Fredi will gauge use of replay during spring

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez discussed Major League Baseball's expanded instant-replay system while meeting with Joe Torre and Tony La Russa at the Astros' Spring Training complex on Friday afternoon.

Torre and La Russa are currently traveling through Florida to help managers get a feel for this expanded system, which will be utilized for the first time this year.

"After [Friday's] meeting, you feel comfortable that you can work with it," Gonzalez said. "I'm going to go into Spring Training looking for every play that you can challenge."

Gonzalez plans to go through the Grapefruit League season gaining a better feel for how to best utilize the one challenge managers will get through the first seven innings of every regular-season game. At the same time, he will have a chance to better understand how it works during the five Braves Spring Training games in which the replay system will be in place.

"I think it's one of those things, the more you get used to working with it, the more comfortable you're going to get," Gonzalez said. "We talked a little bit about the strategy end of it and some of the reasoning why they went with one challenge and no more than two."

When the regular season begins, managers will have the ability to communicate with an individual in the clubhouse, who will be assigned the task of reviewing replays of contestable calls and quickly determining whether a replay challenge will be used.

The Braves have not yet determined who will handle this task. But they are currently evaluating former players, who would have the necessary knowledge and also have the ability to assume other pregame responsibilities, like throwing batting practice.