By Matt Pepin, Globe Staff

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona said today the issue of his use of pain medication, which was revealed in a Globe story detailing the Red Sox' collapse this season, came up in his interview for the Cardinals manager job.

"That probably aggravated me, not from St. Louis, I don't blame them, I'd have asked it, too, but the fact that I had to defend myself . . . really hurt me," he said during an interview on WEEI's The Big Show.

Francona claimed there was a 'miscommunication' about how information about his medication use would be used by the Globe reporter who wrote the story, Bob Hohler.

"I actually talked to Bob, I think it was the night before. There's a little bit of miscommunication to this day. When I hung up with Bob I was under the impression that he understood, you know, I could have got him to talk to Dr. Ronan. I was under the impression that wasn't part of the story."

Joe Sullivan, the Globe's sports editor, said, "I don't know what the miscommunication could have been."

Francona also explained why he didn't respond when details of the team's demise were revealed.

"I wasn't the perfect manager, but I did things my way, and for seven years and five months, it worked," Francona said. "The last month, everything kind of collapsed. But, coming out and slinging arrows isn't how I think is appropriate."

Francona, in a wide-ranging interview that was planned in advance but coincidentally fell on the day his replacement was to be introduced at Fenway Park, also discussed various players, the team's collapse and his future.