Day one of Atlanta Braves Spring Training came and went with a few notes worth mentioning.
Fredi Gonzalez had his first opening speech as manager of the Braves. Nothing new or different was said, but a small difference was that it was held outside in center field instead of inside the clubhouse where Bobby Cox did it all those years. Fredi said he felt it would do better outside so everybody wouldn't be cramped.
According to David O'Brien, Chipper Jones had a rough day Saturday, fighting soreness in his knee. He had a successful three-day stint this past week by working out with little soreness, but it seemed to catch up with him this weekend. Jones is aiming for a Spring Training debut by the end of the first week of games, and he has high hopes for starting on Opening Day. It looks like he still has a long way to go.
The final two position players arrived for the first day of camp, as shortstops Alex Gonzalez and Diory Hernandez showed up. I hadn't realized Gonzalez had maturity issues early in his career, but it shows how much he has grown up. By all accounts, he is a great teammate. Also mentioned in the piece is that Kenshin Kawakami and Yohan Flande are still being held back due to visa problems.
And if you haven't already noticed or heard, Chipper is wearing his socks high like in the old days. A picture can be found here and here. Normally I wouldn't bother with such things, but this does bring back good memories.
Finally, a photo gallery of the first day of camp from the AJC. This makes me happy.