The Braves will have new, cream-colored alternate home uniforms this season, which they'll be wearing on Saturdays and Sundays. The former Sunday red jerseys, loved by many and reviled by others, will be the Friday home uniform. There is no change in the Monday through Thursday whites or in the choice of gray or navy jerseys on the road.
But while the uniforms have an order, Fredi Gonzalez doesn't.
Gonzalez, who rattled off a batting order within the first few minutes of being named the Braves' manager last offseason, will wait to see who is hitting the way he's expected to hit before putting pencil to paper.
Gonzalez also must wait to see who makes the team. Admittedly, there are not a lot of openings.
Prospect Tyler Pastornicky is projected to be the Opening Day shortstop, and if he seizes the opportunity, his speed will be a factor in where he hits. Gonzalez already has told Pastornicky he won't put him in the middle of the order, no matter what happens, so he should just go out and have fun in spring training.
"Let the other guys carry the weight," Gonzalez told him.
One possible spot for Pastornicky, no matter how well he hits, is ninth. Gonzalez is excited about having speedy center fielder Michael Bourn for an entire season, and he'll he in the leadoff position. Gonzalez experimented last season with another speedster, outfielder Jose Constanza, in the ninth spot, to have a one-two speed punch. He did that for a few games, and it didn't excite him that much. But he did say at the time that he might not have given that wrinkle a long enough look.
The other starters whose offense the Braves hope will rebound are catcher Brian McCann, second baseman Dan Uggla and right fielder Jason Heyward.
McCann and Uggla modeled the new uniforms for their introduction, along with third baseman Chipper Jones, who emerged from behind a curtain -- to his amusement -- to smoke and a flurry of red confetti.
If everything goes according to plan, Jones should be in his customary three hole with McCann and Uggla batting fourth and fifth, respectively. First baseman Freddie Freeman, newly bulked up, worked his way up the order a season ago; he'll probably hit sixth, with Heyward seventh.
All of this is in flux, of course, pending actual results. Especially the results of Heyward's reworked swing.
And speaking of reworking ...
Right-hander Tim Hudson, who was cleared to throw in mid-February after late November back disk surgery, won't be rushed to make Opening Day. With the Braves' pitching depth, there are plenty of candidates for the rotation in April.
Jair Jurrjens is pain-free now that he's wearing orthotics in his right shoe and pitching with a custom brace on his right knee. Tommy Hanson, after strengthening his back and shoulder, has altered his delivery to make it smoother and quicker, hoping to help his back and hold runners on base.
Brandon Beachy will be the fourth starter, but the fifth spot is up for grabs. Left-hander Mike Minor, Beachy's roommate, was inconsistent in spots starts last season. But when injuries to other starters gave him regular starts in September, he blossomed.
Whether he can beat out rookie right-handers Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran will be the buzz of camp. If they don't make the rotation, though, they won't get their seasoning in the bullpen; they'll start at Triple-A Gwinnett. By the end of last season, Delgado was somewhat ahead of Teheran because he was more consistent and had better command of a third pitch.
Besides, the Braves' bullpen is loaded, too. The late inning stalwarts -- left-handers Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters and closer Craig Kimbrel, the National League Rookie of the Year -- are back, Cristhian Martinez is there for middle relief, and Kris Medlen, back from Tommy John surgery, can do everything from spot-starting to closing.
NOTES, QUOTES
-3B Chipper Jones is searching for the right slot for his hands on his right-handed swing. Usually, he can roll out of bed and hit right-handed, but he got into some bad habits at the end of last season when he couldn't push off on his surgically repaired right knee.
-RHP Jair Jurrjens is messing around with a cutter. If he can control it, it will make his four-seamer better because it will give hitters a different spin to try to decipher.
-RHP Peter Moylan is tossing from a distance of 60 feet as he continues his rehab from offseason shoulder surgery. Moylan, who was non-tendered, has been signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He has been a key setup guy out of the bullpen.
-RHP Tommy Hanson's new, smoother delivery -- after working with pitching coach Roger McDowell, he has lost the pause as he releases the ball -- should make it harder for baserunners to steal on him and lessen the stress on his right shoulder.
-Manager Fredi Gonzalez has a solution to the overuse last year of LHP Eric O'Flaherty (seventh inning), LHP Jonny Venters (eighth inning) and RHP Craig Kimbrel (closer): "Score more runs!" Although all three relievers say they weren't tired at the end of the season and don't think they were used too much, Gonzalez thinks he might have called on them too often early in the season when the Braves had leads of three or more runs, when he was trying to establish them in their respective roles.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're going to give him every opportunity. But it's up to him." -- Manager Fredi Gonzalez, on prospect Tyler Pastornicky being the Braves' Opening Day shortstop.
