Return of the Inferiority Complex?

I thought a lot about October last night. Octobers past, Octobers still to come. It started when, randomly, I took a little trip through Y2K history to October 2006.

What a month it was. Pedro was lost so we told ourselves that Glavine-El Duque-Trachsel-Maine could get the job done. Then El Duque was gone and with a gulp we told ourselves Glavine-Trachsel-Maine-Perez was enough. And in the end it was; Trachsel aside, the pitching wasn't the problem, the problem was Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver and Yadier Molina.

More interesting than rehashing the particulars though was reading posts from Sip, Cheddar and myself, as well as comments posted by Lister, Nails, Happy Will, Worndownboyboy (RIP), etc. The words on the screen really brought me back to the moment. The thrill of not knowing how it would all play out, the excitement, the fear. It's a special time of year.

And then as the Mets took the field against the Braves last night I couldn't help but think of the October that is yet to come. Somehow you've gotta think both the Mets and the Braves are gonna be there. Barred from playing each other in the first round, the soonest we'd see them would be the NLCS, a rematch of the classic 1999 tilt.

After winning 2-1 last night, the Braves have now won each of the first 3 head-to-head series with the Mets, taking 6 of 9 overall. We can piss and moan all we like about the umpires -- and believe you me, I was pissing and moaning last night -- but the umpires aren't the reason we're 3-6 vs. the Braves.

Is there a reason? Are the Mets once again shook of the Braves? I certainly don't think they were coming in to the season. I can't imagine why we would have been after winning the season series last year and sweeping that series at Turner Field in early August I believe it was.

But this is a Mets team that constantly talks about wanting to beat the best; in order to be the best you've gotta beat the best, they say. Only the Mets haven't done that against the best competition they've faced, which is, as far as I'm concerned, the Braves.

Now don't get me wrong, I think the Mets are a better, more complete team than the Braves. What concerns me though is whether there the taste of 3 straight series defeats against the Braves will resonate in August, the next time the Mets face the Braves, or October, if both teams should get that far.

Every psychological edge is important, and right now, even as they trail the Mets 1.5 games, the Braves must have gained some confidence by beating the reigning NL East champs in 6 of 9.

There's still time for the Mets to gain the upper hand against the Braves. God knows that handling Atlanta in the second half of the season would make everyone forget about the early-season struggles real fast.

But as for now, as a Mets fan it's been discouraging to watch the 9 games unfold, and hopefully we get a chance to improve our fortunes against them before the inferiority complex that plagued the late 90s teams returns in all its ignominy (and, for that matter, the Braves' superiority complex).

And on that gloomy note, have a good long weekend everybody.

- A.F.O.M.G.

(Images courtesy of artfiles.art.com)