In case you haven't heard already, the Boston Red Sox have banned beer from their clubhouse this season. After all the controversy that swirled around the team at the end of last season, they've decided that it's the best way to shake the hangover that resulted from all the allegations of players drinking in the clubhouse. But their former manager Terry Francona doesn't see it that way. He thinks Boston has "banned" the team from throwing back Buds in the clubhouse simply because it'll get them good PR—not because they actually intend on keeping it out of the clubhouse altogether.
"I think if a guy wants a beer, he can probably get one," Francona said during an interview on ESPN yesterday. "I don't think it's a surprise that they put this in effect, or the fact they announced it. It's probably more of a PR move just because, you know, the Red Sox [took] such a beating at the end of the year."
Damn. Still got some hard feelings, Coach? Then again, you do work for ESPN now, so it's your job to be critical of moves like the one the Sox just made. At least, that's what the team's current manager Bobby Valentine thinks. Shortly after Francona made his comments yesterday, Valentine fired back by saying, "How is it PR? That means like 20 teams are looking for PR and that's why they're making good decisions?...Remember, you get paid over there [at ESPN] for saying stuff. You get paid over here for doing stuff."
Sounds like these two have a pretty frosty relationship at this point. Maybe they should sit down, have a beer, and talk about it. Just not inside the Red Sox clubhouse, of course.
[via New York Daily News]
