Judging by the tweets and photos last week, the Braves caravan stop at Fort Gordon was  a success. With the community stops coming to a close soon, the next stop is sunny Florida and spring training.

Last week the Braves gave a glimpse into what kind of surprises await for fans. One of them was the new home alternative uniforms that pays a very nice homage to the past. The uniforms were leaked on the Internet a few weeks ago, but it's still nice to see the Braves introduce a uniform that not only looks classy but is a nice throwback to the Braves' history and the players that came before this year's current batch.

Speaking of which, Atlanta also announced its non-roster invitees that will begin the February in Florida with the big club. Among the players invited include left-hander Sean Gilmartin, who went 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA in five starts at Class A Rome while striking out 30 and issuing two walks in 21.1 innings. Also on the invite list is right-handed reliever Peter Moylan, who was not tendered after the end of last season because he was recovering from shoulder surgery. Moylan signed a minor-league deal with his goal of being back with the big club by July.

In all, the Braves are inviting 21 to camp. They include: left-handed pitchers Yohan Flande, Dusty Hughes, righties Jason Rice, Adam Russell and Zeke Spruill; catchers Christian Bethancourt, J.C. Boscan, Evan Gattis, Matt Kennelly and Jose Yepez; infielders Ernesto Mejia, Andrelton Simmons, Drew Sutton, Joe Terdoslavich, Josh Wilson; outfielders Todd Cunningham, Luis Durango, Stefan Gartrell and Jordan Parraz.

Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 19, while position players report on Feb. 24. The first full squad workout will be held Feb. 25.

HAMILTON'S STRUGGLES: I really wanted to comment last Friday after Josh Hamilton's news conference not about what happened but how he handled it.

For those that don't know of his past, Hamilton struggled with alcohol and substance abuse and spent most of his time in the then-Devil Rays organization away from the field. These days, he's been more of an inspiration for what happens when you do get the help you need.

The first thing that he did, though, that was commendable was first admitting his shortcomings. No one likes to admit they have a problem, much less someone that has enough money to hide behind it. When Hamilton first grabbed headlines in Cincinnati it reminded me of two players that I grew up watching, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. Their struggles have been well documented over the years and were given second chances after not only admitting their demons but facing them head on.

The one thing that struck a chord with me was his apology.

"To everybody I hurt, everybody, fans, kids, people who have addictions who look up to me, I apologize," Hamilton said. "When you're doing this, you don't mean to hurt anybody. You're only hurting yourself. But as I know, I hurt a lot of people. I feel terrible about this, let a lot of people down. ... There's nobody that feels worse than I do. I'm going to do everything I can to lean on some shoulders so hopefully I can get back to the point where people will lean on me."

Looking at him you could tell he felt bad and knew he needed to take responsibility for it. But he's also asking for help. No matter how much money a person makes, the difficulty in asking others for help is it takes the control out of one's hands and places in it someone elses. No one that I know likes that idea, but that's what he's doing and will continue to do until he beats his addiction.

I feel for Josh. I pray that he's able to get a hold on his issues not just so he can play baseball but so he can continue to set an example for those with problems and let them know it's not just ok to ask for help, but that it's manly to do so.