Terry Francona Is Having Some Medical Issues

Last night's All-Star Game took its toll on anyone who stuck around for the distance. The guys from FanHouse who liveblogged the thing have been dragging around like they just went 15 rounds with Ali in his prime. So it wasn't all that surprising to read that Terry Francona, who managed the American League last night, was getting some medical treatment for numbness in his left arm today.

The numbness predates last night's marathon, however, and sounds more serious fairly serious. He needs an injection to help improve the situation.

"My body is falling apart at times," added Francona. "I've had a ton of numbness and weakness in my left arm. I've got to get it taken care of, because we've got a lot of baseball left to play."

David Pinto of Baseball Musings points out that this is hardly the first spell of medical trouble Tito's had of late. He experienced chest pains in 2005 and has had ongoing circulatory problems.

Francona says that it's just a holdover from previous disc problems in his back, though, which seems like the most plausible explanation. He's got a stressful job, which takes its toll on bad backs. Those bad backs, in turn, create inflammation which can impinge on nerves and create the numb feelings. Either way, here's hoping Francona has a speedy recovery and doesn't miss any time this season.