Will Powers, Associated Press Braves relief pitcher Mike Gonzalez has a 1.17 ERA this season.

Mike Gonzalez and Craig Wilson are sure to experience some warm sentiments today when they play at PNC Park for the first time as anything other than Pirates. Each spent the bulk of his career in Pittsburgh, and each planted roots.

At the same time, expect neither to offer a trace of regret at being members of the Atlanta Braves.

And in first place.

And in real contention.

"It's a great feeling, man," Gonzalez was saying by phone from Atlanta during the Braves' series with the San Diego Padres that ended yesterday. "You have that extra little bit of anxiousness to get to the ballpark everyday. You know you've got a chance. You know you can win. Anyone on a winning team can tell you that's a good feeling."

Wilson sounded much the same about being with the Braves, who have won three games in a row and are 22-12, a half-game ahead of the New York Mets atop the East Division.

"The one thing you play the game to do is win, and it's great knowing that the organization is going to do all it can to help you achieve that goal," Wilson said. "The only goal is to win."

Neither defined his remark as a criticism of the Pirates, who have not won since 1992, and Gonzalez went out of his way to stress the opposite.

"You've got to remember: We've got some veteran guys here with the Braves ... John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Edgar Renteria ... all these guys have been there, done that. And they've done it for years," he said. "You just feed off them. It's a different mentality, a different mind-set. I think the team in Pittsburgh is an upgrade over what it was, but it's still young. It's going to take time there."

Gonzalez, sent to Atlanta in the Adam LaRoche trade, is a setup man now after going 24 for 24 in saves as the Pirates' closer last season. Even though the Braves' closer, Bob Wickman, is on the disabled list, Gonzalez has pitched in a save situation only once -- he nailed it -- while Rafael Soriano fills in.

He still has a longing to close, but no complaints.

"None at all. Things have been great. And right now, to be honest, I'm feeling great mostly about feeling healthy."

There is cause for that.

Gonzalez missed the final six weeks of last season with the Pirates because of elbow tendinitis and, despite a careful rehabilitation in the offseason, the elbow flared up again last month. Combined with a poor spring and shaky start to the regular season, it might have been reasonable to fear ligament damage, but an all-clear MRI exam April 19 put that to rest.

Perhaps no coincidence, he has thrown his hardest and sharpest since then, with nine scoreless outings -- eight strikeouts, one walk -- to leave him with a 1.17 ERA.

"It was a little bit scary there for a while," he said of the elbow. "It feels like new."

It should feel new, too, when Gonzalez takes the field today.

Any emotion anticipated?

"Oh, it's Pittsburgh! It's my first love, man!" he fairly shouted. "The city's been great to me, from my teammates to the staffs to the fans ... I just wish we could have put together a winning team for those fans. They're so good to come out the way they have for so long. Pittsburgh's always going to be in my heart. I can't wait to get there, to pitch in front of those fans again."

It will not be as easy for those fans to tell when he is being summoned, as the PNC Park sound system surely will not be blaring P.O.D.'s "Boom," his thrashing entrance music last year.

"I definitely miss that," Gonzalez said.

Wilson, a six-year fixture on the Pirates' roster, is on his second stop since being traded to the New York Yankees in July for Shawn Chacon.

The first did not go well -- he batted .212 with the Yankees and was left off their playoff roster -- and this one is off to a slow start, too: He is platooning at first base with left-handed hitting Scott Thorman, his .179 average lower than Thorman's .240.

On the brighter side, Wilson is 5 for his past 15 and said he is feeling "much more comfortable" lately.

To be sure, he is more comfortable in his current environs than he was with the Yankees.

"It was a difficult time in New York," he said. "I never really felt comfortable there, from the millions of people to not knowing any of the pitchers I was facing. It was a good experience, but I'm glad to be back in the National League."

Wilson, a free agent in the offseason, contacted the Pirates to let them know he was interested in returning, but they made no move. Wilson signed a one-year deal with Atlanta worth $2 million.

Still ...

"I'm looking forward to returning to the 'burgh. In my time there, I made a lot of friends on and off the field with whom I've kept contact. It will be nice seeing some of those people. It is going to be a little weird, though, going into the visitors' dugout there."