Cleveland ice cream store sends 'survival pack' to Francona

As long as he's in Cleveland, Terry Francona will never have to spend $44 on ice cream again.

The Indians manager had to shell out that cash for his favorite frozen treats at 3:30 a.m. while unable to sleep in his Chicago hotel room early Saturday morning. Not that it wasn't worth it, though: Francona told reporters prior to Game 5 of the World Series that he got himself some chocolate, vanilla, and brownie sundaes, and even some berries and a diet coke off the room service menu.

But the folks in Cleveland saw their skipper's plight, and decided to help him out when he returned home. Pierre's Ice Cream, a Cleveland-area ice cream chain, put together a "World Series ice cream survival kit" for Francona and shipped it out to Progressive Field to greet him when the team returned home on Monday afternoon.

While the 57-year-old had to finish his entire room service order by himself, Pierre's made sure to send enough ice cream for him to share with the entire team.

"It was a large container loaded with all of the fun flavors, complete with serving supplies," Pierre's assistant marketing and communications manager Matt Thornicroft told Janet H. Cho of Cleveland.com. "In all it was about 32 containers (14 1.5-quart containers and 18 pints), equivalent to 240 half-cup servings ... enough for members of the team to enjoy as well."

Although the ice cream will be in the freezer and ready for Francona and the Indians to enjoy before Game 6 if they're hungry, we're guessing it'll taste a lot better should they wait until after a possible World Series victory.