The Cubs have had a variety of injuries this spring. So far, infielder Mark DeRosa was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat, pitcher Jose Ascanio had a bruised face after getting punched in a robbery attempt, and outfielder Felix Pie missed a couple of days early because of a twisted testicle. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez remains sidelined with a sore right shoulder.
What is a twisted testicle? First, the condition is known as "testicular torsion" in medical circles. It's a condition in which the spermatic cord is twisted, resulting in shrinkage, tissue death and other awful symptoms you can read about on the Urology Channel (swelling, nausea and vomiting, lower abdominal pain, etc.). Frankly, reading this is making us a bit nauseous.
This reminds us of the horrible, horrible injury suffered by Michael Barrett a couple years back, when a foul-tipped ball nailed him in the groin. Thing is, he stayed in the game and even batted in the bottom of the inning. But then, like all reasonable men not named James Bond (in Casino Royale), he gave in to the pain.
"That's a tough one there -- that one might be the toughest one," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "He said, 'Bake, I'm feeling sick, I'm hurting badly.' He tried to tough it out. I don't remember it happening. There are so many foul tips coming back to the catcher."
The official diagnosis of Barrett's condition, by the way, was intrascrotal hematoma.
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