Bench

This is one area I would have loved to see the Braves expand on. If just a little.  Looking at the bench right now I just don't see that go to pinch hitter like a Dwight Smith, or a Franco of years past.  Diaz had been that guy the last couple of years but with him in a quasi regular role I don't think they have that person.

I think we all saw last year the horror of watching Woodard, Thorman and Orr come up and swing...and swing with absolute futility as pinch hitters.  Harris was hot for a little while and when Diaz wasn't starting he was a PH extraordinaire.  However, who is that person going to be this year?
Infante?  Infante may be a hell of a glove guy and can play everything but closer but he is not a "professional bat off the bench."  His career OBP is .298. He is still young and could get better but my hunch is that he will hit ..well...not so good.

Lopez could actually be the solution as the primary bat off the bench, but is Bobby going to let his back up catcher take a crack in the game early? If that is the case does that mean that Sammons catches on as the #3 catcher and eat up that roster spot?  

Ideally this is where I would like to have seen one more signing...one more trade.  

I just saw that Cintron got signed by the Cubs.  Funny how that works.  We trade to get Infante and they take our prospect and sign Cintron for little or nothing?  I realize that Infante is far better with the glove. However, Cintron to me could be a serviceable PH/Bench player. He is a switch hitter.  He can play multiple positions.  He has a little pop and he makes contact. I realize that his OBP is also poor at .313 but he doesn't strike out.  I tend to believe that this has value for a pinch hitter.  He could also have been someone who could have filled in at 3B if Chipper went down and not have destroyed the line up.

However, now that Cintron is gone who would I like to see for the Braves bench:

1. Jeff Kippinger: The guy does nothing but HIT. He can play multiple positions and hold his own. He doesn't strike out has a little pop...and did I mention that the man can hit?  He could also be a platoon option for KJ at 2B when the urge to platoon strikes Bobby( That is a joke. Please don't platoon KJ again this year!).  He is also a nice insurance policy if Chipper goes down. I don't want to imagine Chipper being out for 2 weeks and Inante getting 40 ABs. I doubt that he would be available from the Reds right now given that the Reds see themselves as potential contenders, but he would have been nice.
2. Robert Fick/Vinnie Rottino/Javier Valentin/Eric Munson/Matt LeCroy All of these guys are kind of the same guy: Not really good catchers but perhaps enough of a bat to help out and be a possible pinch hit option.  Even better is that most of these guys were so bad as catchers that they also learned other positions.  This would be valuable for depth of bench.  It would also allow Bobby to use Javy Lopez early as a PH because he would have someone (besides Matt Diaz) that could catch if needed.
3. Mike Sweeney: I think Mike wants more of a fulltime job but if he would take a role as the Braves primary PH bat and occasional AL DH he would be great. He has said he would be willing to put on the tools of ignorance every once in a while if needed; again a way to have a 3rd catcher on the team without having to waste a roster spot.
4. Shannon Stewart: He can still hit and run a little. He is just not a good OFer anymore. If we have a bench with Brandon Jones and Omar Inante then you could get away with sending Josh Anderson and Greg Blanco to AAA for more work.  If Kotsay got banged up either Infante or Brandon Jones would be able to get you by for a couple of innings..maybe even a game in CF.  Why not put a valuable bat in that roster seat and give Josh Anderson or Blanco an opportunity to get ABs not sit on the bench and only get 85 ABs for the year.  The only way either would get significant time would be if Kotsay got hurt. In that case they can take the Richmond shuttle in and be there in a day. Not a big deal.
5. Mark Lorretta: I think the Astros had to go to Arbitration with him and it probably ended up costing them some money. They are not going to contend this year.  If they would be willing to trade him for a bag of balls and the braves pay his salary. I would take it. He can play the infield and is a good hitter.  Again could be a gapstop at 3B if Chipper gets hurt.
6. Greg Norton: He is one of these guys that comes along and produces every couple of years.  He has put together a couple good years for Tampa Bay coming off their bench. He is a switch hitter and could not kill himself playing 3B/1B/RF/LF.