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

Ignore the season records, which also favor the Brewers over the Mets. Take a look at the extremely recent matchup between these two teams at this exact spot, which also favors the Brewers.

Now even ignore the analytics.

Throw it all away.

Yes, these small, overachieving, underdog Mets, who were expected by almost no one other than their bold baseball leader to play in October and expected by a majority to be eliminated here in this wild card series, can certainly beat this one big bad beer makers.

(To be fair, this is the MLB’s smallest market, and the Mets clearly play in the largest. But on paper and on the field, this Brewers team, runaway winners in the NL Central, is for the most part the closest thing to a powerhouse now!)

It won’t be easy, Mets fans. But it can be done.

That Mets honcho who liked their chances from the start, David Stearns, might be the best in the business judging by his results in his first year in Queens. But unfortunately, he’s spent the better part of the last seven years here building the sheer strength of a team the Mets now have to play (he was just a consultant last year before his contract eventually expired and he left for his hometown Mets was allowed to leave). . And honestly, he was doing too well for Milwaukee for his own good now.

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

The Mets actually have a lot going for them, even if scouts see them as the likely loser of this first-round matchup. Reason No. 1 for their belief is that these pundits, to a man, express great admiration for the Brewers. Reason 2 is that some believe the Mets may be up after fighting so hard to get here.

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

“They are good. They play baseball. They run, they bunt, they are situationally hit, they are fundamentally sound on defense. They don’t make many mistakes. The pitching is going better than expected. “I would be very surprised if they don’t beat the Mets,” the scout said.

But what about the Mets? In spite of the league’s highest payroll, they cut and cut. They’re doing what they can, and that’s why they came back strong after starting 0-5, after falling below .500 in 11 games, and honestly, after looking dead in the water (and that has nothing to do with dealing with the hurricane that came added to the immense drama and extended their season by a 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 all game. The Mets just don’t have the kind of grit (in my opinion). The Mets are hot and cold, the Brewers more consistent. If the Mets were really hot I might have a different opinion, but I think they’re out of gas. I think they got lucky (Monday in Atlanta) with a couple of innings late.”

Okay, that’s one opinion.

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

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

He said he was sore and tired as he circled the bases after hitting perhaps the biggest home run in Mets history and helping the Mets reach October in a classic of game No. 161. He may not be the league’s MVP (it’s hard to see that Shohei Ohtani is anything but unanimous now), but he’s the best shortstop in the league. He came within one steal of the finish, becoming the second shortstop to post consecutive 30-30 seasons and solidifying everything since Mendoza moved him to the top spot. in May. He is also a leader nicknamed Mr. Smiles delivers and makes the clubhouse a happy place (Brandon Nimmo gets half the credit for that).

2. The Mets pitching isn’t in the terrible shape it could have been.

Luis Severino was spared the farcical finale and is a worthy Game 1 starter, and Sean Manaea and noted Brewers killer Jose Quintana are ready to go in Games 2 and 3 (if necessary). Edwin Diaz said he’s probably down for Game 1 after throwing 66 pitches the previous two days, but they came out of the tough Twin Bill better than anyone expected.

3. The pressure is off after almost no one expected them to be.

You could feel the tension during the first few games in Milwaukee last weekend (the Brewers won two of three to make it 5-1 for the season vs. the Mets, which means nothing.) Mendoza advised them to go with a smile , but that couldn’t have been easy against the arch-enemy Braves, their tormentors for decades. But while they haven’t done much better here, it feels like a major burden has been lifted.