Comments On The Mets Braves Rivalry

Howard Megdal at The New York Observer writes about the Mets Braves rivalryand what some players had to say about it this year:

Bobby Cox:

“That’s nonsense,” he snarled, sitting in the dugout Tuesday night as the teams prepared to do battle. “We play the game of baseball. That’s all.”

Chris Woodward:

“All a lot of these guys have known is winning,” Woodward said. “I think they took losing last year personally. We entered the season believing we can dethrone the Mets.”

Tyler Yates:

“I think we are the class of the NL East,” Yates said. “We have a better lineup, and, I like the bullpen,” he added, smiling immodestly.

Lastings Milledge:

“Growing up, they were always the best team,” Milledge said Tuesday night. “But we’re not going to let it be like that anymore.”

“Look, we’re the first-place team,” Milledge said. “As long as we are, we can lose to them every game, and it doesn’t matter. But hopefully we can change that.”