BRAVES FIND METS AMAZIN'.

Byline: MATT McHALE

Are the New York Mets for real? Are the Atlanta Braves really as good as everybody thought?

In June, nothing is real, except maybe the pain in Ramon Martinez's shoulder.

This past week was proof that a few victories by the Mets over Atlanta can turn a city on its ear, but it's not likely to change the balance of power in the National League East. After emotional victories Monday and Tuesday, frenzied Mets fans brought brooms to Shea Stadium for the final game with the Braves.

They won six straight and four games on their homestand in the ninth inning, each with a different hero. On the radio talk shows, they were billing this team as the new Amazin' Mets, remembering the 1969 gang that won the World Series.

Their 31-19 record since late April got the Mets within four games of the Braves and had everyone thinking wild card or better.

Well, Wednesday, the Braves won 14-7 on two homers by Chipper Jones, including a grand slam off Met's 12-game winner Bobby Jones. The Braves then won two against Philadelphia and the Mets were shutdown in Pittsburgh by Jason Schmidt, a castoff from Atlanta in the Denny Neagle trade.

So let's get real.

The Braves' biggest competition right now comes from the enormous expectation for a team that won a World Series two years ago and the National League pennant last season.

They went just 6-3 on their recent road trip and lost leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton to a pulled groin. The South hadn't looked this bad since Appomattox.

``The win was good for us in that it got us back on the tight track as far a head-to-head with the Mets,'' Jones said. ``They are full of confidence right now and for us to come out, score runs and hit the way we did against their ace speaks volumes for our character.''

Although everyone points to the loss of Lofton for bringing the Braves back to the pack, a better example might be Cy Young right-hander John Smoltz. His numbers aren't bad, just not as good as last year.

After losing Tuesday, his record dropped to 6-7. At this point last season he was 17-2, on his way to a 24-8 record. Last year, he limited the league to a .216 average. This season, the opposition is batting .258.

His strikeouts are down from 9.79 per nine innings to 6.97. There is a sharp contrast in two areas, though. In innings 1-6 last year, the league batted only .203 against him and .263 overall. This year it's .235 in innings 1-6 and .347 after the sixth inning.

He also has given up 12 homers in 123-2/3 innings. Last year, he allowed 19 home runs in 253 innings.

``I think I've pitched better this year, but I had better stuff consistently last year,'' Smoltz said.

``I don't think there are 10 pitchers in the National League throwing it better,'' pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. ``It's just that last year he threw it better than anybody.''

Lofton is eligible to return Thursday in Montreal, but the Braves might hold him back because of the artificial surface at Olympic Stadium.

BLUE JAYS ARE SQUAWKING

Despite Roger Clemens' great start, the Toronto Blue Jays are a mess. The team is for sale, club president Paul Beeston is taking a job in baseball's front office under Bud Selig, manager Cito Gaston is close to getting fired and reserve catcher Charlie O'Brien is calling teammates gutless.

So it was particularly fitting this past week that the Jays played the Boston Red Sox, whose manager, Jimy Williams, returned to Toronto for the first time during the regular season since he was fired there eight years ago. (He coached for the Braves in 1992 World Series.)

Williams's Red Sox are playing better after a miserable start, but he is in no position to gloat. Entering Saturday, he was 16 games back in the AL East and 1-1/2 games behind the Jays.

And the Red Sox have been saddled with problems all year, including charges Wilfredo Cordero assaulted his wife, and Mo Vaughn out for two months with a knee injury.

``I manage the Red Sox,'' Williams said when asked about the Blue Jays situation. ``We're just trying to get back to .500. I loved it here, they gave me a chance, got me started. But we're in the same division and we're just playing the schedule.''

The Blue Jays have been for sale for some time and new owners are expected to replace Gaston, who has been criticized for not blending in younger players.

But O'Brien's comments upset everyone. He wasn't expected to play much this season, but No. 1 catcher Benito Santiago has been a bust and Clemens and other pitchers prefer throwing to O'Brien.

During his career O'Brien, played with Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Cal Ripken and says today's players lack heart.

``I agree with what Charlie said but not the way he went about it, going to the media'' said Orlando Merced, batting .284 after a slow start. ``The ethic might not have been right, but the message was.''

EXTRA INNINGS

The Cubs reached an agreement with outfielder Sammy Sosa on a four-year, $42 million contract that could cost the club some of its more familiar faces. Tribune Co., which owns the team, said the club can't make money with a payroll over $40 million. Sosa's contract puts the Cubs over that. Shawon Dunston ($2 million) and Ryne Sandberg ($3.5 million) might not be back next year as a result. Sandberg, however, must be renewed next year for $3.5 million if he plays 130 games, which he should meet barring injury.

Sandy Alomar extended his hitting streak to 25 games Saturday and now is batting .376, second in the American League. During the streak, Alomar is batting .423 (36 for 85) with two homers and 12 RBI. He is a career .270 hitter. No AL catcher ever has won a batting title. ``Hitting is about bat speed,'' Alomar said. ``Catchers get worn down and their lose bat speed. that's why you don't see catchers winning batting titles.''

Andres Galarraga entered the weekend with 81 RBI. The National League record is 190, by the Cubs' Hack Wilson in 1930. In 1993, Galarraga, who hit 47 homers last year, was batting .404 at the end of June and finished at .370, the higest average by a right-hander since Joe DiMaggio hit .381 in 1939. He says hitting .400 will be much harder than breaking Roger Maris's home run record of 61.

Mark McGwire hit a 538-foot home run off Randy Johnson on Tuesday, perhaps the longest since Mickey Mantle's legendary 565-foot shot in 1956. It was the same night Johnson struck out 19 and lost. The next night, another big homer, this time by former Dodger Rafael Bournigal, his first in 527 big-league at-bats.

``When he came in the dugout, he was white,'' McGwire said. ``It was like he saw a ghost. He was nervous, shaking. It was awesome. We were all stoked for him.''

With Milwaukee's sweep of St. Louis, Brewers manager Phil Garner is 35-18 lifetime against Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa. . . . Orioles Brady Anderson has not hit into a double play in 276 at-bats this season. . . . After failing to get a save since May 28, Boston's Heathcliff Slocumb recorded saves on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

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