Gonzalez a longtime Braves fan

[DravenX]

AtlantaBraves.com

ATLANTA -- While shaking hands with some of his new teammates at Turner Field on Friday morning, Mike Gonzalez learned that there were, in fact, some Braves who could make contact with him.
When Gonzalez had previously been inside this stadium, it was Aug. 23, and he was wearing a Pirates uniform. He needed a total of just 11 pitches that evening to strike out each of the three Braves batters who opposed him.

Though impressive, it wasn't completely unexpected. Gonzalez faced a total of nine Braves last year and, in doing so, registered eight strikeouts.

"I've done well here," said Gonzalez, whose only two career appearances at Turner Field, last August, resulted in two scoreless innings. "It just seems like whenever you're facing the Braves, it brings out the best in you."

Gonzalez, who was acquired in the January trade that sent Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh, was all smiles on Friday. He spoke glowingly about the chance to play for a potential pennant winner and expressed that it's always been a dream for him to play for the Braves.

Because he grew up about three hours outside Houston, it would seem he may have been an Astros fan. But instead he chose to always pull for the team that TBS brought into his living room on a daily basis.

"I grew up watching Dave Justice, [Mark] Lemke and those kinds of guys," he said. "They were my team. Growing up, you wanted to be a Brave."

Having seen him convert each of his 24 save opportunities with the Pirates last year, the Braves definitely wanted to fulfill his wish, and plan to use him as the setup man for closer Bob Wickman.

But manager Bobby Cox says that he won't hesitate to occasionally give Wickman a rest and use either Gonzalez or Rafael Soriano, who was acquired from the Mariners in December, as his closer.

"All three can close," Cox said. "That's a huge plus. We're pretty excited about our bullpen."

Gonzalez won't be pitching during the preseason throwing program, which began on Friday. But he says that his injured elbow, which forced him to miss all of September, is completely healthy. His new pitching coach, Roger McDowell, sees no reason to rush things.

"From all indications, he's ready to go and has no limitations," McDowell said. "Obviously, from a reliever's standpoint, it's not as important to get stretched out [this early]."

Voluntary throwing program: Under pressure from the player's union, the Braves and all other Major League teams have been told that they can't require pitchers to participate in preseason throwing programs.

But still, nearly 14 Braves pitchers showed up on Friday for the start of the program, which will run through next week. Tim Hudson, Chuck James, Kyle Davies, Lance Cormier, Macay McBride, Chad Paronto, Tyler Yates and Blaine Boyer were among those who threw off a mound inside the clubhouse on Friday.

Entering his second year with the Braves, McDowell admits that he's much more comfortable in his role now than he was at this time last year, when he was meeting many of his new pitchers for the first time.

"I know them, and they know me," he said. "The approachability is easier because we have had a year together."

Out of town: Neither John Smoltz nor Mike Hampton were at Turner Field on Friday. Smoltz is attending Saturday's basketball game between Ohio State and his beloved Michigan State Spartans, and Hampton is moving to his new home in Arizona.

Both are both expected to make an appearance at Turner Field next week. As for Soriano, he isn't expected to meet up with the Braves until they arrive at Spring Training.

Hudson is scheduled to have his wisdom teeth pulled on Monday and may not resume throwing until the following weekend.

Familiar face returns: Trey Hodges, who made 52 relief appearances for the Braves in 2003, is looking to resume a pitching career that seemingly ended two full years ago, when an ailing right forearm limited him to an 80-mph fastball.

For a while, doctors struggled to find the cause of Hodges' discomfort, which actually began midway through the 2003 season. But since having a tendon in his right hand repaired in December 2005, he's seen slow but steady progress.

Hodges attended Friday's throwing session and will head to camp with the Braves in hopes of proving that he has the stuff that could land him in Atlanta midway through this upcoming season.

"I think a realistic attainable goal would be to make it up halfway through the year," Hodges said. "I'm feeling good, and if things come back the way that they could, it's definitely a possibility. I didn't do two years of rehab after surgery to play Triple-A baseball."

[brewersfan19]

I like Gonzalez. He will be a nice addition to your team. I am jealous!!!

[Braves_Fan]

So he was a Brave fan huh. Well that is awesome.

[bravesjb]

I like Gonzalez. He will be a nice addition to your team. I am jealous!!!

You have a right to be jealous, but at least we took him out of the central, now you don't have to face him as much.

[brewersfan19]

You are correct and THank You!

[BoSox34]

With Boston's current question mark as far as the closers role is concerned, I am certainly jealous and it doesn't help that we almost acquired him a couple of seasons ago.

[bravesjb]

I am just in shock that we started out last season without any capable closers, now we have 3.