June 6 -- WELCOME TO HOTLANTA

ATLANTA -- So, we've touched down in the Land of Chipper Jones, where the Phillies will kick off a three-city, nine-game, 10-day road trip tonight against the Braves, who seemingly never lose at home. More on that later, but before we look ahead to this weekend's series, let's do a quick review of the 10-game homestand.

What began with a 20-run offensive outburst against the Rockies on May 26 ended with a Cole Hamels three-hit, complete-game shutout against the Reds yesterday. In between, the Phils won two of three from the Marlins and took over first place in the NL East. Charlie Manuel talked about wanting the Phillies to be like Big Brown in the Preakness. Get a lead in the division and pull away, leaving everyone else in your dust. And a good road trip, particularly the stops here and in Florida, would go a long way toward making that happen.

To me, the homestand was really divided into two parts. Check out these numbers:

First six games (May 26-June 1)
Offense: 57-for-201 (.284), 55 runs scored, 10 home runs
Pitching: 4.17 ERA, 25 runs allowed, .251 opp. batting average

Last four games (June 2-5)
Offense: 28-for-125 (.224), 13 runs scored, 5 home runs
Pitching: 2.00 ERA, 8 runs allowed, .149 opp. batting average

As Martin Frank wrote in The Paper today, Hamels sent the Phillies off with a brilliant performance that, unfortunately, got overshadowed slightly by the Jimmy Rollins situation. It was the third straight stellar outing for a Phillies starter, following Adam Eaton on Tuesday night and Brett Myers on Wednesday night. Tonight it's Jamie Moyer's turn.

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My take on the Rollins benching: It was a pivotal moment for Manuel, who probably couldn't have done something like this last season when he was a lame-duck manager. But it shows he's in complete control over the clubhouse. It also sends a warning sign to Rollins and others that complacency won't be tolerated. Not with a pivotal road trip dawning. Manuel always says he'll relax when the Phils have a 10-game lead with nine games to play. Until then, he won't allow his players to get too comfortable either. That's a good thing.

Better still was the way Rollins and Manuel handled the situation. Manuel talked to Rollins privately and didn't make a big deal about it with the media, and Rollins issued a mea culpa after the game. This could've been a Reggie Jackson-Billy Martin blow-up, but instead, everyone remained calm and handled it professionally.

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Just a coincidence that, on the day Rollins was benched, the Phils drafted a shortstop in the first round. The bigger issue is whether they will be able to sign Anthony Hewitt, a 19-year-old Yankees fan from the Bronx who has a scholarship awaiting him at Vanderbilt University. Hewitt said yesterday that he'd like to sign with the Phillies and start his pro career, but it's going to take some big money.

Last week, we told you about the major-league aspirations of Tom Gordon's son, Devaris Strange-Gordon. Well, yesterday, he was drafted by the Dodgers with the 127th overall pick. Also, Seaford's Derrik Gibson was drafted in the fifth round by the Red Sox.

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In case you missed it, Class A Lakewood right-hander Drew Naylor struck out a career-high 13 batters last night. Naylor, one of the Phils' top pitching prospects, is 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 82-2/3 innings. Also, Jayson Werth went 1-for-3 with a single for Class A Clearwater. Werth, out since May 23 with a strained abdominal muscle, is expected to play again tonight and could be activated tomorrow.

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The Braves are 25-8 at Turner Field this season. 25-8! Here's a preview to get you set for tonight's series-opener. More in a few hours from the home of the Braves.

PHILLIES (36-26) at BRAVES (32-29)
Tonight, 7:35: LHP Jamie Moyer (6-3, 4.65) vs. RHP Tim Hudson (7-4, 3.01)
Saturday, 7:05: RHP Kyle Kendrick (5-2, 5.00) vs. LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (2-3, 4.78)
Sunday, 1:35: RHP Adam Eaton (2-3, 4.63) vs. RHP Jorge Campillo (2-0, 1.79)
Hot: Phillies 2B Chase Utley batted .378 with six home runs and 17 RBIs on the 10-game homestand; Phillies RF Geoff Jenkins is batting .344 with four homers and nine RBIs in his last nine games; Braves 3B Chipper Jones is 8-for-13 in his last three games, raising his average to .418; Braves SS Yunel Escobar is 7-for-17 (.412) with six RBIs in his last four games.
Not: Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins is batting .196 with three RBIs in his last 11 games; Phillies C Carlos Ruiz has one hit in his last 18 at-bats; Braves C Brian McCann has two hits in his last 18 at-bats; Braves LF Matt Diaz has one hit in his last 14 at-bats.