Column for sny.tv: As significant as the Mets winning a series in Atlanta is after the slow start, the way they won, showing toughness, fight, and even a killer instinct, may well say a lot about the makeup of this team. tinyurl.com/85xsfvya

'Winning two of three in Cincinnati offered a whiff of hope, but the wins in Atlanta carry much more weight'

The Mets' series win over the Braves provides hope their slow start is behind them (via John Harper) on.sny.tv/NAMJp7M

Brandon Nimmo broke out on Monday & Sal Licata swears he talked about his importance (off-air) before the game!

On BNNY, Britt Ghiroli & John Harper discuss Nimmo's expectations, while Dani Wexelman talks Francisco Lindor's importance on.sny.tv/UQ9UIa1

▶ Tri-State Cadillac

Has Anthony Volpe impressed more than Juan Soto?

On Baseball Night in New York, our panel of Sal Licata, Dani Wexelman, John Harper & Britt Ghiroli discuss on.sny.tv/Nkh74CJ

Meant to mention this last night: of all the notable plays in the Mets' wild win over the Braves, none was more impressive than Alvarez turning a wild pitch into a throw-out at second of Olson by barehanding the bounce-back off the wall, turning and firing. Pretty spectacular.

So Mets have won 4 of 5 since 0-5 start and the only loss had a lot to do with poor defense from backup catcher. Pitching has been better than expected but bullpen being taxed heavily. Two games already where 3 top relievers weren't available. Need more length from the starters.

Gutsy win for Mets. Remarkable, actually, after being down 4-0 in Atlanta with Tehran out and only the 'B' relievers available. Huge night for Nimmo. Not sure how Lopez escaped the 9th. Thought he had a sinker. Was throwing nothing but straight FBs and Braves were teeing off.

Depleted bullpen (already?) at the heart of Mets' ugly loss but much of it falls on Narvaez. Total lack of awareness of runner allowed steal of home in 1st-and-3rd situation, then failure to block strike 3 in dirt opened door to 5-run 8th. To be fair, he did have big hit earlier.

Still getting over that illegal screen call on UConn but have a thought on Mets: Baty's emergence could be significant. Much improved defensively, highlighted by big-time play Friday, going to his left, making off-balance throw to get De La Cruz. Having promising at-bats as well.

Amazing effort by Uconn women overcoming all the injuries to reach Final Four. Paige Bueckers clutch as ever against USC: 28 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, two key steals while guarding JuJu Watkins late. Undermanned as Uconn was, this might be Auriemma's best coaching job ever.

Just to clarify from earlier: Zeile's point was that hitting a player on the hip is generally regarded as an accepted form of retaliating (as Hoskins demonstrated with gesture) and umpires sometimes let it go. But it depends on ump crew and how they see potential for escalation.

Zeile makes same point as Darling, that the time to send a message to Hoskins was in 1st inning, at least to make him less comfortable in the box. Also said that if Severino had hit Hoskins in the hip in that 1st inning, he didn't believe umps would have ejected him.

Good for Baty. Big HR should be good for his confidence, which may be his biggest hurdle. Great work ethic, still think he can be the guy at 3B. For all of his problems last year, he's always had a solid approach against lefthanded pitching.

At least Yohan Ramirez showed some fight by throwing at Hoskins. But have to defer to Darling again who said 'it's about two hours too late.' Said the time to send the message about Friday's slide was with knockdown pitch in 1st inning. 'Not after a guy beats your brains in.'

Mets look soft as Hoskins piles on. You know it's an issue when Darling talked openly about missed opportunity for payback. Careful not to call for beanball but 'you can still send a message to say hey listen, we recognize what happened yesterday. It's not going to happen again.'

The best part about this year's March Madness has been the reunion of Bill Raftery and Ian Eagle. As good together now as they were briefly as the Nets' broadcast team once upon a time.

From Citi for sny.tv: Hoskins' slide wasn't Utley-like but Mets say he has repeatedly targeted McNeil. If they feel he went over the line, it gives Mendoza a chance to set a new tone after no one had Alonso's back last year. tinyurl.com/5924ry43

'If the Mets’ players feel Hoskins went over the line, then as a manager you need to have a feel for that.'

Carlos Mendoza's first test as Mets manager is how he handles the Jeff McNeil-Rhys Hoskins incident (via John Harper) on.sny.tv/KSK3pPD

Special one-hour edition of BNNY coming up on SNY at, to be precise, 6:14 pm. (After the Doc documentary). Join me, Sal Licata Hannah Keyser and John Jastremski in studio. John Harper will join from Citi Field. Met opener, Yanks, Lineup Card! Get in on this.

Impressive relief outing by Drew Smith, striking out Rhys Hoskins with two runners on (via Quintana) to end the fifth and going 1-2-3 in sixth, getting pop-ups/fly balls with his fastball. Hangers cost him big last season. Could this be the year he figures it out?