Francis underwent another magnetic resonance imaging exam the first week in January, and it didn't reveal anything wrong in his shoulder. Francis said when he throws, "It's the tendon right at the release point, and it's a sharp pain right in the front of my shoulder."

After winning 17 games in 2007, Francis fell to 4-10 with a 5.01 ERA. He began the season 0-2 with a 5.01 ERA in five April starts and said his shoulder began hurting in May. Francis went on the disabled list from June 29 to Aug. 6, made seven starts upon returning and then was shut down for the balance of the season after a Sept. 12 start. Francis has shown improvement during the offseason, but obviously not nearly as much as he had hoped by this point. He wants to be pain-free before taking the mound.

"It's not an easy thing to go through when you want to be on the mound as quickly as possible," he said. "You want to be going through spring (training) with your teammates and stay healthy. But I am not going to be the pitcher I need to be unless I'm pain-free. I think I'm a long way away from getting there, but it's going to be longer than I originally hoped."

Resigned to the fact Francis won't be ready to start the season, O'Dowd, happy that Francis is making progress, said, "I want him healthy. If that's May or June, he can still provide a huge lift."