After a 14-year reign at the top of the National League East, the Atlanta Braves have all but ceded the division to the Mets for the second straight season. ESPN cites poor performances from the back end of the rotation, but even stalwart No. 2 pitcher Tim Hudson was out-dueled by New York's Oliver Perez Monday in the 3-2 loss.
The last hope for the Braves is the wild-card berth, a race in which they are five games out. General Manager John Schuerholz, a traditionalist, has had to swallow his pride. He used to disdain the idea of the the wild-card berth, but now, he says, "I love it." (More MLB stories.)