Vroom me out to the ballgame

So Pedro is back and the Mets are in good shape. What a nice, comforting win last night. So long as the Mets can take two out of three this series -- and continue to win two out of three more often than they lose that ratio -- I'll relax more and more each day. For the past few years now, I've been hoping for someone to knock the Braves from the top of the National League East. ABB was my motto -- Anybody But the Braves. I thought last year might be it; then I really thought this year was it, but I didn't know if the Mets would be the ones to do it.

I think we're getting closer to that.

But how about last night? The largest crowd -- well, regular-season crowd, they say -- to see a game in the 40 years the Braves have been in Atlanta? Damn. What could have brought them out to The Ted?

Oh. NASCAR Night.

Yep, some real baseball fans they have down there in Atlanta. Not that it doesn't surprise me. There have been repeated signs, but unless the team reaches the NLCS, the fans don't pay much attention. The die-hards are there, as they are in every city (how do you think the Royals and Marlins claim even 10,000 per game?), but if Jimmy Carter's seat is empty, you can bet there aren't many filled in the upper deck, either.