Hot-lanta has become Caught-lanta.

The Atlanta Braves, winners of 14 consecutive division championships, fell 13 games behind the runaway New York Mets in the National League East while coming up empty on a three-night fishing trip to Miami.

These are not exactly uncharted waters for the Braves, who, if you recall, used to be terrible. But these are waters the Braves haven't sailed in for years.

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"You can't fake it, we're down," first baseman Adam LaRoche told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "How can you lie?"

"There's not much to be confident about," veteran pitcher John Smoltz conceded. "We always seem to find the thing that is not going to win us a ballgame."

Because of a rickety bullpen and an inconsistent starting rotation, the Braves have become just another ballclub as they plod through a June that began with 12 losses in 14 games.

"It's an awfully discouraged ballclub right now," Chipper Jones said. "There's probably only a handful of guys that are pretty proud of the way they've played. Other than that, everybody's pretty down in the dumps."

Still, the Braves hold out hope they can somehow regroup and win a 15th consecutive title.

"It's going to take a major turnaround," Jones said. "It's going to take some guys doing some soul-searching and figuring out what they need to do to be successful each and every day."

Fast-starting Mets

It's also going to take a major collapse by the Mets, who charged to a 9 1/2-game lead in the NL East by going 9-1 on a trip to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Philadelphia.

"It's fair to say that if you would have told me in the beginning of spring training that we were going to be 9 1/2 [ahead] this time of the year, I would have probably said, 'Well, that would have been a good dream,' " general manager Omar Minaya told the New York Post. "That being said, we have a lot of baseball left."

The Mets scored in the first inning in the final eight games of their trip. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they're the first team to accomplish that since the 1938 Philadelphia Athletics.

That was pretty much the highlight of the season for those Athletics. They finished 53-99 and 46 games behind the first-place New York Yankees.

Hot June for A's

The 2006 Oakland Athletics are faring a bit better than their predecessors.

They took a seven-game winning streak -- not to mention first place in the American League West Division -- into the weekend.

It seems they've begun their annual regrouping act after a disinterested start.

"Come June, the A's get hot," outfielder Bobby Kielty said. "That's what is happening now."

"We got off to a rough start, stumbled there for a while, and it feels real good to get back on track," first baseman Dan Johnson told the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is great for us -- obviously -- to get the confidence going."

Tigers show teeth

The Detroit Tigers, who visit PNC Park in two weeks, continue their turnaround from a 71-91 finish in 2005.

By taking three of four games from Tampa Bay, they held onto first place in the American League Central for another week.

"To be honest," closer Todd Jones told ESPN.com, "I don't think anybody really believes we're any good -- outside of the people who have been watching us all year. I think people feel we're like the [Washington] Nationals of last year, and they're waiting for the other shoe to fall."

Maybe that other shoe won't fall.

"We're pitching so well, starting and bullpen-wise," general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "That's probably the biggest key. We play hard and battle to the end. We find a way to win games rather than lose games."

Hard times

Just three seasons ago, the Tigers lost 119 games, a fate that could befall the Kansas City Royals this season.

"[The Royals] make me think about 2003," said Detroit's Brandon Inge, a member of those 2003 Tigers. "They're going through a rough time right now, and I feel for them. It's not fun going through something like that. You start to question yourself as a person and as a player."

Good start for Duckworth

Brandon Duckworth, who pitched well enough in spring training to have won a spot in the Pirates' starting rotation, is a recent addition to the Royals' rotation after his trade from Class AAA Indianapolis.

Duckworth, who isn't scheduled to start against the Pirates in the upcoming series in Kansas City, did well in his first Royals start Tuesday night -- even though the Royals lost to the Angels, 4-1.

Duckworth, a right-hander, yielded six hits, three walks and two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

"Pretty good," manager Buddy Bell said. "Just from a pitching standpoint, I think he knows what he's doing out there. I think [he's] definitely an upgrade."

Duckworth was the 12th pitcher to start a game for the Royals this season.

Fighting mad

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen got some airtime for his dugout activity in the game Wednesday night against Texas.

Guillen was incensed that the White Sox didn't retaliate after catcher A.J. Pierzynski was hit twice by Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla.

"If Padilla hit me twice, right now I'd be in the hospital or I'd be dead," Guillen told the Chicago Tribune. "I [would] fight because of the way he hit him. I don't care if it was on purpose or not."

Trip on hold?

Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. stands second among outfielders in the fan balloting for the National League starters for the All-Star game July 11 at PNC Park.

But Griffey has a family vacation in the Grand Bahamas planned for the All-Star break -- a trip on which teammate Adam Dunn is invited.

"If you go to Pittsburgh," Dunn told Griffey, "I'm still going to the Bahamas on your boat with your family, and I'm going to call you four times a day."

According to the Dayton Daily News, Griffey replied: "I may insist that you come with me to Pittsburgh."

Save the applause

Jason Isringhausen recently earned his 20th save of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals. That's seven consecutive seasons in which Isringhausen has had at least 20 saves.

Not that it's a big deal.

"I'd rather have seven [consecutive] years of 40," he said.

Low ball

The Chicago Cubs' offensive woes continue.

"It's not fun to go out there and lose the way we're losing," infielder Todd Walker said. "The last time I checked, when you don't score any runs, you don't have much of a chance to win.

"I don't care about anything else. We've got to pick it up offensively."

Cash out

Baltimore third baseman Melvin Mora didn't much care for the Baltimore Orioles' recent firing of first base coach Dave Cash, a former Pirate.

"He worked hard all of spring training," Mora said. "He worked hard all season. He was always happy and positive. Where are you going to find a man like that? It's going to take 1,000 years to find a man like that."

Son rises

In case you missed it, Kyle Drabek, son of former Pirates pitcher Doug Drabek, led his team to the Texas Class 5A state championship last weekend.

Kyle Drabek, who plays shortstop when he doesn't pitch, had four RBIs in The Woodlands' 5-3 victory against Katy in the title game.

The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Kyle Drabek in the first round of the amateur draft June 6.