Heyward to Atlanta, Braves to St. Louis

The worst case scenario of any batter is that they will be standing at the plate when a fastball gets away from the pitcher and hits them square in the head or face. This is, of course, the worst case scenario for any pitcher as well. Nobody can adequately prepare to be hit in this way. The Braves, Mets and their respective fans watched this scenario play out Wednesday when Atlanta outfielder Jason Heyward stepped into the box and took a Jonathan Niese fastball off of the right side of his face. Unfortunately, the ear flap on his helmet did little to protect the slugger and the players and viewers watched in horror as the big man fell to the ground. Though Heyward never lost consciousness, that he was immediately taken out of the game and then sent to a NYC-area hospital spoke to the severity of the injury. The Braves later announced that he had fractured the right side of his jaw in 2 places, would be sent back to Atlanta to have surgery and would miss 4-6 weeks. The severity of th...