errors and resulting unearned runs led to critical losses in each of the past two league series, reasons why the Braves haven't advanced to the World Series since 1996. But the two errors they committed against the Astros didn't hurt them. They won't match the Mets in defensive ability, but they have to avoid mistakes like the ones the Mets took advantage of against Arizona. Center fielder Andruw Jones is simply the best and patrols a large area in the outfield. SON THE BASES Their best basestealer, Otis Nixon, seldom gets into games, usually pinch-running in key late-inning situations. Otherwise, Chipper Jones and Gerald Williams are the biggest threats. They each had four steals in four tries against the Mets this season. Against everyone else, Williams was successful only 15 of 26 times. Andruw Jones also steals, and all can scoot scoot v. scoot·ed, scoot·ing, scoots v.intr. To go suddenly and speedily; hurry. v.tr. Upper Southern U.S. around the bases at a good clip. X FACTOR The mind game can work for and against the Braves. They have dominated the Mets this season, winning 9 of 12 games overall and 5 of 6 in a 10-day period last month, giving them reason to think they can handle the Mets easily in this series. However, the Braves have had to live having won only one World Series in the 90s despite compiling the best won-lost record in the major leagues. The desire to close out the 90s with their second championship could motivate them, or it could bury them under their own pressure. METS PITCHING They can't match the Braves' vaunted vaunt v. vaunt·ed, vaunt·ing, vaunts v.tr. To speak boastfully of; brag about. v.intr. To speak boastfully; brag. See Synonyms at boast1. n. 1. starting rotation, but the Mets' veteran corps has performed capably, even heroically, the past couple of weeks, which shows good timing if nothing else. Al Leiter has made three outstanding starts and Rick Reed two. Masato Yoshii, the Game 1 starter, has pitched effectively for two months. The relief corps, however, will most likely hold the key to the Mets' chances of reaching the World Series. The starters often disappear before the seventh inning is over, meaning Turk Wendell, Dennis Cook, Pat Mahomes and John Franco will have to get the game to Armando Benitez, the closer. HITTING The lineup is loaded with six or seven .300 hitters at any given time, and the big hits can come from any number of them. Mike Piazza, when his left thumb is healthy, is the biggest of the big hitters, but Edgardo Alfonzo's power display against the Diamondbacks was no fluke. He is one of three players (Piazza and Robin Ventura being the others) who drove in more than 100 runs this year. The only time the Mets encountered trouble scoring in the last two-thirds of the season was when the Braves' pitchers shut down the hitters wholesale last month, and the slump became extended. But they recovered in time to power the team into the postseason. FIELDING The pitchers thank their blessings every night, their blessings being the Mets' defense. Led by an airtight infield, which opposing players say is the best they have ever seen, the Mets made only 68 errors that led to an absurdly low total of 20 unearned runs. The league's other 15 teams averaged 123 errors and 73 unearned runs. In the infield, John Olerud committed nine errors, Edgardo Alfonzo five, Rey Ordonez four (none since June 13) and Robin Ventura nine. If there are defensive weaknesses, one is Rickey Henderson's poor throwing arm and the inconsistent play of Shawon Dunston in the outfield. ON THE BASES See Rickey run. See Rickey confound pitchers and catchers alike. See Rickey create havoc. With six stolen bases in the division series, Henderson showed he can still dominate the basepaths despite his 40 years of age. The postseason, he says, is Rickey time. With the possibility of low-scoring games, his steals and any others the Mets can get from Roger Cedeno and Shawon Dunston could be critical factors. X FACTOR The Braves don't need any more motivation than they already have in their desire to win another World Series and silence their critics, but some teams play harder against the Mets because they don't like their manager. Bobby Valentine gave the Braves reason to dislike him even more with his comments about them this week. On the other hand, the fact that they survived their late-season collapse and made it to the postseason could motivate the Mets. CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes PHOTO (color) Manager Bobby Valentine suggested Mets fans could help the Mets beat the Braves. Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press BOX: (1) New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves (see text) (2) How they match up (see text) |
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