Atlanta Braves’ Brian McCann takes second cortisone shot in his shoulder - MLB Update
The Atlanta Braves' catcher Brian McCann has been injected with a cortisone shot in his shoulder as he looks to play on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies. This is the second time he has received some cortisone in the season.
Catcher is absent from the line-up in the last two games and therefore the shot is meant to provide him sudden relief so that he can continue his expedition in the season smoothly.
Along with the pain that McCann endures, his performance has also declined as is indicated by an unimpressive batting average he has posted in the last couple of months. Therefore if the pain sustains he may grow worse and may find it difficult to connect
hits at the plate on a consistent basis.
Keeping in view his troubled shoulder, Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez has planned to use him intermittently. Gonzalez has decided that whenever he finds the room he will rest McCann so that he helps him to gradually return to top-notch form.
Manager can afford to do so in light of the fact that replacements have been called up and even if McCann misses a couple of games the performance of the offence will not be affected considerably.
Both J.C. Boscan and David Ross are available now and as they have shown decent credentials for producing productive hits for the team. Gonzalez will be pleased with the kind of options he has at his disposal at the moment.
Ideally Gonzalez will want McCann to recover from the pain at the earliest and become a regular member of the team. In light of the fact that the crucial games are around the corner, McCann's presence is important with regard to increasing chances of success
for the team.
Currently McCann seems to be in a decline in his production but once he discovers some much needed momentum he can win matches for the team single-handedly.
For the same reason Gonzalez looks to have him in the line-up throughout the season. Meanwhile, the manager is optimistic that the cortisone shot will render him in a position to play comfortably now.
“Hopefully this will get him over the hump,” said Gonzalez. “I think he’s a lot closer. His at-bats are good, but it’s bothering him. It bites him.”
By the time McCann steps on the plate from now onward, it will be fascinating to see as to whether he can improve his batting average or not.
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