There are two baseball games today as MLB hosts its first ever 1-game Wild Card play-in format. Here’s a Mets-themed guide to those two games.
National League: Cardinals at Braves – on TBS at 5:07 PM
Mets 2012 records
vs ATL: 6-12
vs STL: 4-3
In postseason
vs ATL – swept the first-ever 1969 NLCS by beating the Braves, 3-0. Atlanta advanced to the World Series in 1999 by beating New York, 4-2.
vs STL – Mets won NLDS in 2000 beating the Cardinals, 3-2. St. Louis returned the favor in 2006, defeating New York in the NLCS, 4-3.
Former Mets on current rosters
ATL – None
STL – Carlos Beltran
Who Mets fans should root for in this game – I understand feeling sentimental for Chipper Jones but why any Mets fans would root for the Braves in a NL playoff game is beyond me. Tony LaRussa being gone only makes it that much easier to root for the Cardinals. Hopefully Beltran delivers a big hit to knock out the Braves and propel the Cardinals to the second round.
American League: Orioles at Rangers – on TBS at 8:37 PM
Last time played
vs BAL: 3-0 (2012)
vs TEX: 2-1 (2011)
In postseason
vs BAL – Defeated in 1969 World Series, 3-1
vs TEX – No postseason matchups
Former Mets on current roster
BAL – Darren O’Day, Omar Quintanilla, Endy Chavez
TEX – Nelson Cruz was once a farmhand
Who Mets fans should root for in this game – Two teams that Mets fans should not feel any particular hatred towards. This one probably comes down to style and preference. It’s hard not to be inspired by the performance of the Orioles, who have seemingly come out of nowhere and flourished under the leadership of Buck Showalter. The Rangers are trying to advance to their third-straight World Series and probably have a roster filled with more familiar names and faces. As for me, I’ve got friends who are Orioles fans so that’s who I hope advances.
I’m not sure who to root for in the NL wild card. On one hand we have the hatred Braves, on the other hand we have the Cards, who are probably the luckiest club in the last 10 years. I actually think I’ll actually root for the Braves simply because the Cards have had way too much luck in the last 6 years they don’t deserve to win.
Of course in the AL wild card i’m going for the Orioles. Who doesn’t love David beating Goliath? Besides, they have Quint, who i loved this year.
That’s a fair point about St. Louis but still not enough to get me to pull for the Braves. I’ll go STL this round and then go against them later in the playoffs.
You see what i mean about St. Louis being the luckiest team? That call was just ridiculous.
Im going with the Cards. Somehow NL Central makes me not care that much, and hey, we have a blueprint for “lucky” success. I hate the Braves and no matter how long they ruled the NL East, we still have more WS rings. I never want them in a position to change that.
O’s all the way. I secretly became a closet Angels fan when I lived in “the OC” in the 80s, so its in my nature to dislike the Rangers. They had their chances and cant seem to find the ball in the air in the outfield when it matters. Time for new faces.
Think I’m in the same boat. I’d like to Carlos Beltran succeed (he deserves it) even though 2006 still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. In the other game, I like underdog teams like the O’s but Texas is a solid team.
Hey everybody.
(I’ll have a piece on the 1962 Mets on Sunday)
I never root for a specific team during the playoffs. I simply root for the great baseball that always seems to take place at this point in the season.
You get the opportunity to see why great teams play playoff baseball. Great managers, lots of clutch field players, young starters that give you innings, and deep bullpens. Especially deep bullpens. I shake my head thinking how easy it seems for these teams to pick the right people come the off-season and wonder why it seems impossible in Queens to duplicate this.
In a pinch, I stay within the division. I like feeling that the eventual winner of the World Series was in my division. It makes me feel that my failed season was for a reason.I would love to see Chipper go out big.
I also have a soft heart for ex-Mets and hope Carlos Beltran duplicates his historic Houston series.
But, it’s baseball that I love and it is never better than this time of the year.
Hey Brian, you think there is any value in bringing up the chatter during playoffs and WS?
Ya root for the Mets and whomever’s playin’ the fuggin’ Yankees…
Just another note about the postseason. I’m not sure how you all feel about this, but it really annoys me that teams are eligible to change/edit their roster after each round,espcially for the 1 game playoff. Let’s say you add reliever A, who you know are not going to carry into the NLDS. Well, if your team blows the other team out, you can then try to get that reliever to eat as many innings so you can save the other guys in your pen. I don’t think that teams should get that advantage. You choose 25 guys for the postseason, and only because of injury you should be able to remove them, and if they are removed, they cannot be readded back on. This aint fantasy baseball.