Bobby Cox says Braves to pursue two starters

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.”

James latest on recovery road

Chuck James became the fifth Braves pitcher this season to have an arm surgery by Dr. James Andrews. The left-hander had shoulder surgery this week to repair a tear in his rotator cuff and some fraying of the labrum.

James is hopeful of a return during the season half of the 2009 season.

Cox and the destroyed sink

Not many people know it, but Cox once ripped a sink off the wall of a bathroom adjacent to the visitors’ dugout at Shea Stadium.

Cox shared the story Friday when someone asked for the strangest thing he could recall from his many visits to Shea.

“Who was the pitcher that hit [Phil] Niekro?” Cox asked. It was Craig Swan. “Yeah, Swan hit Niekro in the head,” he said. “I got [ticked] off and tore the sink off the wall in the bathroom. Water everywhere. I had to pay for it.”

The incident occurred June 5, 1979. Swan beaned Niekro, setting off a benches-clearing brawl. Swan stayed in and threw a two-hit complete game in a 2-1 Mets win before a crowd of 9,808.