Atlanta Braves pitcher Peter Moylan has been busy multi-tasking this week as he warms up his arm for Spring training while participating in the Braves Caravan, a 3,000-mile bus tour of the Southeast scheduled to get fans pumped about the 2010 season.
“The arm feels great,” the Australian native told Intel just after an early AM throwing session at Turner Field. “I just wanted to make sure it was all still there.”
Last month, Moylan signed a fresh one-year contract with the Braves for $1.15 million, thus avoiding arbitration.
“It was great to get all that out of the way early so I could just concentrate of Spring training,” he explains.
Moylan came back strong after the 2009 All-Star break to rack up a record 87 appearances after being sidelined in 2008 following elbow surgery.
“To be honest, I was worried before the All-Star Break,” Moylan discloses. “I had no command and no release point. And then, after the break, everything just clicked into place. A just made a few mechanical tweaks that ended up helping. In pitching, it’s all about confidence. It was great to get that back.”
Moylan was even cool with climbing aboard a bus to travel to Charlotte this week to greet fans. The 40 stops scheduled through Feb 13 will also serve as a fund-raiser for Haiti earthquake victims with autographed items up for bid at www.braves.com/haitirelief.
“It’s a nice opportunity to do our part for the people in Haiti, catch up with the fellows and swap stories with fans and hear from them about what they’re looking for this season,” says Moylan.
One distinctive aspect to the 2010 Braves season that Moylan can’t yet wrap his brain around?
It will serve as veteran Braves manager Bobby Cox‘s swan song.
“I’m sorry but I can’t believe it’s actually going to happen,” Moylan says. “And I won’t believe it until Spring training next year and he’s not there. Bobby is so much a part of this team, I just can’t picture it without him.”
On Friday, the Braves Caravan stops in College Park and Stockbridge, rolls into Birmingham and Hoover, Alabama Saturday and returns to Atlanta, Decatur and Suwanee on Monday.
For a full schedule, www.braves.com/caravan and follow the players’ Tweets from the road at Twitter.com/Braves.
