MILWAUKEE – Pay no attention to the oddsmakers, the pundits or the experts (at least the others).

Ignore the season records, which also favor the Brewers over the Mets. Overlook the very recent meeting between these two teams at this very spot, which also favors the Brewers.

Now even ignore the analytics.

Throw everything away.

Yes, those small, ambitious underdogs the Mets, who hardly anyone but their plucky baseball leader expected to play until October, and who the majority expect to be eliminated here in this wild-card series, certainly can beat big, bad brewers.

(Admittedly, this is the smallest MLB market and the Mets obviously play in the largest. But on paper and on the field, this Brewers team, the winner by a wide margin in the NL Central, is largely the one that more closely resembles a powerhouse now !)

It won’t be easy, Mets fans. But it is doable.

Mets boss David Stearns, who relished his opportunities from the start, could be the best in the business judging by his results in his first year in Queens. But unfortunately, he spent most of the last seven years here building the most formidable team the Mets now have to play (he was just a consultant last year before his contract finally expired and he was allowed to go to his hometown Mets). . And frankly, he did too good a job for Milwaukee for his own good.

I mentioned this to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and Mendoza replied, “I’m just glad he’s on our side now.”

The Mets actually have a lot to offer, even if scouts view them as the likely loser of this first-round matchup. Reason #1 for their belief is that these experts have great admiration for brewers. Reason 2 is that some believe the Mets might lose their steam after fighting so hard to get here.

Here’s a National League scout on the Brewers. (Look away for a moment, Mets fans.)

“They are good. They play baseball. They run, they hit, they score situationally, they are generally solid on defense. They don’t make many mistakes. Pitching is better than expected. I would be very surprised if they didn’t beat the Mets,” the scout said.

But what about the Mets? They argue over the highest payroll in the league and scratch and scrap. They’re doing what they can, and that’s why they came back strong after starting 0-5, after falling to 11 games under .500 and, frankly, after looking dead in the water (and that means nothing to do with the hurricane that came, added). to the immense drama and extended their season by one day).

“The Mets are making too many mistakes (in my opinion),” the scout said. “They also have too many wasted ABs. The Brewers don’t give anything away, they compete the entire game. The Mets just don’t have the guts (in my opinion). The Mets are hot and cold, the Brewers are more consistent. If the Mets were really hot I might have a different opinion, but I think they ran out of gas. I think they got lucky (Monday in Atlanta) when they were a couple innings late.”

Okay, that’s an opinion.

As someone who has followed them for 162 years, I see a few other positives and even reasons why they can pull off this upset. Here it goes…

1. Francisco Lindor is great, even with a bad back.

He said he was hurt and tired as he circled the bases after hitting perhaps the greatest home run in Mets history, helping the Mets win October in a classic Game No. 161. He may not be the league’s MVP (it’s hard to see Shohei). Ohtani is far from unanimous now), but he is the best shortstop in the league. He came within a whisker of becoming the second shortstop to complete consecutive 30-30 seasons, and he’s been solidifying things since Mendoza named him leader in May. He’s also a leader who lives up to the nickname Mr. Smiles and makes the clubhouse a happy place (Brandon Nimmo gets half the credit there).

2. The Mets’ pitching isn’t as bad as it could have been.

Luis Severino was spared from the farcical Finals and is a worthy starter for Game 1, and Sean Manaea and noted Brewers hitman Jose Quintana are ready to play in Games 2 and 3 (if necessary). Edwin Diaz said he was probably “down” for Game 1 after throwing 66 pitches over the last two days, but they came out of the problematic twin calculation better than anyone thought.

3. The pressure is off after they arrive where almost no one expected.

You could feel the tension in the first few games in Milwaukee this past weekend (the Brewers won two of three games, making them 5-1 on the season against the Mets, but that doesn’t mean anything). Mendoza advised them to play with a smile, but that wouldn’t have been easy against the archenemy Braves, their tormentors for decades. Even though things aren’t much better for them here, it feels like a huge burden has been lifted.