Bobby Valentine: Beer ban no 'PR move'

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine denied Monday that his clubhouse alcohol ban was a public-relations move, and pitcher Josh Beckett blamed "snitches" for leaking the story about players drinking beer and eating fried chicken during games while the team was plummeting to a September collapse.

After the season, manager Terry Francona was let go. Francona is now an analyst with ESPN, and he said on a radio show yesterday that the ban on beer was "a PR move."

"I think if a guy wants a beer, he can probably get one," Francona said. "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 the Red Sox [took] such a beating at the end of the year."

Valentine instituted the ban in response to postseason reports that Red Sox pitchers, including Beckett, hung out in the clubhouse on their nights off eating and drinking instead of sitting in the dugout with their teammates.