"The end of last year?" Cox interjected, smiling. "About 100 percent.

"Starting out, we had a good rotation. But they all got hurt."

Starting out, the Braves' rotation is again good, maybe very good if right-hander Derek Lowe's eight shutout innings in a 4-1 season-opening win against the Phillies on Sunday night were any kind of omen.

One Braves official, engaging in a last bit of spring-training hype, privately contends that the team's top four starting pitchers might be as formidable as any in the majors.

Who needs John Smoltz?

Maybe not the Braves, who were looking for durability as well as quality last winter when they traded for right-hander Javier Vazquez and signed Lowe and Japanese right-hander Kenshin Kawakami as free agents.

Smoltz, coming off shoulder surgery, still could make the Braves look foolish once he enters the Red Sox's rotation. Kawakami, who has yet to throw a pitch in the majors, is considered a wild card inside his own clubhouse.

But if the Braves' foursome of Lowe, Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens and Kawakami is not as strong as say, those of the Yankees and Red Sox, it could at least be as competitive as any quartet in the National League.

The Braves' No. 5 starter, left-hander Tom Glavine, threw only 82 mph in the Grapefruit League coming off elbow and shoulder surgery, yet somehow got his fastball by right-handed sluggers such as the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez.

"We don't have a Cole Hamels. We don't have a (Johan) Santana. Let's be perfectly honest here," said Lowe, who looked as dominant as either of those aces Sunday night. "But it takes a collection of five guys to win."

Actually, the Braves have more than five guys. Righty Jorge Campillo, 8-7 with a 4.34 ERA in 25 starts last season, is now in the bullpen. Righty Tommy Hanson, perhaps the game's top pitching prospect, and lefty Jo-Jo Reyes, another maturing young starter, will open in Triple-A.

Jurrjens already is one of the game's better young pitchers. Vazquez should benefit moving from the American to the National League and from hitter-friendly Comiskey Park to the slightly pitcher-friendly Turner Field.

The Phillies know it. Soon everyone will know it. The NL East will not be a two-team race.

"Everyone always talks about us and the Mets," Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino said. "Don't overlook those other guys."

Frankly, the Mets' starting pitching might rank fourth in their own division. The Marlins' rotation, the best in the East at the end of last season, should again be a force. The Braves are better not just at the start of games, but also the end — at least for the moment, relievers Mike Gonzalez, Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano are healthy.

Oh, and don't forget the Braves' offense, which finished sixth in the NL in runs scored last season, and easily could improve on that ranking.

Right fielder Jeff Francoeur hit a home run in his first at-bat Sunday night. Center fielder Jordan Schafer hit one in his first major-league plate appearance. Cox believes that left fielder Garret Anderson also will hit for power, and the cumulative impact could be significant, considering that the Braves' entire outfield combined for just 27 home runs last season.

It's always dangerous to read too much into the season opener, but Francoeur, Schafer and the starting pitchers looked terrific all spring. Lowe turns 36 on June 1, and the Braves ultimately might regret giving him a four-year, $60 million, free-agent contract. But he was as brilliant Sunday night as he was at the end of last season, retiring the Phillies in order in six of his eight innings, getting 17 of his 24 outs on strikeouts or grounders.

Cox was in a light-hearted mood afterward, expressing mock disgust that Schafer did not make any spectacular catches — "that's what he is noted for" — and joking that he will need to talk to Lowe about his two three-ball counts.

Quality starting pitching will improve any manager's spirits. Cox certainly remembers the feeling after all those years of managing Smoltz, Glavine and Greg Maddux in their primes.

The Braves are off Monday. A reporter suggested to Cox that he should get a steak dinner.

"Maybe," Cox said, a twinkle in his eye. "Maybe I'll buy Lowe one."