Francona is happy for Phillies, not Philly

Terry Francona spent Wednesday night flipping through the channels. There was the presidential debate - and then there were the Phillies.

As their not-so-beloved manager, Francona guided the Phillies to a 285-363 record from 1997-2000. They were teams that, even Francona will admit, didn't have a whole lot going for them. But that doesn't mean Francona has left Philadelphia behind, for better or for worse.

"I wanted to watch at the end their [clubhouse attendant] jump up when they won, Frank Coppenbarger," Francona said after watching the Phillies clinch the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 Game 5 win over the Dodgers. "I did see Frank jump up into somebody's arms and almost kill him. So that meant a lot to me."

With the Phillies headed to their first World Series since 1993, Francona wanted to show his support for certain members of the organization. Among them were those who worked in the clubhouse and chairman Bill Giles. After his various successes as Red Sox manager, Francona said he received congratulatory messages from a number of people with the Phillies, Coppenbarger and Giles included.

So he was "genuinely happy" to see them experience success of their own. He may not have shared that sentiment for a city that didn't show him a lot of love. In explaining the differences between the fans in the two cities, Francona said, "I think there's more love for their players here. They want [them] to do good so bad that when they don't, it just kills them. In Philadelphia, it turned to hatred in a hurry. Like ball one.

"I went through some really tough times there. It's hard for me to be all warm and fuzzy about the city. That's just the way it is. There are some people there that I care a lot about. You can't go through four years with people there and not care about them."

But as difficult as Francona found Phillies fans, that wasn't the case in his relationship with Giles, whom he was disappointed to have missed in the ceremonies after the game.

"He's one of the dearest people that I've ever come across," Francona said. "He wants everybody that works for him to do well, try their best.

"I can remember him, he stood out on the Clearwater field before the first home Grapefruit League game every year, and he proclaims this is going to be the year, and he believes it in his heart, and now I'm happy for him that it's come true."

Beckett tear denied

The Red Sox denied a report by Tom Verducci on Sports Illustrated's website that Josh Beckett has a torn oblique muscle.

Francona and an organizational source both issued denials. The oblique is strained, not torn, both said, and the injury occurred during a side session the final weekend of the season, not in Beckett's last regular-season start, as had been reported.

"I don't know how to answer something that's not true," Francona said. "I can guarantee you that that's not - I don't think anybody's capable of doing that [pitching with a torn oblique], nor would we let him. If it was torn, he would not have been able to do what he did."

Another shuffle

With lefthander Scott Kazmir on the mound for the Rays, the Red Sox switched their lineup yet again. Boston has had a different lineup in virtually every game this postseason, with a round-robin outfield, Mark Kotsay hitting in half the spots in the order, and Alex Cora and Jed Lowrie sharing time at shortstop. Last night, Francona moved Coco Crisp to leadoff, dropping J.D. Drew to sixth and keeping Jacoby Ellsbury on the bench. "The way we're constituted, we're a little bit lefthanded for a guy that really handles lefthanders," Francona said of Kazmir, who had limited lefties to a .212 average for his career, while righthanders hit .251 against him. "Part of the way we have had success when we've had success against Kazmir is by grinding, grinding, and getting him out of the game. So we need to obviously be aware of that, try to get to the bullpen before they want to." Francona said he did not consider using Ellsbury (4 for 14 lifetime vs. Kazmir) instead of fellow lefthanded hitter Drew (1 for 7). Crisp was 9 for 30 (.300) against Kazmir and was installed at leadoff to utilize his speed . . . Third base coach DeMarlo Hale spent time with Ellsbury in the outfield Wednesday. "I know they've got a really solid relationship," said Francona. "There's a lot of trust for me in DeMarlo. I don't need to go tackle [Ellsbury]." . . . Curt Schilling got a standing ovation as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Sox didn't announce who would throw it until moments before Schilling walked to the mound as a video montage of the pitcher played on the scoreboard. As he walked off the field, Schilling took off his jersey and handed it to a youngster in the front row . . . Despite Tampa Bay's reputation as a disruptive team on the base paths, the Sox haven't had to deal with a lot of that this series. Probably because there have been so many home runs. Or, as Francona said, "We've done a very good job of holding them on second, then chasing balls down on the way home."

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.