Glamour series comes to The Ted

It’s a sports marketer’s dream. It’s a baseball lover’s delight. It’s a manager’s nightmare.

We’re talking about the Atlanta Braves’ homestand, which began with a makeup game against the Chicago Cubs Monday night, will careen into a three-game set against the regal New York Yankees beginning tonight, then catapult right into another three-gamer against mighty Red Sox of Boston.

Clearing that minefield, the Braves will return to National League play with a series against the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Reportedly the season will continue after that.

“Obviously these next six games before the Phillies series has been something a lot of fans have been looking forward to and we’ve been looking forward to for a lot of reasons,” said Derek Schiller, the Braves executive vice president for sales and marketing. “Here in Atlanta we don’t get to see the Yankees or the Red Sox very often and it just so happened that we get them back-to-back. In all of baseball, I’m not sure there has been too many teams that have had a stretch like this.”

The immediate focus is on the “Bronx Bombers,” led by $180 million slugger and Atlanta resident Mark Teixeira, the Georgia Tech graduate that slipped out of the Braves’ grasp. Atlanta rookie pitching sensation Tommy Hanson has the honor of facing off against a lineup that includes Teixeira, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada.

Not surprisingly, the Braves are expecting “very large crowds.” Still, Schiller said there are tickets available for all three series. Ticket prices range from $1 for standing-room only seats (a limited number are available only as walk-up sales) to $70 for premium seats, he said.

Meanwhile, the Braves are preparing for the onslaught. Gates will open an hour earlier than usual — 3 1/2 hours before first pitch — so fans can beat the traffic and get in to see batting practice and warm-ups. They will also have additional entertainment in the fan plaza.

“We’re strongly recommending arriving early to beat the traffic and get to the parking lots,” Schiller said. “There should be quite a tailgating atmosphere.”

But this is more than fun and games. For manager Bobby Cox and the team, four games out of first in the NL East, this is the most critical juncture of the season.

“From a baseball standpoint, it’s probably three of the toughest teams we’ll see all year long,” Schiller said. “That’s why we want Braves fans that have supported us loyally and faithfully all these years to come out and we want to hear them. We want the Yankees and Red Sox fans to know this is the home of the Atlanta Braves. This is our house.”