Aug. 18--Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona will try to beat the Red Sox on Tuesday night, but first he'll hope his presence at a chemotherapy session will lead to a true win for Boston: a victory over cancer for Manager John Farrell.
Farrell, 53, announced last week he'd been diagnosed with lymphoma and would be stepping down for the rest of the season to take care of his health.
It just so happens that Tuesday will be his first chemotherapy session and Francona, his friend and former Indians teammate, will be in Boston to begin a three-game series.
"We were just talking," Francona said according to the Associated Press. "I was just asking questions, the normal questions. He mentioned he was starting Tuesday. I said, 'I'm right there. I'll go with you, whatever.' I may not do anything other than get in the way, like normal, but being a friend, the only thing I know how to do is be a friend. Like the rest of us, we don't know exactly what to do, but I do know how to be a friend. I care about him a lot. That's what I'm trying to do."
Farrell said his cancer has been called "very curable" by his doctors.
Neither the Indians (55-62) nor the Red Sox (52-66) are involved in a playoff race of any sort as both sit at the bottom of their respective divisions.
"I think right now I'm supposed to be a friend," Francona said.
