ATLANTA -- As he struck out the side in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, John Rocker looked like the closer who saved 38 games last year.

Unfortunately for the Atlanta Braves, looks can be deceiving.

	Rocker

"I'll reserve judgment on that for now," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "Let's see him string some things together and show some consistency. That's what will make me a believer."

Jones realizes that Rocker's latest rediscovery of the strike zone Friday night, which secured a 3-2 victory over the Brewers, offered only a brief respite. Control problems have plagued the controversial reliever since his two-week suspension ended April 18.

Given the highly anticipated and potentially volatile four-game series that begins Thursday in New York, Atlanta hopes Rocker's worst days are behind him. The Braves have been anxious about the visit to Shea Stadium since Rocker ripped New Yorkers and several ethnic and minority groups in a Sports Illustrated article six months ago.

"We usually dread going to New York because of the team we have to play," Jones said. "Now we're dreading it for all the wrong reasons."

Rocker has surrendered 31 walks in 21 innings -- a staggering number considering he only issued 37 in 72 1/3 innings last season. His 5.57 ERA is far above the 2.49 he posted in 1999.

"When Rock's on his game, he's as good as there is," pitcher Greg Maddux said. "We want him to go out there and be successful. We'd just prefer that he not make it so entertaining."

Rocker attributes his difficulties in locating his pitches to poor mechanics and a festering abrasion on the left side of his left thumbnail. In facing only four Brewers on Friday and allowing only one baserunner, Rocker said he thinks he might have solved both problems.

He treated the abrasion, which started as a small cut in March but reopened and bled every time he threw hard, with silver nitrate. Friday was the first time since March that Rocker pitched without the wound bleeding.

Rocker's other problem was an uneven distribution of weight as he prepared to make a pitch. By leaning too heavily on his front foot, Rocker was altering his windup, his hip turn and his release. As he earned his 12th save in 13 opportunities and boosted his strikeout total to 33, Rocker had everything working.

"For many outings this year, it would start out fine," Rocker said. "I would start the inning with a first-hitter strikeout or a first-hitter fly ball, then walk the next guy, then walk the guy after that. It was a mental lapse, debilitating mechanics throughout the rest of the inning that would lead to my demise."

Talking to the media has taken a toll, too. At Turner Field on June 5, Rocker angrily confronted the Sports Illustrated reporter who wrote the controversial story. He was demoted the next day to Triple-A Richmond, where he earned one save before being recalled June 14.

In a Baseball Weekly interview published Wednesday, Rocker said he plans to ride the subway -- particularly the No. 7 train, whose diverse riders he blasted in the SI story -- when the Braves return to New York.

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani asked Major League Baseball to urge Rocker "not to go out of his way to exacerbate the situation."

Rocker was irritated Friday night when asked whether the Braves or baseball had asked him to reconsider his decision.

"That's why I don't like to do interviews, because of questions like that," Rocker said. "Next question."

Kevin Hallinan, baseball's executive director of security and facility management, has monitored most of Atlanta's road games this year to devise safety plans at Shea.

There will be between 450-500 police at the game -- as opposed to the normal 50 -- with many stationed near the visitor's bullpen in left field.

"We're working side-by-side with Major League Baseball security and the police department to make sure it's a safe environment," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. "We're building a fence near the bullpen and will probably cover it so fans can't look in and throw things into the bullpen."

For the most part, Rocker has been well received by the fans, some of whom even turned him into a cult hero.

In the Braves' clubhouse, however, Rocker's relationship with teammates is described as anywhere from distant to nonexistent. He was the last player, by about 45 minutes, to leave the ballpark Friday night.

Rocker has avoided reporters -- nearly always when he pitches poorly, leaving others to answer his questions.

"It's something I don't want to deal with," Jones said. "I shouldn't have to deal with it because I didn't say it, and it's unfair for 24 other guys, day in and day out, to have to answer questions about him when we had nothing to do with it."

Jones stressed that the Braves are a much better team with their closer healthy -- mentally and physically.

"What's important is that we keep any outside stuff from affecting what we do between the lines," he said.

As for Rocker, he knows the best way he can mend relationships is to throw strikes and record saves. If his 97-mph fastball is on target, he knows manager Bobby Cox will be calling for No. 49.

"It's going to take some consistency, maybe over two or three weeks or a month," Rocker said. "But I was happy and breathing a sigh of relief that Bobby still had confidence in me."