And so it is the Florida Marlins' turn to be placed into the unenviable position of feeling playoff pressure against the Atlanta Braves. Jim Leyland can use his postseason experience to prevent the Marlins from being emotionally steam-rolled by Atlanta. Baseball's Team of the '90s is favored to parlay its sixth consecutive berth in the NLCS into its third World Series appearance in a row. Except that when these two teams met during the season, Florida won eight of the 12 meetings.
Some teams just have other teams' numbers.
But the Marlins aren't the Astros, and the Braves know it. Closer Robb Nen experienced his rough moments in '97, but he posted a 0.00 ERA in eight appearances, yielding two hits and picking up four saves, against the Braves. From behind the plate, Charles Johnson threw out Atlanta leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton three times in five steal attempts. Whatever the reason, the Marlins will not be emotionally steam-rolled by Atlanta in this series. They may be beaten but they won't be bullied.