The Mets Come Face-To-Face With Braves They Turned Their Backs On

Tonight, the Mets will come face to face with reality when their four-game set against the Braves begins at Turner Field. The Mets may have to face two of their bigger mistakes that they may have made, and they both might end up biting the Mets in the backside.

First, we have the starter for the Braves, Derek Lowe. Omar Minaya could have snagged Lowe in the offseason as Oliver Perez's replacement, but the Mets' GM was unwilling to commit on a four-year deal on the aging pitcher, not to mention the $15 million annually he ended up earning with his deal with the Braves.

Instead, the Mets opted to give Oliver Perez a three-year deal. It is safe to say that the early verdict would make that a mistake, but the jury really is still out.

Lowe is currently 8-7 with a 4.39 ERA, and he had actually lost four straight decisions prior to his win against the Rockies on July 10. It's really the tale of two pitchers when you talk about Lowe. When his pitches have a good sink, he is nearly unbeatable. But when he leaves his pitches up, that is usually a recipe for disaster.

He already beat the Mets once this year at Citi Field. On May 11, he hurled 6.2 innings of two-run baseball. The two runs that scored against him were via a sacrifice fly and RBI ground-out. The bottom line is that the Mets were definitely duped.

His counterpart tonight will be Perez, who somehow is sporting a 2-2 record despite his 8.78 ERA. He has only made six starts for the Mets this season, and he has gone more than five innings just once, which was in the Mets first regular season win at Citi Field on April 15.

One thing Perez has done before is face the Atlanta Braves. In 14 career starts against them, Perez has a 6-4 record, while sporting an impressive 3.46 ERA. He has been fortunate, seeing as he has allowed 116 base runners in just 91 innings against them in his career. Wouldn't it be nice if he made that total an even 100 tonight?

I know…keep dreaming.

The other move that the Mets made that many fans were unhappy about was the trade that sent Ryan Church to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur. It was really an exchange of headaches, so to speak, as it was clear that Jerry Manuel wasn’t a huge fan of Church, and Francoeur had worn out his welcome in Atlanta.

I know it's early, but let’s see how the guys are doing on their new teams.

First, there's Church, who is taking a bit of time to get into the groove with the Tomahawks. He has played in two games, and has amassed only one hit in nine at-bats. He's putting the ball in play, but he's had some tough luck. He'll be fine.

Jeff Francoeur has eased into the transition a little bit better, as he has four hits in his first nine at-bats as a Met. What is more impressive is that he has struck out only once, but we all know that is going to change.

Overall, I think the jury is still out on both deals. Lowe hasn't been awesome, although Perez hasn't been healthy enough to be anything. Church and Francoeur have been sort of an even swap, although I think the Mets will win this deal in the long run.

Only time will tell.