ATLANTA -- Following Tuesday night's 6-4 loss to the Phillies at Turner Field, Braves catcher Brian McCann was in definite pain and his backup, Brayan Pena, was just trying to overcome some of the dizziness that he was feeling.
As for Braves manager Bobby Cox, he was wondering who he would use as his catcher on Wednesday and just hoping that McCann's bruised left ring finger doesn't prove to be a costly injury.
"Hopefully I wake up and I can catch a baseball," McCann said. "If I can, I'll be out there."
When McCann walked off the field in the second inning, he did so because he couldn't catch the baseball. Earlier in the inning, he'd gotten hit on the glove with a swing by Rod Barajas. Seven pitches later, he was unable to catch a low Mark Redman cutter.
The passed ball led to the first of the four runs the Phillies scored in the second inning.
"I didn't want to hurt the team any more," McCann said. "I thought that maybe I could get feeling back. It took 20 to 30 minutes for the pain to go away."
That's not exactly good news for the Braves, who saw McCann escape serious injury on April 22, when he was hit on the same finger with a pitch. He has since worn a protective guard around the finger.
But one inning before being struck by Barajas' bat, he had removed the guard because it was hindering him while attempting to catch Redman's cutters.
"It was getting better, but now it's just back to where it was," said McCann, who didn't provide a definite response when asked if the pain is any greater this time.
As for Pena, he was obviously dazed as he spoke to reporters after the game. Less than 30 minutes earlier, he'd been struck on the top of his helmet with Greg Dobbs' back swing.
"He didn't know where he was for a little while," Cox said.
While McCann is hopeful, Pena was confident that he would be able to play on Wednesday. "I'm still alive," Pena said. "So I'm going to play."
If both McCann and Pena are out, the Braves would likely promote Corky Miller from Triple-A Richmond. Miller, who has played in 89 Major League games, is hitting .220 with a homer in 41 at-bats this year.
Why not bring up Salty for a couple of games, and give us and the rest of the league a taste of what he can do.
