I'm not sure why the Braves snuck up on us, but they did.

No, I do know.

They snuck up on us because last September was such a disaster, and because for so much of this spring they didn't look very good, and because we were so fascinated by the team in their division that has Ozzie Guillen, and the team in their division that has Bryce Harper.

And maybe because it had been five years since the Braves were in first place on Mother's Day.

So maybe we just weren't expecting it.

Now we are.

Now we've noticed.

We noticed that the Braves, who with more win last year would have had a one-game playoff in St. Louis, went into Busch Stadium over the weekend and swept the Cardinals. We noticed that while nearly every other team in baseball seems to have had a bullpen crisis, the Braves haven't lost a game they've led after six innings -- or after seven innings or eight innings.

We noticed that unlike last year at this time, manager Fredi Gonzalez has kept from overusing any of those relievers. Not one Braves pitcher ranks among the top 10 in the National League in appearances.

We noticed that the Braves have scored more runs than any other team in the NL, more runs than any team but the Rangers in all the majors.

OK, Braves, we've noticed. We're watching.

On to 3 to Watch:

1. Only one team in baseball has scored fewer runs than the Padres (that would be the Pirates). Only one team in baseball has struck out more times than the Padres (that would be the Diamondbacks). Sounds like a perfect next opponent for Stephen Strasburg, who starts in Padres at Nationals, Tuesday afternoon (1:05 ET) at Nationals Park.

2. When the Orioles came to New York two weeks back, we said the next 15 games would tell us a lot about them. They're 13 games into that 15-game stretch, they've gone 8-5 in those 13 games, and they're still in first place in the American League East. They won series from the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays. Now I want to see if they can beat CC Sabathia, something they've done just twice in his 23 career starts against them. They get another chance in Yankees at Orioles, Tuesday night (7:05 ET) at Camden Yards.

3. Among the Braves we should have noticed already: Brandon Beachy, who is 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA, a .181 opponents batting average and a .477 opponents OPS. Beachy faces Ricky Nolasco in Marlins at Braves, Thursday night (7:10 ET) at Turner Field.