So what’s the answer? According to Coppolella, it lies in weight of numbers. “The best protection is top-shelf pitching depth,” he said. “We just keep taking pitchers, trading for pitchers, developing pitchers. We spent money for (big-league starting) pitching this year, but we didn’t give up any pitching depth.”
Here he voiced the line that has become the Braves’ boilerplate, generally ascribed to the famed scout Paul Snyder: “He used to say it takes 10 (pitchers) to get two.” In an industry where success hinges on tender arms, the only possible inoculation is volume.