PITTSBURGH, OCT. 8 -- When the Atlanta Braves arrived at Three Rivers Stadium today, first baseman Sid Bream's first stop was the office of Pittsburgh Manager Jim Leyland, to inquire about the health of Leyland's pregnant wife, Katie, and to suggest an offseason hunting expedition.
Pirates outfielder Andy Van Slyke and Atlanta second baseman Mark Lemke have played a lot of pickup basketball against each other, enjoying a close offseason relationship because Lemke's brother-in-law, Rick Siriano, is a longtime friend of Van Slyke.
Friendships will be placed on hold Wednesday night when the Braves and Pirates open the best-of-seven-game National League Championship Series here, but the fact remains that these are two teams with great respect for each other.
They also boast superb starting pitchers, sluggers with home run credentials, excellent defense, adequate speed and considerable depth.
The Pirates posted a 98-64 record, best in baseball, and enter the playoffs well rested. The Braves, forced to battle to the final weekend before clinching the NL West, waged a torrid 55-29 second half to pull it out.
"Jim Leyland and the coaches have kept everybody mentally prepared," said right-hander Doug Drabek (15-14), the Pirates' first-game starter. "They gave some regulars days off and other guys got some playing time, so they would be ready. They've stressed that it was important to spend the last two weeks preparing for the playoffs."
"We did expend a lot of energy to get here," said left-hander Tom Glavine (20-11), the Braves' starter on Wednesday. "But this is what we worked all season to do. Our desire is still there. Our ultimate goal is to win the World Series."
Both teams have overcome serious distractions to reach this penultimate stage. The Braves were without Bream and outfielder David Justice for long stretches because of injuries and lost outfielder Otis Nixon, who had 72 of the team's 165 stolen bases, in mid-September because of a positive drug test.
The Pirates have been beset by contract squabbles, with slugger Bobby Bonilla rejecting a four-year, $16.8 million offer from the club. He seems certain to leave and there are suggestions that if Pittsburgh fails to win the World Series this year, the wait for a championship could extend well into the next century.
"We've had so many distractions we've learned to put them aside," Van Slyke said. "They're a lot smaller at playoff time than you might think. What bothers me is that all season nobody has focused on the Pirates being a good ballclub. We have a great defensive club, good pitching and we can score runs. We have an enormous amount of weapons, but people seem to take us for granted."
Although the Pirates were 0-6 at Fulton County Stadium this season, there is no apparent urgency for Pittsburgh to win the first two games or face elimination. The teams have not met since July and all concerned feel the Braves' 9-3 season domination means little now.
"We've got to win four of seven," Leyland said. "The rest of the stuff is overrated. You can say they won the season series or we have more playoff experience or they're sharp or we're rested. It just comes down to who plays best the next two weeks."
Leyland makes it plain, however, that he wishes Bream and shortstop Rafael Belliard, both of whom played for Pittsburgh in last fall's NLCS loss to Cincinnati, were still in his lineup.
"They're winners," Leyland said. "They're two great guys and I take it as a compliment to our organization that two guys who were here last year go over there and win again. We knew they were winners, that's why we hated to lose them."
For his part, Bream said: "I'm truly looking forward to this. Jimmy and I are very close."