Before I even get into the wait until next year point of reference, I have to give some grief to the Atlanta Braves who handed out “Believe” posters to Braves fans on their entrance to Turner Field Monday night.  The Braves organization has to realize that using the “Believe” term (as in Ya Gotta Believe) certainly is co-opting the Mets fans catch phrase.  I know the Mets don’t own it, but the Braves, as one of the Mets main rivals, certainly should have looked a  little harder for some sort or rallying point.  It just shows a lack of imagination, and a lack of ability to be able to create a unique fan culture for their team and their fans.  To use a Twitter term #BravesFAIL.

The good news for the Braves though, despite the loss last night, is that soon the team won’t need to rely on the marketing department to create the culture.  The players on the field will do that too.  And the Braves will return to being a force next year because their pitching staff is maturing and is quite good.  This Jeff Schultz blog post outlines the reasons.  And this little run has shown those young players what it takes to win and win consistently.  No matter what happens with the games this next week, the Braves might just be the team to beat in the NL East in 2010- no matter what Carlos Beltran or Jimmy Rollins have to say about it.