Pleased to meet you ... again

Published Feb. 7, 2011 5:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

By JON COOPER
FOXSportsSouth.com
Feb. 7, 2011

Fredi Gonzalez doesn't know it all.

He knows enough to know that.

He also knows himself and is confident and comfortable enough to admit when he doesn't know something.

The recently turned 47-year-old Gonzalez, who this season will be sitting in the Atlanta Braves dugout for the first time in five years and the first time as manager, didn't know all the attendees of the Braves' early season throwing program. But he made sure to introduce himself, even if it meant unintentionally introducing himself to the same pitcher more than once.

Awkward? Perhaps. But the affable Gonzalez simply laughed it off.

"It's just one of those things," he said. "You don't want to snub a guy, because first impressions are big. I want to make sure that they know who I am and that I take time and watch him and spend time. It's easy to watch Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson and that group of guys throwing, but these guys, they may be helping us through the course of the summer and they also need for us to spend as much time with them.

"With some of these young kids that I haven't seen, like (Cory) Gearrin (who was throwing in the background) and (Stephen) Marek, who I saw with Gwinnett a couple of times this summer, it's nice to recognize the majority of guys before we get going in spring training."

When pitchers and catchers report Monday, Feb. 14