Even the most naive person would be lying if they told you they could not envision things getting uncomfortable between Terry Francona and Bobby Valentine during the upcoming season. Last year while Bobby V. was in the announcer’s booth at ESPN, Francona was still in charge of the Red Sox and one of the most successful managers in team history. This year, Valentine has replaced Francona in the Boston dugout after an epic meltdown last season and Terry has joined the ESPN staff. Awkward? Of course it is.
On Monday morning, Francona said he believes Valentine’s decision to ban alcohol in the clubhouse is more of a public relations stunt than an actual ban. As you might have expected, Bobby V. took very little time to fire back.
“I don’t really have a comment on that. That means that 20 teams were looking for PR and that’s why they’re making good decisions? I don’t have a comment on that,” Valentine said according to the Boston Globe. “Remember, you’re getting paid (at ESPN) for saying stuff. You get paid over here for doing stuff. I’ve done both.”
Valentine is referring to the 20 teams — Boston included — that have banned alcohol in their clubhouses. That’s a good point, but those other 19 teams didn’t ban alcohol in response to a public relations nightmare that painted their pitchers as beer-guzzling idiots, so Francona’s point is valid as well. The way these two swapped places in such a short span is bound to be uncomfortable, and something tells me the back-and-forth we saw on Monday only scratched the surface.
