Braves in first place

After three weeks the Atlanta Braves are looking good. They are in first place and have taken two series against the NY Mets. I think they are "for real". I must admit, though, that I gave up on them in yesterday's game. When they got down 6-3 after 6 innings and TBS flashed the graphic that showed the Mets' bullpen ERA was 1.10, I started watching the Rangers game and the Cubs game. I hate I missed the excitement, but here's an article about the game from the AJC. Exerpt below:

Kelly Johnson was hitting .150 six days ago, and critics wondered why the Braves seemed intent on having him play second base and bat leadoff. He presumably has quieted those critics. Johnson finished his resounding week by hitting two home runs Sunday in a 9-6 win against the New York Mets, including a tie-breaking, three-run shot with two out in the eighth inning at sold-out Shea Stadium. "Those are the ones that you're going to remember," Johnson said after the Braves rallied from a 6-3 deficit through six innings to win the weekend finale, take the series two games to one and reclaim the NL East lead from the Mets. Edgar Renteria hit a tying three-run homer in the seventh to set the stage for Johnson, who is 13-for-24 in six games to nearly double his average to .297. "I can honestly say, that's my biggest," Johnson said of Sunday's game, which he got started for the Braves by hitting a first-pitch homer against former Atlanta left-hander Tom Glavine. "I'll remember that one for a long time." The decisive homer in the eighth off right-hander Aaron Heilman was Johnson's third hit of the game. He wasn't even sure he would be in the lineup Sunday after going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Saturday. Sunday's two-homer game was his first since June 17, 2005, at Cincinnati in his 15th game. He was an outfielder then. He missed the 2006 season after elbow surgery and was moved to second base last winter. "I told you that sucker was gonna hit," third baseman Chipper Jones said of Johnson, whose .423 on-base percentage ranks near the top among major-league leadoff men. "He's got all the fundamentals and the mental side of it down." Johnson also hit a first-pitch homer to lead off the game on Easter Sunday against the Mets' Orlando Hernandez. The Braves (12-6) are 4-2 this season against the Mets (11-6). They won't face the Mets again until May 22-24 and won't face them again in New York until August. Their nine-game trip continues tonight in Florida and concludes with a weekend series at Colorado.