"THE BRAVES had won two straight division titles. Still, the mood around the executive offices at drab, old AtlantaFulton County Stadium in July 1993 was hardly upbeat. They were playing all right . . . and the Giants were still threatening to turn the remainder of the schedule into a formality by Labor Day.

Then general manager John Schuerholz swung a trade, getting first baseman Fred McGriff from the Padres.

After Crime Dog joined the lineup, Atlanta went an incredible 51-17 the rest of the way, ending up with 104 wins and needing every one of them to edge San Francisco by a single game. In those simpler, pre-wild-card times the Braves went to the playoffs and the Giants went home.

In the Dixie precincts, then, they have to be wondering whether the waiver trade that brought Derrek Lee from the Cubs for three minor leaguers yesterday will shake down the thunder one more time.

Come to think of it, a lot of people from around here must be wondering the same thing.

This transaction is of more than academic interest to your Philadelphia Phillies. A lot has happened in the intervening years, one being that the Braves and Phils now inhabit the same division. And this time instead of playing catchup in the middle of July, Atlanta is protecting a 2 1/2-game lead over the defending NL champs with a little more than 6 weeks remaining.

Déjà vu all over again?

Clearly, the correct answer won't be written in indelible ink until sometime between now and the night of Oct. 3 when the regular season is scheduled to end. It's safe to say, though, that the Braves will be a better team when Lee arrives than they were before the deal was completed.

That's a little misleading, because Atlanta also took a step backward when Chipper Jones tore up his knee and was lost for the season last week.

The real push to add a 34-year-old with 309 career home runs who has been bothered by back problems, however, is the up-and-down season of Troy Glaus, who went on the disabled list with sore knees yesterday.

Braves pitching was good enough to make it to the playoffs last season. They sat out the dance because they didn't score enough runs. Glaus was supposed to play a big role in correcting that deficiency and, for a while, he did. In May, he batted .330 and drove in 28 runs.

Lately, though, not so much. He's hitting .174 with only two homers and 15 RBI in his last 46 games.

And that's where Lee enters the picture. Yes, he's hitting only .251, some 30 points below his career average. Yes, he had an epidural shot to ease his back pains on Monday. Still, since the All-Star break, he's hitting .313 with six homers and 20 RBI in 24 games, one of the few Cubbies who didn't roll over and curl into the fetal position as the team dropped out of contention.

He's also a defensive upgrade, with three Gold Gloves to his credit. Glaus has been a third baseman most of his career and was basically learning a new position."