Atlanta Braves

A rather subtle move occurred this week concerning the Atlanta Braves' future.

The move in question is the signing of 18 year old prospect Edward Salcedo of the Dominican Republic.

Salcedo, by trade is a shortstop and is touted as being one of the better international prospects in the game. When one watches this video , one can see Salcedo possesses a fluid and level swing capable of power.

The Braves franchise has had its up and downs since its inception in 1876. The Braves have won three World Series since then and at least one player from each of those teams is represented on this All-Defensive team. I wonder if that is a coincidence?

The Braves have had some great defensive players from Andruw Jones and Dale Murphy in the outfield to Glenn Hubbard, Felix Milan, and current shortstop Yunel Escobar in the infield.

I recently received quite a bit of flack for one of the five points in my last article on what the Braves need to happen in order for them to win the East.

So, in the spirit of discussion, and defending myself, I have decided to elaborate on my point on what Bobby Cox needs to do to get his Braves over the hump.

In June of '09 I wrote a story recapping Tommy Hanson's major league debut in Atlanta. In that article I talked about the Hansonmania that had taken Atlanta by storm in a losing effort.

In 2010, still days away from the first exhibition game of spring training, Heyward-Hype has made Hansonmania look like my seventh birthday party—the one when the clown didn't even show up.

The Braves have officially signed Dominican shortstop Edward Salcedo, one of the top unsigned prospects on the planet. Word is that he will start the year off in either Rome(A-) or Myrtle Beach(A+).  

Depth is key to any team with legitimate playoff aspirations. The Phillies were able to win a world series with Matt Stairs having some key hits in there NLCS series against the Dodgers, and the Yankees benefited from having Brett Gardner running around the bases late in games last October.

One thing Bobby Cox has always managed to do with the Braves is maximize the potential of the Braves fringe starters and bench players.

Bobby Cox is a man of many words, most umpires are aware of that, but none know Cox like his players.

Cox is a players' manager, the type of guy any player wants to play for. Ask any of his former players and they'll tell you that Bobby is no doubt the best manager they have played for. Never has he put himself first, but his players always come first.

The Atlanta Braves, in what has proven to be their last notable signing of the 2009-10 offseason, signed Eric Hinske to a one-year, $1 million contract back in January.

Unlike this time last year, the Atlanta Braves have an incredibly deep bullpen to count on throughout the year. This means that Bobby Cox will not have to overuse two or three guys and have them burnt out by September.

This season's bullpen will consist of new closer Billy Wagner, Japanese setup man Takashi Saito, the jovialant side arming Aussie Peter Moylan, lefty specialist Eric O'Flaherty, Kris Medlen, who could be used in several different roles, and several different pitchers fighting for the final two spots in.