Back on April 5 after the fairy tale beginning of the Atlanta Braves season, this longtime fan, no doubt afflicted with nostalgia and longing for the good ole days, blogged this question: "Could this be the year of the Braves?"

Of course, it was merely the first home game of the season, duly noted, but there was a feeling of promise and excitement, not only because the Braves pounded the Chicago Cubs 16-5 but the game marked the debut of star outfielder Jason Heyward, 20, the Minor League Player of the Year in 2009.

In his first major league at-bat, Heyward stroked a 446-foot, three-run homer and went 2-for-5 with four runs batted in. Could the young player from nearby McDonough make a powerful difference for the team?

Naturally, manager Bobby Cox cautioned against expecting miracles. Sure enough, Heyward fell into a slump in mid-April. He was "taking way too many pitches for strikes," Cox said, telling the rookie to be more aggressive.

Result: Heyward got the message, going 22-for-60 in the next 18 games with four homers, a triple and six doubles.

At the same time Heyward's performance skidded, the Braves slumped, falling to last place in the NL East. That's where they sat on May 17. Then along with Heyward - and Chipper Jones and red-hot first baseman Troy Glaus punctuating sterling work by all hands - the team sizzled like it hasn't since that memorable 2005 season when the Braves wound up winning their 14th straight division title.

By last weekend the Braves had fought their way from last place to a mere half-game behind the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies. Then, in the Memorial Day opening game at Turner Field, the Braves clobbered the Phillies, 9-3, with homers by Jones and Glaus.

It was so old-fashioned Braves, going from worst to first in just two weeks. Old-timers remember the 1991 Braves who climbed from worst to first and went to the World Series, battling another worst-to-first team, the Minnesota Twins, in a seven-game thriller, losing in the 10-inning finale by the only run scored in the game. Incidentally, ESPN ranks that game as the greatest World Series ever played.

Can the 2010 Braves come out on top this season?

The team seems to have the confidence as well as the talent needed to get the job done. Back in early April the franchise icon, Chipper Jones, told an Atlanta sportswriter he believed the team was capable of winning 90 games, or three out of five.

During May the Braves won 20 of their 28 games - a torrid rate that inevitably will cool - and, as this was written before Tuesday night's game, the Phillies could turn the tables in this series.

But the Braves have showed what they can do. They can pull their way from last to first place in just two weeks. They've got the right stuff.

Could this be the year of the Braves?

dmckee9613@aol.com