Atlanta ? The Braves long ago gave up on their streak of division titles, which could officially end this weekend.

Well, the wild card is nearly out of reach, too.

Atlanta staggered home from a road trip that included three doubleheaders in five days and just about finished off its chances of playing in October. Even the perpetually optimistic manager acknowledged as much.

Bobby Cox was still sounding hopeful when the Braves arrived in New York this week to begin a three-game series against the first-place Mets.

“It ain’t over yet,” he said defiantly.

After the Braves looked dreadful Wednesday, getting swept in the last of those doubleheaders by a combined score of 12-1, Cox showed the resignation of someone who knows his team’s fate.

“It’s pretty uphill,” he said before shuffling out of the manager’s office at Shea Stadium.

The Braves were off Thursday, giving them time to reflect on a seven-game deficit in the wild-card standings with only 23 games remaining.

“It was a tough road trip,” outfielder Jeff Francoeur said. “Three doubleheaders. It makes you wonder what fate has in store for you.”

Well, one thing is for sure – the Braves won’t be extending their streak of 14 straight division titles, an unprecedented run for any major sport. The Mets are cruising toward a coronation with a double-digit lead over everyone else in the NL East.

Atlanta was 201â2 games behind after its back-to-back losses in New York, with any combination of four Mets wins or four Braves defeats signaling the official end of the dynasty down in Dixie. It could be over as soon as Saturday.

As for the wild card, the Braves haven’t shown any signs of making a run at the six teams ahead of them. Other than a seven-game winning streak wrapped around the All-Star break, Atlanta hasn’t won more than four straight all season. The team never really recovered from an awful June, when it lost 21 of 27 games to slip far behind the Mets.

Since the beginning of August, the Braves’ record is 28-27, a frustrating pattern of three wins here, two losses there, another win here, two more losses there. The Braves never developed any sort of symmetry or chemistry, hitting very well at times but struggling to pull together an effective pitching staff from an injury plagued rotation and journeymen-filled bullpen.

Even the offense looked dreadful Wednesday, scoring only one run in 18 innings. John Smoltz was particularly frustrated after pitching six solid innings in the opener, only to take a 4-1 loss against little-known Dave Williams

“I just don’t understand,” Smoltz said. “But I guess you give credit to the other pitcher. He gave up one run.”

Then, the only player who has been with the Braves for all 14 of their division titles gave the closest thing to a concession speech, hailing the Mets for having baseball’s best offense.

“I still believe they are going to the World Series,” Smoltz said.

Hmm, apparently he doesn’t believe Atlanta will be around in the playoffs to stop them. Even now, as the Braves prepare for a 10-game homestand – their last stand, in effect – there’s little reason to believe things will suddenly turn around at Turner Field.