Cora goes out with a bang
Will he make a quick return?
Good morning, all and happy Sunday!
If nothing else, you can say that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora went out with a bang. The Red Sox ended a four-game losing streak yesterday, blasting the Baltimore Orioles, 17-1, highlighted by a 10-run ninth inning. That was not enough to save his job, however. After his post game press conference, Cora was informed he was fired, along with six of his coaches, including Red Sox icon Jason Varitek, who has reportedly been reassigned to another position within the organization. The story broke around 6:45 last night.
Cora’s latest contract with the club runs, through 2027 and according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, he is owed $13.54M.
So let’s start there. During the New York Yankees-Houston Astros telecast on YES, Yankees voice Michael Kay speculated other managers on the hot seat would now be looking over their shoulders. I am not so sure. Prior to negotiating his latest deal with the Red Sox midway through the 2024 season, Cora speculated he might not want to keep managing. He talked about time away from his family, how the season is a grind, etc.
Cora just might decide to take the rest of the season and possibly next year off too. Why not? Now he has time to spend with his family and collect that $13M plus. Who needs the aggravation? Maybe he does some broadcasting on the side. He did work for ESPN, before becoming a Houston Astros coach.
Besides, Cora may not be the hot commodity some make him out to be. Yes, he led the Red Sox to their last World Series title in 2018, before the cheating scandal, during his Astros tenure came to light. Since then, however, he has had lukewarm success as a manager. And remember, he was fired, before the 2020 season because of that scandal only to be brought back in 2021. Maybe he just says, “The hell with it,” and collects his dough. Perhaps he says enough of the metrics, analytics, spray charts and 35 people in the front office. I’m kicking back, enjoying my family and counting my money.
On the same Yankees telecast, analyst David Cone summed it up, and I am paraphrasing here: when a manager is let go this early in the season, more than likely he and the general manager are not on the same page. That appeared to be the case with Cora and Craig Breslow, the Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer.
The more you followed the Red Sox dynamics, the more it became evident there was a disconnect between Breslow and Cora. The final straw may have been last week’s three-game sweep at the hands of the hated Yankees, in front of a lot of empty seats at Fenway Park. Not to mention the winning pitcher in the finale was Cam Schlittler, who grew up a Red Sox fan practically in Fenway’s backyard; or that one of the Yankees biggest offensive weapons has been Ben Rice, another Fenway neighbor, who grew up in eastern Massachusetts. That could not have set well with Red Sox ownership, especially as Boston managed to score just three runs in the entire series and played like a beaten team.
And therein lies the Red Sox biggest problem and the main reason I did not pick them to make the playoffs this season. Their lineup lacks the big bopper. That’s on Breslow not Cora.
In reality, the Red Sox lineup has always had many big boppers. Now they do not even have one. Back in the day, anytime the Red Sox batting order turned over, lurking were Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz back-to-back, followed by an excellent supporting cast. Now they do not have even one lethal bat in the order, let along a supporting cast.
Chad Tracy, whose dad Jim Tracy managed the Dodgers, Pirates and Rockies, has been named interim manager of the 10-17 Red Sox. Tracy was managing the Red Sox AAA club at Worcester. He played as high as AAA baseball in the Rockies system, before embarking on a managerial career.
As for Cora, he departs as the third winningest manager in Red Sox history, behind Terry Francona and Joe Cronin. He may be the lucky one, put out of his misery from watching a team that cannot get out of its own way. He can sit back and pop open a cold one. This is now Breslow’s show, every bit of it; lock, stock and barrel.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for being a subscriber and have a superb Sunday!
DAN
Great commentary, as always, Dan. Just one thing... I think I heard the Red Sox announcers say that Ben Rice, even though he grew up in eastern Mass, was a Yankees fan. As a kid, his favorite player was Derek Jeter.