When a ballplayer gets into an argument with an umpire, the club's manager often jumps into the fray in order to protect his guy from being ejected, or at least to calm things down and mitigate any forthcoming fines from the league.

But sometimes, when you gotta go, you gotta go, and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona was using the bathroom in the fourth inning Tuesday night when outfielder Michael Bourn was ejected by umpire Phil Cuzzi at Wrigley Field. There's a dingy little urinal next to the visitor's dugout (same thing on the home side) and that's where Francona was when Bourn was served his exit papers during what was supposed to be a break in the action. It's not like watching a game at home, when you can pause the DVR or go back and rewind. A manager always has to be on duty, even when relieving one's self.

cutline text cutline text
Terry Francona (left) and Michael Bourn (right) both had to go Tuesday night. (USATSI)

Because he prefers transparency and is not afraid to make fun of himself, Francona explained to reporters in semi-graphic detail what was happening to him in the bathroom during the moment of truth:

As you can see from the video, Bourn did have bench coach Brad Mills available to him (all Indians coaches have shaved heads and glasses like Francona, apparently), for whatever it was worth -- which wasn't much going up against Cuzzi.

A lot of talk about going to the bathroom at Wrigley this season. Two months ago, there weren't enough urinals to go around while the ballpark was undergoing part of its $500 million renovation. But this mess wasn't on Wrigley. The dugout urinals are not far from the action. Sometimes, proximity isn't enough.