Francona Calls Beer Ban "A PR Move"

Terry Francona, speaking on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" show, says Bobby Valentine's clubhouse ban on beer is nothing more than a PR move.

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.

I think it's more of a PR thing. We used to tell the guys, "You have certain privileges, don't abuse the privileges or they'll be taken away." And it wasn't specifically in one area. There were many areas you talk about. You look back at this, these are guys that earned my implicit trust. You know, guys that we had won World Series with. So I probably felt different about it than a new guy coming in. And he certainly has the right to do what he wants because he is new, and that's why you get different people.

[Was this the right move?]

Again, I think it was a PR move. I think if a guy wants a beer, he can probably get one. You know, it's kind of the old rule ... If your coach in football says no hard liquor on the plane -- I mean, you serve beer and wine -- somebody's going to sneak liquor on the plane. If you furnish a little bit, it almost keeps it to a minimum.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon countered Valentine's annoucement yesterday by saying that members of his team are free to enjoy a beer after a game if they want.

We're not the Boston Red Sox. I've said it a hundred times. For me at the end of the day, I'd much prefer our players making good decisions, and if you're of legal age, and the game is over, and you've sweated and lost a bunch of pounds and you want to sit down and have a beer, I see nothing wrong with that.

Last October, Maddon said:

To say a grown-up can't have a beer after a game? Give me a break. That is, I'm going to use the word, "asinine," because it is. Let's bring the Volstead Act back, OK. Let's go right back to prohibition and start legislating everything all over again. All that stuff pretty much annoys me, as you can tell.

Also: Josh Beckett will not apologize for being distracted in September because his wife was due to give birth.

David Ortiz is tired of the Boston media "always talking trash".

I don't like the idea of batting Jacoby Ellsbury third because (a) his power surge has been for only one season, (b) there is not a decent alternative at the top of the order, and (c) I want Adrian Gonzalez batting in the first inning of every game (and Valentine is unlikely to bat him first or second).