By MARK HALE

I think some people in the media or in the blogosphere have already opined on the NL East race, and I also know it’s early. But here are some initial thoughts of mine about the Mets’ division. There is a lot of talk about the Phillies now — with Jimmy Rollins telling the NY Post in Kevin Kernan’s story today that “we’re the team to beat.” But right now, I think the Mets’ biggest competition is going to come from Atlanta.

The Braves’ rotation with John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Chuck James and Mike Hampton is pretty strong, and they can hit with Brian McCann, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Jeff Francoeur and Edgar Renteria. They augmented their bullpen this winter with Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, and there’s also obviously that history there of all the division titles.

I still think the Mets are the best team in the NL East, but I bet Atlanta makes a real run at them. The Phillies — I like Cole Hamels and Chase Utley may be my favorite player to watch in the league, but I’m not sure about the Phils yet. Even with an upgraded rotation, how good is Adam Eaton? And meanwhile, I like Brett Myers, but he had a worse ERA, fewer wins and fewer strikeouts last season than he did in 2005 — considering that, should there be an assumption that he’s going to dramatically improve?

As for the other clubs, I think the Marlins are going to fall off a bit this year. The Nationals, meanwhile, are atrocious.

Again, I still think the Mets will take the East. But Atlanta would be the team that I think can really challenge them.