Bobby Cox says Braves to pursue two starters
By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, September 12, 2008
Braves manager Bobby Cox was asked Friday what it would take to get the
Braves back to being a playoff contender in 2009.
"Pitching, pitching and more pitching," he said. "Good pitching will cover
up a lot of other points. When you don't have [pitching], everything else
becomes critical."
The Braves believed they had strong pitching when they left spring
training,
but veteran starters John Smoltz and Tom Glavine and top relievers Peter
Moylan and Rafael Soriano all had early arm injuries that required
surgery.
Mike Hampton also missed the first half of the season with more injuries.
In hindsight, the Braves relied too much on over-40 starting pitchers, a
mistake they don't plan to repeat in 2009. Cox said they intend to add two
quality starting pitchers this winter, via free agency or trade.
"We're hoping Tommy and Smoltz come back at some point," he said. "But
we're
not going to bank on it. We're going to still add [pitching] before that."
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