ATLANTA – The scenario was weird. The comment was unneeded and it was one Bobby Valentine later took back.

And it all happened before the Mets beat the Braves last night for just the third time in 23 games at Turner Field.

“If we don’t make the playoffs, I gladly take Fred [Wilpon] off the hook, if we have to get into that nonsense again,” Valentine said in his pre-game talk in his road manager’s office.

Valentine was later asked what hook Fred was on?

“I shouldn’t have said that,” Valentine said before last night’s 6-3 victory. “Please, I’ve got to retract that silly thing. I was trying to cut to the chase, jump to a conclusion to what someone was going to ask.”

On Aug. 31, Wilpon – the more influential of the two co-owners – told The Post his intentions of bringing back Valentine.

The question that day was: Do you want Valentine back?

“Both Nelson [Doubleday] and I do,” Wilpon told The Post. “It’s Steve [Phillips’] decision and he does as well.”

It appears Pat Mahomes’ playoff spot is still relatively safe, even though his pitching hasn’t been playoff-worthy of late.

“My mindset is I got to try to get guys out,” Mahomes said. “The last couple of times I’ve thrown the ball pretty well except for the home run I gave up to [Brian] Jordan.”

That was to Jordan on Monday during Mahomes’ one-inning of work. Then on Tuesday, Mahomes didn’t exactly appear ready to work.

After Glendon Rusch left with two outs in the second, Mahomes entered with two runners on. He walked two guys to force in a run and then gave up a two-run single to Javy Lopez.

Ever the optimist, Bobby Valentine said he thought that a positive of the recent Mets’ poor plays is that he hasn’t had to call on either John Franco or Armando Benitez of late. This means they could be fresh at the end of the season and into the playoffs.