Braves or Phils? An Unfamiliar Dilemma

With the Braves and Phillies fighting down to the wire for the division crown, Mets fans are faced with an unfamiliar dilemma: who to root for?

This isn't quite as unsavory a question as the one presented by last year's "Bad Meets Evil" World Series between the Yankees and Phillies, but that's small comfort. There's also nothing saying both teams won't find themselves playing October baseball; the second-place Braves currently hold a .5 game lead over the Padres for the Wild Card lead.

But we like to think about these things around here so who are we rooting for, the Braves or the Phillies?

For me it's an easy answer: I'm rooting for the Braves. The 17-year-old me would never believe his ears, but then, he hasn't seen what I've seen.

It's been a long time since the Mets-Braves rivalry of the late '90s. The only remaining active Met or Brave with first-hand experience of the rivalry, Chipper Jones, is on the shelf, and perhaps done for his career. The Phillies still march the same team out there that broke our hearts two years running.

I'd love it more than anything if, for all their Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, they could just miss the playoffs this year. That would be nice.

To do it, the Braves are gonna have to start winning again. Am I above hoping the Mets take a dive this weekend? No.

That's mostly a joke; I still want the Mets to finish strong and if they're part of an equation that means the Braves don't play October baseball, well, there's satisfaction to be had in that.

But priority number one for me is keeping the Phillies out of the dance. Are you with me or against me?

- A.F.O.M.G.