Jones understands, but he also senses that he might be low-balled when his time comes. He says he warned his wife, Sharon, that he might have to finish his career somewhere else. It isn't that easy, he says, to pick up and move a family of five.

And don't get him started on the fact that he plays almost every day, not every fifth day; the relative contracts for position players vs. those of pitchers is a sore subject with him.

Jones, who turns 37 in April, rested his right shoulder, which has been plagued by acute tendinitis, until right after Christmas and then started working out. His goal for the season is, as always, playing 150 games.

"I can't afford to play 120, 125," he says. "I can't have that. This club can't afford for me to be off for an extended period of time."

For the record, his 120-game seasons were the result of freak injuries, not aging. And the strained oblique muscles are to be expected of a switch-hitter.

Jones knows Wren will be weighing the number of his appearances and construct an offer accordingly. Jones expects to sign one more contract in his career and wants to finish as a Brave. But after having reworked previous contracts to give the team flexibility, and especially after moving to left field years ago to accommodate the acquisition of Vinny Castilla, Jones is not of a mind to work cheap.

"I have a hard time believing we're not going to get something worked out," Jones says.

In the meantime, he has settled into his new locker at Turner Field, the one that used to be Smoltz's. He asked to move there, saying, "The captain of our club, the guy who called all the meetings, is no longer here."

As Jones assumes that mantle, he's hoping his last days with the Braves don't mirror Smoltz's.

WHERE, WHEN: Champion Stadium at Disney's Wide World of Sports, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The first exhibition game against a major league opponent is Feb. 25 against the Tigers.

TOP CANDIDATE TO SURPRISE: 2B Kelly Johnson poured so much effort into becoming a bona fide second baseman the past two seasons that there wasn't time or energy to work on anything else. But late last season, with his fielding becoming second nature, Johnson was able to relax, and that showed up in his hitting. Manager Bobby Cox has always marveled at Johnson's beautiful swing, and now that it's flowing free and easy, Johnson is ready to deliver.

TOP CANDIDATE TO DISAPPOINT: RHP Rafael Soriano should be the ideal setup man for LHP Mike Gonzalez, and he should also be able to close when the need arises. But he is guarded about how his arm feels in the best of times, which last season was not. How realistic is it, then, to expect anything different this season as he attempts to come back from right ulnar nerve transposition surgery last August?

AUTHORITY FIGURES: Manager Bobby Cox is entering his 28th season as a major league manager, and his 20th consecutive season with the Braves. Cox also managed the Braves from 1978-81 and the Toronto Blue Jays from 1983-85. He has a career mark of 2,248-1,771 and is 1,972-1,561 with the Braves.

Cox had the plastic parts of both artificial knees replaced in October, and while his gait appears to be the same, he says the knees feel better -- notwithstanding the physical and hydrotherapy he's been subjected to.

His entire staff returns: bench coach Chino Cadahia, pitching coach Roger McDowell, hitting coach Terry Pendleton, first base coach Glenn Hubbard, third base coach Brian Snitker and bullpen coach Eddie Perez, a former Braves catcher.