Atlanta Braves’ Brian McCann out for at-least four months as he goes through surgery - MLB News
Atlanta Braves’ catcher Brian McCann undergoes surgery, following his struggles with a shoulder problem for the most part of the second half of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
With the surgery carried out, he will take few months now before he can start playing baseball and begin his journey toward joining the Braves in the 2013 season.
McCann saw sharp decline in his offensive numbers in the second half of the season because his shoulder was not allowing him play comfortably.
He received Cortisone shots a couple of times to get going and keep his expedition in the season unhampered. While he was able to appear in the matches in this way, his presence proved counter-productive for the Braves.
For the same reason, David Ross was called up who did the catching job and played as his replacement in a number of games.
Ross was selected for the crucial Wild Card match against the St. Louis Cardinals at the exclusion of McCann by the Braves. He then went on to vindicate the decision of preferring him over McCann by striking a home-run for the team in the playoffs.
As far as recovery of McCann is concerned, there are bright chances that he is ready prior to Spring Training. If the process of rehabilitation goes as desired, he may be in the starting line-up for 2013 regular season.
McCann has a point to prove after he battled hard at the plate and could not help the Braves offensively in the recently concluded season.
He will be mindful of the kind of criticism emerging against him. By putting up stand out shows in the upcoming season, he can restore his reputation as a quality slugger for the Braves.
With the retirement of Chipper Jones, someone has to fill in the shoes of him. Previously, McCann was considered as the most likely successor of Jones with regard to striking home runs on regular basis.
Unfortunately, recent offensive slump experienced by McCann may make it hard to believe that he is capable of offsetting the impact of Jones.
McCann will be looking to recover quickly and start doing batting practice. It will be interesting to see how he prepares for the improvements in the next season.
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