Braves’ Justice Out for the Season

During their five-year run as one of baseball’s best teams, the Atlanta Braves have had a few bumps and bruises but never a serious injury to a key player.

Until now.

The Braves will have to deal with the loss of one of their top hitters, David Justice, who decided Friday to undergo surgery for his dislocated right shoulder and will sit out the rest of the season.

Justice injured the shoulder swinging at and missing a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Denny Neagle on Wednesday night.

The Braves had hoped the injury could be treated without surgery, which would have meant Justice would sit out four to six weeks. But the shoulder never fully recovered from a similar injury last season, and Joe Chandler, the team doctor, feared it would not heal without surgery.

“Even if he was able to come back, he would be so apprehensive because of how unstable his shoulder is now that he would be ineffective as a player,” Chandler said. “The only option was surgical intervention.”

Justice will be operated on next Thursday, and Chandler said he could still be feeling the effects of his surgery next spring.

“This was the necessary thing to do,” said Justice, who was batting .321 with six homers and 25 RBIs as the Braves’ No. 5 hitter. “The shoulder is weak and it could pop out again. The best thing is to go ahead and get it taken care of.”