I think by now, there is no denying that the Braves might be in serious trouble. A week ago, that looked like a certainty; but since then, the starting rotation has turned in three CGs, and the two out of three in the first Mets series wasn't half bad either -- especially after the New York press prematurely declared the season over and the Mets winners of the NL East.

That's the last thing any team with designs on winning that division needs: their hometown newspaper calling out the Braves in a particularly brazen manner, after you just defeated them at home, in the first series of the season, with your ace on the mound. The results were predictable, and immediate; for the next night's pitcher (I forget his name) tries to pitch like Pedro, but is -- regrettably for him -- not Pedro. Then Glavine turned in a fine performance yesterday, but Hudson, who came into the game with an ERA equal to the gross national products of some third-world nations, turned in a finer one. What's more, these two victories were achieved without the benefit of half their infield and their hottest hitter, Andruw notwithstanding.

So did the New York press speak two soon? Hell, yes; they are morons, and that is a condition that will remain constant as long as our civilization survives. Will the Barves manage once again to prevant the Mets from purchasing a division title? That one is still debatable.