News
McCann to rejoin Braves on Friday
Catcher ready to return to Majors after successful rehab game
By Guy Curtright / Special to MLB.com
05/07/09 10:27 PM ET
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- After a frustrating couple of weeks, Brian McCann seems to have finally overcome the vision issues that have been plaguing him.McCann hit an RBI double in the first inning of a successful injury rehab with Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday night and will rejoin the Atlanta Braves in Philadelphia on Friday for the start of a weekend series.
"I'm pretty sure I'll be in the starting lineup, ready to go," said McCann, who is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list before the game. "I'm excited to get back and join the team. I think everything is going to go great."
McCann, who had Lasik surgery two years ago, began to have blurred vision in his left eye shortly after the start of the season and was in a 1-for-20 slump when he was placed on the DL on April 25.
It was thought that contact lenses would clear up the problem, but they caused irritation and dryness. After having trouble at the plate during two rehab games with Class A Myrtle Beach last week, it was decided that wearing glasses was needed.
"We tried about a million things," McCann said.
Special prescription Oakley sports glasses were ordered late last week, but the correct glasses didn't arrive until about 1 p.m. Thursday. Five hours later, McCann was in the lineup for Gwinnett's International League game against Syracuse.
On the fifth pitch he faced in the first inning, McCann lashed a double down the right-field line for Gwinnett's first run in a 4-0 victory. He was intentionally walked in the third inning, robbed of a hit on a diving stop by Syracuse first baseman Brad Eldred in the fifth and lined out to right field in the seventh.
"It went good," McCann said.
Catching with the glasses under his new hockey-style mask proved to be a little bit of a challenge, although he did throw out former Atlanta teammate Pete Orr trying to steal second base in the third inning and also made a tag play for an out at the plate.
McCann, who wasn't sure if he needed the glasses to catch, caught with them on during the first two innings, took them off for the next six and then put them back on in the ninth.
"I tried to catch without the glasses there for a little bit," McCann said. "I'm going to have to come up with something where I catch and don't let them fog up while I hit.
"I'm not used to taking the mask on and off. I kind of smeared the lens. I was going to try to go the rest of the game without wearing them. But I'm probably going to have to wear them when I catch."
A second pair of glasses is supposed to arrive next week, allowing McCann to switch his glasses out during a game.
"It's been hard, very frustrating," McCann said. "But I think everything is taken care of now. I feel really good about it."
Guy Curtright is a contributor to MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
