Cleveland Indians: Terry Francona’s health more important than any game

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 02: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates at the dugout with manager Terry Francona after scoring a run on a wild pitch thrown by Jon Lester #34 of the Chicago Cubs (not pictured) during the fifth inning in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 02: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates at the dugout with manager Terry Francona after scoring a run on a wild pitch thrown by Jon Lester #34 of the Chicago Cubs (not pictured) during the fifth inning in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona will miss the All-Star Game after undergoing surgery, but his long-term health remains the most important thing of all.

Cleveland Indians fans had been waiting to receive word on Terry Francona‘s condition, and the team broke the silence with an announcement that provided both good and bad news.

The bad news is that Francona has to miss next week’s All-Star Game, but the good news is that he has remedied the problem that has caused him to miss some time over the past month. And in this instance, the good news outweighs the bad by a large margin.

Anyone who has had an irregular heartbeat, heart palpitations or anything remotely wrong with their heart knows just how scary that can be. It led to Francona having to leave two games early last month, and sent him to the Cleveland Clinic earlier this week.

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Another bit of good news is that he decided to head to the hospital instead of being stubborn and just dealing with it, as some people do until the problem reaches an unfortunate conclusion. Luckily, Francona went to one of the best hospitals in the world and got the treatment he needed.

His absence in the All-Star Game means the rest of his staff will be managing the American League squad down in Miami, but Francona should not be too worried about missing out. The best thing he can do now is just relax and enjoy the week off while recovering from his surgery.

They call it an All-Star break but with him managing the game, he wouldn’t get a break at all. And with the stress he has been under, this wouldn’t be the best time for a trip to Miami.

He can spend the next week sitting in bed and channeling his inner Lou Brown while watching his team take on the Detroit Tigers this weekend. The announcement from the team said he will be back next week, but he should take as much time as he needs. He is the piece that holds this team together, but he can only do that if he is healthy and able to give it his all.

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Get well soon, Tito!