Today's Starting Pitchers

Chuck James Braves vs.  Josh Johnson Marlins 6-7 W-L 0-2 4.29 ERA 14.85 64 SO 5 37 BB 7 14 HR 1 vs. Marlins -- vs. Braves

Game Time: 7:05 on

We seem to have gotten over whatever trouble we had with the Nationals early in the season, now on to a slightly more formidable challenge: the Marlins. They've always been a bit of a weak spot for us, haven't they? Come October, it'll be the tenth anniversary of the 1997 NLCS . . . maybe it's about time we made a statement.

Meanwhile, the Mets and Phillies are playing each other this weekend. I don't really know what our hopes should be in that department - if the Phillies sweep the Mets and we take care of the Marlins, we'd be in a near three way tie, but after the Marlins, we've got to deal with the Padres and Dodgers, while the Mets and Phillies both get to play the Rockies and the horrible Astros. We've got a delightfully easy schedule at the start of the second half, though . . . it's quite fun not to be buried in the standings at the break, even if we had to suffer through last year's June again. At least the Mets were somehow infected with a June of their own this year.

Tonight we've got Chuckie going against Josh Johnson, who has had two rough starts after coming off the DL. I've always liked Johnson, mostly because his official bio includes the phrase "enjoys video games," but here's hoping he hasn't worked everything out quite yet.