Without knowing when the season will resume following Tuesday's World Trade Center tragedy, the Braves and Phillies held hour-long workouts, then retreated to their homes and hotel rooms to await word from commissioner Bud Selig.

``It's definitely tough to come out here and concentrate on what you're supposed to be doing when the world is in turmoil,'' third baseman Chipper Jones said. ``It's hard to concentrate on something so inconsequential as baseball. I think both teams would have had a hard time summoning up that killer instinct if we'd played today.''

Selig canceled today's slate of games and said he will make an announcement soon about when the season will resume. When it does, the commissioner will have to decide whether to make up the canceled games, which would extend the regular season into the first week of October, play a series of doubleheaders to make up the games, or scrub the canceled games altogether.

``I hope (doubleheaders) is not an alternative,'' pitcher Tom Glavine said. ``I'd rather see them made up after the season is over.''

``On a scale of one to 10, we're a 10, and that's the way it should be,'' Phillies manager Larry Bowa said.

While Wednesday's workout gave both teams a chance to return to baseball, there was none of the lively chatter and laughter that usually accompanies batting practice. Players went through the motions of hitting and throwing, but their hearts and minds were obviously elsewhere.

``Right now, our concern is not with sports,'' right fielder Brian Jordan said. ``It's not about baseball, it's not about Barry Bonds and a home run record, it's about what's right and what's wrong. I'm more concerned about that than this pennant race.''

``The sports world is going to have to be on a hold for a while,'' Jones said.

Four Braves -- B.J. Surhoff, Dave Martinez, Steve Reed and Rey Sanchez -- missed the workout because they were unable to get flights to Atlanta following Monday's day off. Surhoff drove from his Baltimore home, spent the night in North Carolina, and worked out at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, Wednesday. Reed, who returned home to Denver, worked out at Coors Field Wednesday and hoped to catch a night flight to Atlanta. Sanchez was driving from his Ft. Lauderdale home, while Martinez was making the drive from Tampa.

Braves president Stan Kasten, who flew to Milwaukee for an owners meeting Tuesday, made the 14-hour drive back to Atlanta. First baseman Julio Franco made the nine-hour drive from Boca Raton, Fla., arriving in Atlanta at 3 a.m. Pitcher John Burkett, who returned to his Dallas-area home, was unable to get a flight out or rent a car, so he called a former teammate, Texas Rangers outfielder Rusty Greer, and borrowed a dealer's car that was to be returned to Alabama. He made the 850-mile trip in 12 hours.

``I felt like I was going back in time, getting all my news off the radio,'' Burkett said. ``It was a long drive, but there weren't a whole lot of people on the road. I think everybody was glued to their TVs.'' A pennant race? It was the last thing on players' minds.

``It will take a little while to get the emotional level back to where it was,'' Glavine said. ``I don't know how many guys would have been ready to play today. I don't know where their hearts would have been.''

``There's no competitive spirit in anybody,'' Jones said. ``I think everybody just wants to pull for each other right now.''

Said Phils third baseman Scott Rolen, ``I really don't care (when the season resumes). We're not what's important right now.''

Without being specific, Kasten indicated security at Turner Field would be tightened when the season resumes. He didn't anticipate fans having to pass through metal detectors as they entered the stadium, but wouldn't rule out taking that precaution.

``We're not aware of any particular threats to our games,'' he said. ``Some day we're all going to return to a normal routine, but I don't know when that will be.''

The Braves and Phils will work out again today at Turner Field. Following their morning workout, the Phils will either fly home, or fly to Cincinnati for a weekend series against the Reds. If they are unable to fly out of Hartsfield International Airport, they plan to bus the players to Cincinnati.

Reach Bill Zack at bzack30143@aol.com.