The main, thing, of course, is that both of them came off the 15-day disabled list this week -- Anderson from a strained left quad and McCann after acquiring eyeglasses to correct blurry vision in his left eye -- and Cox is almost giddy about that. For the first time this season, he has the lineup he thought he was going to have.

"Just let it ride like this for a while," Cox says. "It doesn't really matter."

Note that this batting order figures that Anderson has more speed than McCann -- almost everyone does -- and that McCann's consistency means that the combination will allow Anderson to score on McCann's hits. That assumes that Anderson legs everything out, which he may be loath to do, having been hobbled by his tight leg muscles since the middle of spring training.

And while Cox says this is the lineup he thought he'd have, that isn't strictly true; the supposed lineup had Kelly Johnson leading off, and Johnson has been supplanted by Omar Infante. They are now a platoon at second.

Rookie Jordan Schafer's speed was ideal in the lead-off spot; unfortunately his 41 strikeouts through the first 30 games of the season put an end to that. Schafer is now hitting either seventh or eighth, depending on whether McCann or backup David Ross is starting.

BRAVES 4, PHILLIES 2: 1B Casey Kotchman drove in three of the Braves' four runs, and while RHP Kenshin Kawakami continued to try to be too precise -- with the predictable deep counts -- he nevertheless pitched a good game, allowing only two earned runs in six innings. He shouldn't have to pitch a no-hitter to win.