Terry Francona misses spring training game on advice of doctors

Team doctors advised Terry Francona to miss Wednesday’s spring training game on, allowing Sandy Alomar jr. to take over the bench duties for the day.

There is no calls for concern regarding Terry Francona‘s well being after being told he should sit out Wednesday’s game. The team issued a statement claiming that Francona was ‘run down’ and dealing with ‘gastrointestinal issues’. It sounds like he had some issues with the flu or maybe had some bad clams.

By all accounts, this was a minor illness possibly treated by stealing a little kid’s drink.

It’s not something to laugh at, regardless of what it is, but it’s just reassuring to know that it’s not serious. After all, Francona has a history of heart issues that have popped in during his Tribe career. He’s even had a heart procedure to help alleviate the issues.

Francona’s health should absolutely come first. He’s arguably a top ten manager of all time, and his legacy is secured. So if he had to walk away, or opted to, he would be missed but his legacy is well-defined by this point. It’s just a good thing to hear that this is relatively minor and that he’s expected to return to the pine in the coming days.

As for Alomar, he took over the pine because bench coach Brad Mills is in Texas currently morning the loss of his grandson. Alomar has had some experience serving as Indians manager, replacing Manny Acta for a few games at the end of the 2012 season. Alomar is also a regular name on the interview list for clubs looking for new club managers at the end of every season.