According to a report on WHDH-TV 7 News' website that cited Red Sox employees, the three pitchers - on nights they weren't starting - would leave the dugout as early as the sixth inning and go back to the clubhouse to pour themselves a cold one.
They'd return to the dugout and watch the game while drinking beer, the report said. The practice became more frequent later in the season, whether the team was winning or losing.
Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said in the team's statement Tuesday night:
"Tonight our organization has heard directly from Jon, Josh, John, and former manager Terry Francona. Each has assured us that the allegation that surfaced today ...is false, and we accept their statements as honest and factual."
One Sox employee said: "Beckett would come down the stairs from the dugout, walking through the corridor to the clubhouse and say, 'It's about that time.' Beckett was the instigator, but Lester and Lackey were right behind him. It was blatant and hard not to notice what was going on with all three guys leaving at once."
Lester was quoted Tuesday in multiple reports admitting the pitchers had an "occasional" beer in the clubhouse, calling them "ninth-inning rally beers."
But Lester disputed the idea that it fueled Boston's epic collapse down the stretch.
"There's a perception out there that we were up there getting hammered and that wasn't the case," Lester told the Boston Globe. "Was it a bad habit? Yes. I should have been on the bench more than I was. But we just played bad baseball as a team in September. We stunk. To be honest, we were doing the same things all season when we had the best record in baseball.
"We'd go in, get a beer, and go back on the bench. The accusation that we were up there sitting around and playing video games is obscene."
