The heady brew of confidence, ego and pride can cause a pro athlete to downplay or conceal injury, to convince him that he can overcome aches and any limitations and still contribute in his team’s most important games.



Those same traits can make it difficult to concede he was wrong. Sometimes, injury wins.



Sometimes, anti-inflammatory injections and a high pain tolerance aren’t enough.



And so it was that Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson, with his aching left wrist, missed the Braves’ postseason series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves’ first playoff appearance in five years. Atlanta lost in four games, with less-than-Swanson-level defense from backup shortstop Charlie Culberson proving costly — though nowhere near as problematic as the Braves’ team-wide offensive malaise in the series. But we digress.



Swanson, who also spent 2½ weeks on the disabled list in May with wrist inflammation,...