NEW YORK - As he staggered out of the batter's box into foul territory down the first-base line, Brian McCann's fear was equaled by each of his Braves teammates. The loss of the All-Star catcher's services would be detrimental.
But fortunately, it doesn't appear that McCann suffered anything more than a bruised left ring finger while attempting to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning of Sunday's 9-6 win over the Mets at Shea Stadium.
X-rays didn't show any broken bones and the Braves' All-Star catcher hopes to be in the lineup for Monday night's game against the Marlins at Dolphin Stadium.
"Any time you mess with fingers and you're in this business, it's not a good thing," said McCann, who is hitting .339.
With runners on first and second and nobody out, McCann was called upon to bunt against Mets left-handed reliever Pedro Feliciano. The first pitch came sailing toward him and he still attempted to get the bunt down.
"If he wouldn't have moved in the box, it probably would have went behind him," said Chipper Jones, whose immediate thought was, "don't be broken."
After being examined by the team's medical personnel, McCann remained in the game. He eventually provided the sacrifice bunt and then came back out to catch the bottom of the ninth.