Chop Chick

By reallynow

April 20, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

Seems to me that these new Mets are a bigger rival than the 1999/2000 clubs were. After all, who won the division last year?

It’s funny that your post didn’t include Mr. Racist^H^H^H^H^H^HRocker.

By Chop Chick

April 20, 2007 3:54 PM | Link to this

My point is that the Braves-Mets hate/hate back when Bobby V. ran the show was FUN. The Rocker incident threw cold water on it for all of us who enjoy good old fashioned baseball love-to-hate-you rivalries.

By Turnin2

April 20, 2007 3:55 PM | Link to this

I gained a whole lot of respect for the Mets organization when they gave Tommy time to see if JS would welcome him back home. I think that was one of the most classiest things I’ve heard about in baseball for a long time. Hard to hate them anymore… nowadays, it’s easier for me to find players to detest (insert Barry Bonds here) instead of entire organizations…

By Joshhh

April 20, 2007 4:11 PM | Link to this

I dont know about everyone else but I am 18 and find this rivalry getting me p** off just about every game. So maybe its just that you are used to the old stuff.My hate for the Mets is as real as it ever has been.

By atlfunk

April 20, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this

It’s still there. But you sure don’t help it with your crush on David Wright.

By Daniel

April 20, 2007 4:28 PM | Link to this

I would really like to see a fire lit under the players, and it all starts with the coaches. Put one under the chin on someone when theres 2 outs, no one on in the bottom of the first. I dont really think that style favors the Braves or the Mets especially, but it needs to be the tone that is set. Hey, I just had a better idea… Put one under the pitchers chin and get Randolf all fired up!

By Bob

April 20, 2007 4:32 PM | Link to this

I agree Joshhh, I’m 28 and a grew up watching and despising the mets. I really do not care who our season losses come against as long as we win the season series against the Mets. I also love beating the Red Sox I think that is our second best rivalery.

By Chop Chick

April 20, 2007 5:09 PM | Link to this

Crush? You’re misreading my Mr. Wright comments, atlfunk (great screenname, by the way). Last year, I admit that for a weak minute the glamour of it all got to me. But now? Ehhhh…

Sorry. I can’t go for any man whose eyelashes are prettier than mine. Or any other woman’s for that matter. And David Wright’s eyelashes? Are. So… no. You just know David Wright spends too much time checking his hair in the mirror each morning instead of just going out there and starting his day. Frenchy? Wouldn’t do that.

By alan from Atlanta GA.

April 20, 2007 5:12 PM | Link to this

Hey chop chick, I’m a former Mets fan, just wanted to tell you it wasn’t that we we couldn’t score yankee tix, we just didn’t want them. The yankees have sucked for more years than you’ve been around probably. The old Mets of marvelous marv and the rest were alot more fun than the yankees could ever dream of being. Braves fans should be as vocal of the Braves as the Mets fans are of them. I follow the Braves happily now but don’t put the Mets fans down as being unable to get tickets. We just never liked the yankees.

By Carroll

April 20, 2007 6:59 PM | Link to this

Chick: DIsagree about Rocker. Keep in mind, the apex of the rivalry came BEFORE the SI article. It was back when Rocker made friendly and benignly hateful comments toward New Yorkers. That was truly fun.

By Carroll

April 20, 2007 7:13 PM | Link to this

Bob: The Red Sox rivalry is too contrived for me…they’ve been shoving it down our throats since interleague began. I much prefer our rivalry with the Yanks. I’ve hated them SO much ever since they ruined my world back in 1996 LOL!

By Bob

April 20, 2007 8:59 PM | Link to this

Carroll: I agree I hate the Yankees more because of the fact we should have been the team of the 90’s if we had won that series in 96. But the fact is look at our record against them since interleague began not to good. Boston makes since because braves came from there and I love when the Braves play there, something about Fenway I guess. Maybe it’s just me though.

By El Caganer

April 21, 2007 12:51 AM | Link to this

I really don’t have a problem with the Metropolitans or probably a majority of their fans. The few who post here talking smack then disappear when their team gets beat though can go bite a big one.

The rivalry I miss the most though is the old Dodgers rivalry when the Braves where in the NL West. I guess every team in the NL West considered them a rivalry since most times they were the team to beat, but I still miss it. Now with the divisional schedule the Braves barely face them and it died.

Now I guess the Metropolitans are the arch rival now.

By Chop Chick

April 21, 2007 1:09 AM | Link to this

I agree that Ye Olden Days when Tommy Lasorda would pop into Atlanta Stadium wearing an “I [Heart] Atlanta” t-shirt were hilarious. You had to love that kind of moxie but you knew deep down that while Lasorda bleeds Dodger Blue, he loves baseball. And baseball fans. In every town. So those t-shirts? Probably sort of true.

By Ippississim

April 21, 2007 3:19 AM | Link to this

I’ve been rooting for the Braves since 1986 (first grade), and I followed intently until it seemed obvious that the division title was a gimmee every year, and I lost interest (kinda like reading the same book 14 1/2 times). The fact that spell was broken is what got me fired up again and watching, and the fact that the Mutts are the ones who broke the spell has made my hatred for them burn like the sun.

By chipdip

April 21, 2007 7:57 AM | Link to this

bring back art shamisky…hoi..hoi…hoi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Mark Wilson

April 21, 2007 8:54 AM | Link to this

Wow….who can forget the “hated-dodgers” (one word!)….I still think that is the best rivalry we ever had, because we chased them for years until we caught them….and beat em like a red-headed stepchild, as the old saying goes. And I have watched the Braves since the mid-60’s, when I was about 6….there have been some REAL lean years. You know its a small crowd in the 80’s when you scream at our then-third baseman “Bob Horner, you SUCK” and he turns around and glares straight at you! lol….enjoy these days, boys and girls! JS and BC will retire, and until we get a single owner like Ted again, this team aint gonna be what it was…..

By darrin

April 21, 2007 12:40 PM | Link to this

I love rivalries but thse Cincinnati rivalries of yesteryear were the best I still hatem today!

By samslice21

April 21, 2007 2:31 PM | Link to this

you’re crazy if you’re hardpressed to find individuals to hate on this Mets ballclub. Watching Oliver Perez obnoxiously slap his glove and pump his fist after every strike is making me want to reach through my TV screen and throttle his skinny neck!

Other Mets that grind the nerves: Paul Lo Duca, Jose Reyes, Pedro (of course), Carlos Beltran, David ‘Prettyboy’ Wright.. they’re all a buncha self-assured obnoxious punks.

It’s true that Randolph is tough to hate, but the Mets players are as annoying as ever.

By Antonio Lee

April 21, 2007 4:55 PM | Link to this

I enjoyed the old Mets-Braves just wait it will heat up.

By Conor

April 21, 2007 9:30 PM | Link to this

I apologize because I always write to others who complain about a writer’s work to simply not read it. And I had stopped reading yours.

However this is awful. Do you have any idea what “quirky” means? Reyes is an all star who will steal runs from us for years. LoDuca was traded from situations where he was comfortable.

Wanna’ ride him then ride him over throwing a fit over his girlfriends name or those stupid horses. It’s just so lazy. Somewhere there must be a column that doesn’t include Glavine. Everybody works for the most money, everybody! He held off and we didn’t even make an offer. So drop it already.

With our 1B situation and after Andruw leaves then you’ll wish for Los Carlos’ It’s clear that over the long haul we probably will not beat this team. The Braves are a corporate “part” now and winning those divisions will become a distant memory.

Want to hate somebody? TW and Liberty should give you plenty of ammo.

By Kenny

April 22, 2007 8:59 AM | Link to this

You just don’t get it. Met fans aren’t “Yankee fans who couldn’t score tickets”. Many/most Met fans hate the Yankees every bit as much as the Yankee fans hate the Red Sox.

New York always has been a National League town….far longer than Atlanta. The national league tradition predates the Mets, and goes back to NY’s era as home for the Dodgers and Giants. It took the ineptitude of the M. Donald Grant ownership years to start killing off Met crowds. Back in the bad old days when Seaver was traded away and Shea became known as “Grant’s Tomb”.

Lets not be sanctimonious, shall we? Braves fans are legendary in their lack of support for the team. Its the ONLY team I can think of where you can watch postseason games and see so many fans disguised as EMPTY SEATS. Not to sell out every playoff game in a city the size of Atlanta is shameful. If its because the fans got “too used to winning”, then the current scenario is deserved and just the tonic you need.

By samslice21

April 22, 2007 10:20 AM | Link to this

I agree, as a Braves fan, it is embarassing to look around at a postseason game and see so many empty seats.

However, I think the reasoning that this pheonomenon is ‘shameful’ because of the size of Atlanta is flawed.

Atlanta is a melting pot city; I live and work here and am a definite minority as a native Georgian. People move to Atlanta from other places after growing up and attending college elsewhere in the U.S., and they’re not Braves fans. There are fans of all teams here, which is one reason there are always lots of fans of the visiting teams at Braves homegames.

The Braves fanbase are scattered all over the Southeast (and thanks to TBS’s national broadcasts, all over the country), not in Atlanta. It is a trait that is unique to Atlanta, and Braves fans get a lot of grief over it, but if the Braves didn’t have any fans, they wouldn’t have survived on national telecasts for as long as they have.

By bclontz

April 22, 2007 1:29 PM | Link to this

I am a Braves fan! I am not a Mets fan ! Which team do I think will win the devision this year? Unless there is some devine intervention! METS !!! They have hitting, speed and pitching! Braves have the makings of a great team but are being held back by the loyalty to some players who have decided to take a vacation early. As great a player as Andruw is, he either has neurological problems or needs to be tested for drugs or alcohol or both. He can’t stand up long enough to finish a plate appearance, swings wildly at anything and everything thrown except a strike. Has that don’t give a darn smirk when he strikes out, and just isn’t in the game. Oh heck! What do I know ? I’m just a hard working baseball fan who can’t afford to attend games anymore….never mind my ramblings……

By dax

April 22, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this

Braves just will not make it to the big show. Reason…Bobby Cox…he does not do what is needed to get that run in. Man on 2nd no outs…then three straight outs…where is the bunt…2 bunts one run…3 outs no run…the Cox way…

By samslice21

April 22, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this

anyone who blames ANYTHING on Bobby Cox either a) doesn’t know baseball; or b) needs to get their head examined.

By Frank the Tank

April 22, 2007 5:33 PM | Link to this

It is hard for me to understand how you find it difficult to hate New York’s least favorite team. These are the two best teams in the NL fighting for first in the same division. One team does it with great coaching and management, and the other buys the most expensive free agents that the Yankees decided to pass on. I don’t understand how you can not despise a stadium of fat, mustachioed, jersey-wearing grown men. I hate watching games played at Shea Stadium. Between every single pitch they have hip-hop or salsa blarring from the loud speakers. They brought out a freaking soccer chant the other day! Laaaaaaammmmmmmmeeeeeee. God, that damn apple in right field is the stupidest thing I have ever seen at a ball park. I wish nothing more than for the Mets to lose every single game and the band wagon fanbase to boo them out of that disgusting city. Every player on that team not named Glavine or Franco is a prick. Go to hell Mets…go to hell.

By Rick

April 22, 2007 6:04 PM | Link to this

Bring back John Rocker!!

By ChopTalk

April 22, 2007 7:38 PM | Link to this

It is easy to hate them. I just don’t see the parallel. 1999 or 2007 all compelling games…all NY teams to hate, especially this year.

By El Caganer

April 22, 2007 10:41 PM | Link to this

What is it about the Braves? The Metropolitans are a superior team on paper. They have an ownership that will spend money for the big names as well as the stars they develop. They have power, speed, pitching, and a big money/big time closer. Yet this seaon so far they are only 2-4 against the Braves.

The Braves have corporate ownership who won’t let them go over the preset budget no matter what. Other than Chipper and Andruw they have no real big names (and those are home grown). They do have a good one-two punch at the top of the rotation but the rest of the rotation is still a question mark. Except for Hudson, they haven’t signed any big name free agents.

Yet the Braves have managed to take 2 out of 3 in both series with the Metropolitans so far this year.

This is my opinion of why. It is an intangible which cannot be put on paper as a stat. The best word to describe it is the word “heart”. I also believ we can credit a lot of this “heart” to Bobby Cox.

Oh, and I would also like to ask where are all these smack talking Metropolitan fans who were posting in the AJC forums? There are a few cool Metropolitan fans on here so I am not referring to them, just the jerky ones. The jerky ones can now go bite the big one I was talking about in an earlier post.

By Fan#16

April 23, 2007 10:38 AM | Link to this

Chop Chick are you kidding? Seems to me the rivalry is very much alive and kickin’. Love it!

Whatever dax, Bobby Cox is an outstanding manager. Clearly you do not know baseball if you think otherwise.

I would think that most Atlantans, particularly those of us who are NOT transplants, find it very easy to dislike all teams from New York…especially the freakin’ Rangers.

**NOW LET’S GO FISHIN’!!

GO BRAVES!!**

By The Murf

April 23, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

Are you kidding? This weekend’s series, especially yesterday’s game, had the feeling of an October race to the playoffs.

By bclontz

April 23, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

I’m still worried about Andruw! Yes, I know he had two hits yesterday! But! He also stumbled around in the outfield, didn’t hustle like Andruw is capable of doing, mishandled a simple ball that he could have stopped the runner at second with! All I’m saying is…..if there’s a medical condition correct it, if not!, check the blood….and that’s all I’ve got to say about that!!!!!!!Smile……I love the old american game, but hate Corporate baseball….Go Braves!!!!!!!

By Apaul404

April 23, 2007 11:19 AM | Link to this

Are you kidding? Those were some exciting games this weekend. A close second to the Red Sox and Yankees. Bobby Cox is a good manager. If he has one glaring fault it is that sometimes he leaves his pitchers in the game too long. As you saw on Sunday. In the 8th Smoltz gave up the hr to Green and several other hard it balls that were outs. He was wearing down. But he stayed in one too many innings and the Mets capitalized. With that said I would still take my chances with him. He’s a proven winner. Glad we pulled it out. Go Braves.

By Josh

April 23, 2007 1:18 PM | Link to this

Anyone who says the Braves/Mets rivalry isn’t hot today wasn’t in New York this weekend……I got the feeling being around their fans all weekend that even though the Mets won the NL East last yr, they still look to the Braves as the team to beat to measure themselves, and thus far they haven’t measured up

By Ben in the ATH

April 23, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this

I notice your blog was posted before this weekend’s games. I’d love to hear what you think now. To me, I still hate the Mets just as much as ever, after all, they did win the freaking division last year and actually make it a competitive rivalry. Maybe your just nostalgic for the good ol’ days, but I think it’s still very much alive, in it’s prime even, for Braves and Mets fans alike.

By Ripme

April 24, 2007 11:57 AM | Link to this

Vick missed fight to congress? I guess he forgot his water bottle.

By Biteme

April 24, 2007 12:53 PM | Link to this

actually Ripme, he was playing in Warrick Dunn’s charity golf tournament in Florida and his flight from there was late. If you actually read the articles on this site and not just the headlines you wouldn’t sound like an idiot.

By dawgbrave

April 25, 2007 2:20 PM | Link to this

I loved the first series at home when we won and Randolph actually looked rattled mouthing bulls*%# to the umpire. That made my week, and if there is one guy we can all love to hate it would be that Perez pitcher. Not just because he has beaten us twice but like Reyes he likes to strut around like he has actually done something in this league. I loved when Chucky James accidently through at him last game and he tried to act big and bad and stare him down. What an idiot!! GO BRAVES!!

By bclontz

April 26, 2007 1:06 PM | Link to this

Last nights game against the Fish had all the “Smellings” of the old Braves teams….get some runs early, leave men in scoring position several times until the other team can break loose and beat you!!!!!!Hope this was just a fluke!!!!Andruw needs a trip to Richmond or Rome so he can see how the other half lives…Pendletons statement about butting heads with Andruw in batting practice makes me wonder if Andruw hasn’t gotten past the point of resurrection….There are too many players out there that can play an acceptable center field and still be consistant at the plate. I want to see the old Andruw, or I want to see him gone. He’s an embarrassment to himself and teammates right now….#1. You listen to your hitting coach #2. You wipe that stupid grin off your face #3. You stop drinking or sniffing whatever it is that’s making you stagger around so much or #4. Go see a doctor who can test your motor skills or #5. Keep embarassing your fans…We love you, but we sure as heck don’t love what’s happened to you….And that’s all I have to say about that…….

By joebrave

April 26, 2007 2:57 PM | Link to this

I agree on A.J. He is really starting to p** me off!other than just chalking the game up to one of those types of ghames it happens sometimes! And on to Langerhans maybe somebody will notice he needs a new address and feel sorry for him and bail hom out…

By bclontz

April 27, 2007 10:18 AM | Link to this

Agree with Joebrave, Langerhans got a serious problem with his hitting. He will probably make someone a great ball player, but for some reason, I don’t see him making it in Atlanta. I’d like to see him start hitting, but this thing has gone on long enough. Take him behind the barn, tell him what you expect and how long he has to make it happen and where his next locker will be located. And ask him if he’ll consider taking Andruw with him!!!!!It’s a shame that it has come to this, but that’s what spring training is for, work out your problems and get ready for the season. And that’s all I’ve got to say about that!!!!!!smile

By Chopchick sucks

April 30, 2007 9:09 PM | Link to this

“people who couldn’t score Yankees tickets and had to settle for seats at Shea”

Big talk from someone who’s blog became cricket-ville the second the Braves were elminated from post season contention last year. Oh that’s right, you had “other things” going on. What could be more important than baseball, Ms. Braves Baseball is everything? Please, you really are pathetic.