DARK STAR, Fla. -- If you’ve had a tumultuous year at your workplace, Tyler Pastornicky can empathize.

   Think about his past 12 months: Last spring he went from relatively obscure prospect to Braves starting shortstop, despite having played only 27 games above the Double-A level and none in the majors.

   He had turned 22 only two months before camp began, and all winter and into spring training he read that he was likely to take over at shortstop and how the Braves expected to get more “professional at-bats” from the position than the previous season from veteran Alex Gonzalez, who was not re-signed. This based on Pastornicky’s approach at the plate and his minor-league stats, including a .314 average and .359 OBP in 2011.

  He wasn’t nearly as good defensively as the cannon-armed shortstop prospect the Braves had coming up behind him, Andrelton Simmons, but the team determined that Pastornicky was more advanced offensively than Simmons, who was the same age but hadn’t played above the high-A level and could use a bit more minor league seasoning.

  Most of you are familiar with what happened next.

  Pastornicky less than two months the starting shortstop, hitting .248 with eight extra-base hits (one homer), a .281 OBP and two stolen bases in 44 games before he was shipped to Triple-A at the end of May, when Simmons was brought up to begin what the Braves anticipate will be a long tenure as their shortstop.

 Pastornicky had slumped badly in the weeks before the demotion, and had seven errors and the lowest fielding percentage among big-league shortstops at that time. He would return as a bench player later in the year and finished his rookie season with a .243 average, two homers, a .287 OBP and .613 OPS in 188 plate appearances, with 32 strikeouts, 10 walks and two stolen bases.

 The aftermath of that season – his first real experience with individual athletic disappointment of that kind – was probably still stinging a bit when Pastornicky found out he was being assigned to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

  “I had no idea I was going to go down there until about two days before I left,” he said.

  He barely had time to unpack before that experience ended. After seven games, Pastornicky was cut by his team, Toros del Estes. He had a .250 average (6-for-24) with no extra-base hits, two RBIs, one walk and four strikeouts, and had gone 6-for-17 (.353) with runners on base.

  Pastornicky said he’s still not sure exactly what happened in the D.R.

  “It was weird,” he said. “I played five games down there at short, then I was gone. It’s a weird, weird thing they had going on down there.” He smiled and added, in a what-can-you-do sort of tone: “But it was a quick vacation.”

  He got nearly two months to show what he could do as the Braves shortstop. But unlike the Arizona Fall League, winter-league teams don’t exist to develop players or help out major league clubs, they are trying to win games and get to the playoffs.

  And after seven games, Pastornicky said a Toros del Estes official told him, “That’s enough.”

  “The team, I guess they had had a big collapse the year before and changed everything, managers and all that,” he said. “Then I guess they hit the panic button after they started losing some games (again). It was weird.”

   I asked Pastornicky what they told him.

  “Things aren’t working out,” he said. “I’m like, dude it’s been five games. But hey, see you guys later…. I had the third-highest average on the team. They needed to make room to bring in another big bat, and they said I was the easiest one to get rid of because they had other guys to play shortstop but they didn’t have other big bats.”

   Pastornicky, another humbling experience under his belt, returned home to Bradenton and went right back to work.

  “I came home from the Dominican and I didn’t take anytime off,” he said. “I got right into my offseason workouts. I didn’t play that much in the second half, so my body didn’t feel that tired. I wanted to get a good offseason in.”

   He worked out daily at his old school, the IMG Academy in Bradenton, where they have some former pro ballplayers and coaches on staff, including Edgar Caceres, a former player and infield instructor in the Royals organization.

 He spent much of his time taking grounders and fielding fly balls, because the Braves told him they wanted him to become comfortable at second base and the outfield, in addition to shortstop.

  So far this spring, Pastornicky has played plenty of shortstop and some second base, but not the outfield, though he says he’s ready for that, too.

  After flaming out as the rookie starting shortstop, he’s trying to earn a spot as a utility player with the Braves, whether that’s now or later in the season. He just wants to show he can play and help a team win, even if that’s another team that might see him play this spring.

  With Andrelton Simmons entrenched at shortstop, second baseman Dan Uggla owed $39 million over the next three years, and each of the Braves’ high-profile outfielders under contractual control for at least three more years, Pastornicky is smart enough to realize a starting role with the Braves is not in the offing for the forseeable future, barring unexpected developments.

  So the son of a baseball lifer – scout Cliff Pastornicky, a former third baseman who briefly played in the majors -- is back plugging away, trying to establish himself, just as Tyler was a year ago before he was thrust into a role that, as it turns out, he probably wasn’t ready for.

  “Got to roll with it,” he said of his rollercoaster ride of a year. “That’s the way things go. That’s baseball.”

  With Simmons and backup shortstop Ramiro Pena both away to play in the World Baseball Classic, Pastornicky and prospect Elmer Reyes are getting most of the playing time at shortstop, for now. But that won’t last. So this might be Pastornicky’s best opportunity to remind folks what he can do.

   He made a terrific throw from the edge of the outfield grass in a game at Bradenton, and a couple of nice stops Monday at Port St. Lucie while ranging to his left behind second base and sliding on one knee. He’s also had a couple of bad plays, including a routine grounder that bounced under his glove.

  You get the feeling the storybook endings, the how-did-that-happen episodes such as being installed as the starting shortstop without any big-league experience, might already be over for Pastornicky.

  And if you talk to the affable and determined 23-year-old for any length of time, you probably would get the impression that he’s good with that, that he’s realistic and more than smart enough to know most ballplayers have to work hard to ever get a spot on a big-league roster, just like his dad did.

 I’ve got a feeling that Pastornicky’s going to be just fine, however this turns out with the Braves.

 • Pena at WBC: Speaking of bench jobs, I heard some folks speculating on-air that Ramiro Pena probably cost himself a bench job by going to play in the WBC. But that’s not the case, from what I’m hearing around camp. Braves officials were impressed with him from Day 1 of camp, both for his defense – which is very good, as everyone knew – and his hitting, which is better than many expected. Which is to say, not as anemic as his major league numbers indicate (.233/.266/.288).

  He’s played parts of four seasons for the Yankees, but Pena had four plate appearances in the majors last season and 50 the past two seasons. Those who saw him play a lot in the past say he’s stronger and has a better approach at the plate now. Not that he’ll be an offensive force by any stretch of the imagination, but more than good enough considering his glovework at shortstop, second, third and, if needed, the outfield.

  When Paul Janish is cleared to play – his six-month point from shoulder surgery is at the end of the first week in April – it’ll be interesting to see if Janish can supplant Pena at some point, since the Braves don’t have room or the need to carry two such similar players on the 25-man roster.

 • Bench battles: We’ve still got nearly two-thirds of the Grapefruit League schedule to play, plenty of time for players to rise or regress. But if I had to guess today – and I don’t, but will since so many have asked – I’d say the Opening Day bench jobs go to fourth outfielder Reed Johnson (a definite), infielder Ramiro Pena and … OK, here’s where it gets complicated.

  With Brian McCann expected to be out until mid-April, the Braves will have to carry a backup catcher behind Gerald Laird. After watching Evan Gattis crush baseballs in batting practice and games these past few weeks, and hearing Braves officials talk about his unusual power and how convinced they are that he can help them with his bat right now, I think they’re going to create a spot for him on the Opening Day roster.  Ask me again in a week, that might change. But as of today, he's impressed that much.

  They could carry him as the backup catcher until McCann is back, which would also allow the Braves to carry a fifth outfielder from the mix that includes Jordan Schafer, Jose Constanza (still out of camp with visa issues, which at this point could affect his chances of making the roster), and possibly Joe Terdoslavich, who’s 11-for-17 at the plate this spring.

  But I still don’t see them taking “Terdo” on the Opening Day roster, for a few reasons: He struggled mightily at Triple-A last season (.180 average, .515 OPS, four homers, 50 strikeouts in 194 at-bats) before being sent down to Double-A, making some adjustments, moving back from third base to his comfort zone at first base, and raking at a .315/.372/.480 clip in 333 PAs.

  Terdoslavich is still learning to play the outfield, has his minor league options, and could still use some seasoning in the upper minor leagues, including perhaps some success at Triple-A to put last year’s experience behind him altogether.

  Schafer is out of minor league options, which means a team like the outfield-starved Mets would likely pluck him from the waiver wire if the Braves tried to send him down before Opening Day. I’m certainly not suggesting they should carry him just because he’s out of options, but some in the Braves organization still believe enough in Schafer, 26, to think his speed and outfield defense could help the team off the bench.

  If the Braves went with Gattis as backup catcher until McCann returns, they could carry Schafer as a fifth outfielder for the first couple of weeks of the season. The other bench spots would be held by Reed Johnson, Pena and either Juan Francisco or Chris Johnson, whoever doesn’t win the third-base job or whichever of the two isn’t in the lineup if they platoon.

  I still have the same feeling I had since they got Johnson in the seven-player trade that brought Justin Upton from Arizona: That Johnson will be the primary third baseman and backup to first baseman Freddie Freeman, and Francisco will get plenty of starts at third base against lefties or any other time Johnson shifts over to first when Freeman needs a day off.

  That would give you an Opening Day bench of Reed Johnson, Pena, Gattis, Schafer (or Constanza) and Francisco, who’d provide some left-handed pinch-hit power the Braves would otherwise need to find between now and then if he’s not on the bench.

  If the Braves decide they don't want Gattis on the Opening Day roster as their only backup catcher or that he needs to play every day in the minors, they could go conventional and keep Matt Pagnozzi as backup catcher until McCann returns. I don't think Christian Bethancourt is a serious option for backup catcher to start the season, since he's still got work to do to get comfortable with changes he's made in his swing, which look good in the batting cage but haven't transferred to games as of yet.

  Then what happens when McCann returns? Glad you asked.

  When McCann is ready, probably around the third week of the season, if Gattis was on the Opening Day roster the Braves could then decide whether to send him back to the minors to play every day – remember, he hasn’t played above Double-A and has only 933 minor-league plate appearances – or keep him at the big-league level as an extra catcher,  fifth outfielder and pinch-hitter.

 They would only send him back down at that point, I’d suspect, if they believe he can't get enough at-bats in that hyrbid role. But that might be a difficult decision if Gattis is on the Opening Day roster and gets a big hit or three in those first couple of weeks.

 The other option, of course, for the Opening Day roster would be to keep both Pagnozzi and Gattis, in which case you expose Schafer to waivers. They could do that knowing that Reed Johnson or Jason Heyward can play center field, if necessary, and knowing that the starting trio of the Uptons and Heyward is probably going to play more than 150 games apiece, barring injuries.

BRAVES lineup Sunday vs. Marlins

1. R.Johnson LF
2. Heyward RF
3. J.Upton DH
4. Freeman 1BB
5. B.Upton CF
6. Uggla 2B
7. C.Johnson 3B
8. Yepez C
9. Reyes SS

(Hudson starting vs. Marlins LH LeBlanc)

• OK, let’s close this with something from the great, underrated singer/songwriter Slaid Cleaves, off his excellent album "Wishbones." You can hear the song by clicking here.

“DRINKIN’ DAYS” by Slaid Cleaves

My drinking days are over
No more nights at the Carousel
My buddies say their gonna miss me but
Who could ever tell
I never knew what time it was
Til closing time came round
My drinking days are over
But I’m still troublebound

I used to hang at the Horseshoe
You’d see me spinning at the Broken Spoke
I’d take my gal to The Gaslight
We lived on whiskey and smoke
Don’t know how it all started
Didn’t mean to hurt no one
Some bad luck and what’s done can’t be undone

Well it was way past midnight
Anetta hollered out last call
I turned around and Wranglin’ Ron
Was headed for a brawl
I didn’t know that other guy was a cop
I guess I didn’t care
Sometime you gotta act like you gotta pair

My drinking days are over
No more nights at the Carousel
No more fights, no more neon lights
I guess it’s just as well
I never knew what time it was
Til closing time came round
My drinking days are over
But I’m still troublebound

I got a ride out to Huntsville
I’ll be there for a while
Staring out a mesh window
Mile after mile
I don’t have any regrets, well
Maybe just a few
A man’s gonna do what he’s gonna do

My drinking days are over
No more nights at the Carousel
My buddies say their gonna miss me
They can go to hell
I never knew what time it was
Til closing time came round
My drinking days are over
But I’m still troublebound

I never knew what time it was
Til closing time came round
My drinking days are over
But I’m still troublebound
My drinking days are over