Injury Update — Chipper Jones Still On Bench, McLouth Out Six Weeks

Hello again everyone from the once again steamy confines of Southeast Michigan. I guess we had our 24 hour break from the sweltering heat, as we’re back in the 90’s with the heat and humidity today.

While we’ve all been waiting for the weather to break, most Braves fans have also been waiting for a break on the injury front, at least one that doesn’t involve another Braves’ player breaking down! As such, I’m pleased to be able to bring some good news on that front!

First, breaking news: as Tweeted by Mark Bowman, Nate McLouth had surgery In Philadelphia today to repair a sports hernia. It’s estimated that he’ll be out six weeks. I had heard nothing about this being an issue for Nate. I do believe that there is one of the leading surgeons for sports hernias in the Philadelphia area, so I’m assuming that’s why he had the surgery there. No word yet on his replacement on the roster.

Next, leading off and playing third base (OK, he’ll probably be hitting third, but this sounded way cooler!), we’re supposed to see Chipper Jones back in the lineup tonight, as he experienced no problems with fielding drills today before the game. LATE UPDATE: CHIPPER WILL NOT START TONIGHT’S GAME; PRADO WILL PLAY THIRD BASE. I say “supposed” because, frankly, the news on Chipper’s injury status has changed on almost an hourly basis, it seems. Plus, Chipper has sounded less than enthusiastic about this quad strain almost every time he’s been asked about it. When the player answers a question about how he’s feeling by saying “well, they tell me that it’s feeling better”, that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the status of the recovery. Looking into my crystal ball, though, I do actually see Chipper starting tonight against the Mutts. Let’s all hope that he can stay healthy for a while, as Dan Uggla won’t stay this hot forever. Also, for future reference, I left a note in Jeff Porter’s locker that said “Note to file: in the future, do not try to set a world land speed record for recovery from knee surgery when the patient is an oft-injured 39 year old player”. They’ll probably figure it doesn’t count if Chipper is still playing next year, though, as he’ll then be forty.

Moving on, the news looks good so far on Brian McCann. He’s begun his throwing program and should start some low-stress batting work soon. Apparently the team is extra-concerned about the rehab process here, as Ivan Rodriguez is recovering from what is described as a very similar injury. His rehab was moving along the same route as McCann’s up to the point where he started hitting drills. He then suffered a setback. It hasn’t been stated whether the Braves thought that Pudge’s program started the hitting too son, or if he hit too much, or swung too hard. Or maybe it could be that Pudge is 10+ years older than Brian and has about a zillion more miles on his odometer. In any case, in spite of the obvious need to get Brian back in the lineup, they are being very cautious, which I think is a good thing.

The fourth injury that is on a critical path for recovery is Peter Moylan. Thus far (and I say this with both fingers and toes crossed), all the news on Moylan has been positive. He began throwing bullpen sessions on August 1st, and hasn’t encountered any significant issues since then. There has been no schedule published as far as rehab assignments, but the last un-official word was that the Braves were hoping for a late August return. Obviously, the sooner we can get him back the better. While I still fully expect to see Arodys Vizcaino here very soon, we’ll still need another dependable right-handed reliever. Please Peter; get well soon!

That’s my take. Care to share yours?