Cox Says Braves Will Pursue Two Starters

[HMFFL]

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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