Suddenly, Atlanta’s weakness would seem to be a strength.

“Some would regard this as overkill or overload,” Schuerholz said. “It’s my view that the bullpen, especially the back end of it, is as strong as it’s ever been. We have good reason to believe we won’t have to endure what we did last year.”

The veterans have tried to get across to the youngsters that anything short of playing in October will not be tolerated. Manager Bobby Cox changed up his normal speech before the first full-squad workout of spring training, putting more fire in his words while making it clear that he considers last year an aberration.

“I’ve never seen so many people focused on day one of spring training,” Francoeur said. “A lot of people have ranked us third in the NL East. That’s great. Let them do it. I love it. We’ll just kind of cruise along and sneak in there at the end.”

Although the Phillies have spent most of their time trash-talking with the Mets, they haven’t forgotten the Braves.

“You can never count that team out,” Philadelphia’s Aaron Rowand said. “They’re definitely a team to be reckoned with and certainly not to be overlooked because they have way too much talent over there.”

But can Hampton bounce back from Tommy John surgery? Can Scott Thorman and Kelly Johnson come close to matching the production of first baseman Adam LaRoche (traded to Pittsburgh) and second baseman Marcus Giles (released in a cost-cutting move)? Can Chipper Jones come anywhere close to playing a full season after being plagued by injuries the last three years? Can Tim Hudson regain the form that once made him a 20-game winner in Oakland? Can Smoltz remain one of the game’s top starters as he approaches his 40th birthday and goes through a painful divorce?

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

If nothing else, the Braves should have the odds in their favor after everything went so wrong in 2006.

“The law of averages was bound to catch up with us,” Chipper Jones said. “But the bank collected last year. Now, it’s time to start a new streak.”

MORE FROM BASEBALL

Baseball Section Front

Twins’ Mauer wins historic AL MVP award CTB: Mauer had truly historic season CTB: Mets keeping an eye on Sheets CTB: Did A-Rod throw cousin under financial bus? CTB: Red Sox willing to throw money into Lowell deal DeMarco: Red Sox should take measured approach No horror film: Yankees like this Series movie Blyleven: Pitching to be had beyond Halladay CTB: Dye open to move at first base CTB: Future Hall of Famer Vizquel joins White Sox Baseball Section Front   Add Baseball headlines to your news reader: