Clearly whatever higher being is in charge of baseball has a strong sense of irony.

How else can you explain John Rocker on the mound last night, sealing Atlanta’s 7-1 win over the Mets, and letting the Braves celebrate their ninth straight division title right here at Shea?

Rocker, the man Met fans most love to hate, came on in the late stages of a rout and threw 11/3 scoreless innings to clinch the NL East, and pour salt in the Mets’ wounds.

As has been his custom, Rocker didn’t speak to reporters after the game. When asked by one national TV reporter for an interview, he said, “Not here. If I talk to you, all these other [expletives] are gonna want to talk. They [criticized me] for 10 months, I’m not gonna make their job any easier.”

He made his job look easy, relieving Kerry Lightenberg with two out in the eighth. He made his usual mad dash in from the bullpen, showered by boos.

One spectator threw a bottle that landed about 10 feet behind the mound.

Atlanta manager Bobby Cox picked up the bottle, then tossed it away en route to the dugout and play resumed with two on and the Mets trailing 7-1.

After running a full count on Robin Ventura, Rocker induced a weak fly to end the inning. He pumped his fist as LF Reggie Sanders squeezed the ball.

Rocker came back out for the ninth and, after giving up leadoff singles to Bubba Trammell and Jay Payton, he pounded on the mound in disgust.

But he retired the next three, getting Todd Pratt to ground to third for the final out and run his scoreless streak to 12 innings.

Rocker had dominated the headlines in a four-game set here from June 29-July 2. It was his first trip to New York since he’d insulted the city in his well-chronicled Sports Illustrated interview last winter.

Cox insisted that using Rocker in a blowout wasn’t meant to diss the Mets or their fans.

“That was nothing intended to be in anybody’s face,” Cox said. “That’s just the way we wanted to work it.”