Article: After A Rough Few Months Is It Time For Alex Cora To Be On The Hot Seat?

[TedYazPapiMookie]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Exactly. Another great postgame interview by Cora again today with the predictable we’ve got to play better. Right?🤭

I think that response is indicative of his lack understanding of the game and his unwillingness to work hard just like when he was a player who never put in the effort to be better.  A manager has to be finding new ways to improve what is failing.  Maybe, he should actually play his best players everyday so everyone has less pressure on them to perform because they actually know their role.  Who is the 1B, the 2B, the RF, LF and CF?  Every day it's a new combination because he wants to keep all the bench guys who aren't really MLB players happy.  Pick a line-up that makes sense should be next on his agenda.

1 - Duran LF

2 - Abreu/Refsnyder RF (Abreu vs RH pitchers)

3 - Devers DH

4 - Campbell 2B

5 - Mayer 3B

6 - Rafaela CF

7 - Narvaez C

8 - 1B of the day (go get a real 1B or bring up Anthony to play there in 2025)

9 - Story SS

Stop pulling pitchers too soon or too late.  If a pitcher during the 5th inning is sitting at 4-6 hits given up and 1 or 0 walks, don't pull him without giving him a shot at finishing the inning.  A win shouldn't matter to the pitcher but the manager's confidence in him does.

Most importantly, Cora needs to explain to the press and fans what his coaches are doing to improve the defensive mistakes and what the coaches are doing to stop the many hitting skids currently existing for very good young players.  Dedicate the coaching staff to the 9 hitters and 5 or 6 starting pitchers and put the rest of the bench guys on a back burner for now.  Fix the current problems don't strive to keep EVERYONE happy because NOBODY is happy when you take that approach except the guys doing well.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

On 5/27/2025 at 11:15 AM, mvp 78 said:

The only reason he's the "third most likely hire" is because you believe it to be true.

Cora was the bench coach for a team that won 100 games and the World Series. He was always seen as a guy that was destined to be manager.

After Ausmus took over the Tigers gig, they went from winning playoff rounds every year, to being swept in the first round in year one and being out of the playoffs in his last three seasons (under .500 twice). He has not had a managerial job since then.

Gardenhire's last 4 seasons in MINN: 63, 66, 66 and 70 wins. How'd it work out at his DET gig? He had a .373 winning percentage. Seems like the Sox made the right call out of those three. 

Wow.   I guess the players didn't have anything to do with the success of each team.  When someone thinks the manager is that important, it's hard to use logic to convince you otherwise.  I get you are a Cora fan.  I'm not a Cora fan based on his performance, not the team's performance.  

I've learned in the short time I've been on the website, people with strong opinions about people are not open to the facts so I'm good with you believing Cora is something completely different than I believe.  I watched him play and didn't respect his work ethic.  I watched him be a bench coach inventing ways to cheat and I've watch him make daily mistakes as a manager.  That's good enough for me to draw the conclusion that he's not only a bad human being who cheats but he's also a terrible manager and player.

Therefore, I agree to disagree with you.  Thanks for your opinion.

 

[TedYazPapiMookie]

9 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

How would a new manager change this team? I always thought the Blue Jays played bad baseball under Montoyo and the team (specifically their young stars) underperformed because of him. Turns out, many of those guys were just kind of overrated. 

The change of manages won't change the culture too much but it might significantly improve Breslow's chances of being successful.  He needs to pick a manager he's confident in, that he has worked with before and trusts his knowledge.  He must have observed the tricks that Cora has pulled under DD and Bloom and played the long game to gain full control that a GM should have.  If Cora is moved elsewhere not promoted, then Breslow won the chess game, but it took entirely too long for the Red Sox fans.

I say let Breslow make this his team and then measure his success on his choices.  Nothing is guaranteed but if you look at what Boche did in Texas because he brought his pitching coaches to a team that needed better infrastructure, I think that could happen if Breslow can go get the manager he wants and bring the coaching staff that they can influence to join the Red Sox in  addition to the guys Breslow has already brought.  There is no guarantee that will work every year because of injuries but Texas is significantly better than it was before Boche.  

[sk7326]

On 5/27/2025 at 8:12 AM, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Interesting review of Cora's days in Boston.  He came to Boston an unqualified manager who got to inherit a phenomenal team because diversity was a hot topic and the Latin players had issues with a manager who didn't speak Spanish in the United States on an American team.  Enter the bilingual Cora with the gift of gab for the reporters, his bleeding heart for cast away bench guys like he was and a knack for cheating.  It was a perfect storm to hand Dombrowski and force down his throat.  What did Dombrowski do, like the professional he is, he went out and got Cora a guy named JD Martinez to completely stack an already very talented offense and add him to his already stacked pitching staff.  Even Cora couldn't lose with the 2018 team and so many times it sure seemed like he was trying to lose to keep his bench players liking him.  There was nothing a bench jockey like Cora could teach a Mookie Betts or Bogey or JD and so Cora simply had to fill out the line-up card and not make too many in game mistakes.  

After the players won the rings, he made one of his biggest mistakes by telling the SPs to show up to Spring Training late and the rest is history.  2019 was Cora's disaster first ruining the start of the season, then ruining his newly re-signed star pitcher's elbow with some sage pitching advice from a back-up infielder.  Then the world found out Cora had no character or integrity, and the owners apologized to him for having to fire him with the promise of hiring him back.  2020 was a disaster as we watched the best player since Ted Williams get shipped out by the new henchman hired to dismantle the 2018 champs.  It took him four years, but Bloom destroyed the organization with his poor signings or lack of signings and then he stuck a stake through the heart of fans by paying the worst 3B in history over $30Million a year for a decade when he was nothing more than an above average hitter who couldn't play defense. 

Cora managed as status quo during the Bloom dismantling.  They didn't seem to get along any better than Dombrowski and Cora all because Cora liked to have a direct line to the owners circumventing his bosses.   When Bloom got fired Cora should have gone too for completely different reasons.  Bloom dismantled the talent and Cora never learned how to do any aspect of managing other than meeting with the press and keeping the bench players happy.  He never learned how to set a line-up.  He never learned how to handle a pitching staff.  He never knew when to play small ball or go for the big inning.  He simply coasted in his cushy job and dodged bullets from the press when he made his many mistakes.  Status quo worked for him because he never had a work ethic when he played and he didn't have one as a manager.  He just wanted to be liked by everyone.

Now Breslow has provided TWO key replacements for Betts, JD, Bogaerts, Benny, Price, Sale and Eovaldi:  Crochet and Bregman.  The Bregman add was a double bonus by eliminating Devers' baseball glove.  This team got upgraded significantly but if you look at the 2018 versus this team you can still see a big gap in talent that needs to be filled with experience from some of the early draft choices made by Bloom when he was tanking the team.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we really don't want to have the train driven by Cora anymore.  It's time to get a fresh, unbiased face who chooses his line-up based on talent and not nepotism, country of origin or previous relationships.  We need a manager that understands the TEAM concept so guys like Devers don't continue to develop from the farm system.  When Mayer commented about how great he is, it was a red flag that the Devers farm player pedestal still exists, and it sets expectations of player privileges that should not exist.

Breslow played his cards well because there were two massive problems when he got his job.  1 - Devers playing 3B and 2 - Cora being the manager.  The pitching staff improved when  Breslow brought in his people and it's too bad he couldn't immediately bring in his own manager.  I think it would have shown ownership it was time to invest in the team again but instead Cora led the team to another mediocre season in 2024.  Now it's happening again in 2025.  It's time to part ways with Cora and bring in an experienced manager with a working relationship with Breslow.  It needs to be his call because if it doesn't work, there is nobody to blame other than him.  No more focusing on diversity instead of baseball.  The fans want the most qualified manager not the best connected.

I guess we really have observed radically different scenarios under Cora but we both have come to the same conclusion for the future.

 

This is genuinely nuts.

1. Cora was extremely qualified - or more to the point, about as qualified as you're going to get for a first time manager.  He was a bench coach for a good team, a personnel guy in Puerto Rico - and yeah, the media stuff doesn't hurt given the media obligations here.  

2. You can't REALLY sit here and say the rosters of the most recent teams were good enough to match up with the best in the league.  This does not absolve Cora of some blame, but this is clearly a personnel thing.  

3. Even if we wanted to buy this crazy diversity theory - it would not explain why the team rehired Cora after the suspension.

4. I guarantee you that Alex Cora is not the reason Trevor Story forgot how to hit a baseball.  Seriously.  

[sk7326]

25 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

The change of manages won't change the culture too much but it might significantly improve Breslow's chances of being successful.  He needs to pick a manager he's confident in, that he has worked with before and trusts his knowledge.  He must have observed the tricks that Cora has pulled under DD and Bloom and played the long game to gain full control that a GM should have.  If Cora is moved elsewhere not promoted, then Breslow won the chess game, but it took entirely too long for the Red Sox fans.

I say let Breslow make this his team and then measure his success on his choices.  Nothing is guaranteed but if you look at what Boche did in Texas because he brought his pitching coaches to a team that needed better infrastructure, I think that could happen if Breslow can go get the manager he wants and bring the coaching staff that they can influence to join the Red Sox in  addition to the guys Breslow has already brought.  There is no guarantee that will work every year because of injuries but Texas is significantly better than it was before Boche.  

Counterpoint:  Corey Seager is better than any player the Red Sox have.  And the most critical pitching addition Texas had was a guy the Red Sox drove to the airport. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

14 minutes ago, sk7326 said:

Corey Seager is better than any player the Red Sox have.  

bregman was clearly outperforming seager.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

2 hours ago, sk7326 said:

This is genuinely nuts.

1. Cora was extremely qualified - or more to the point, about as qualified as you're going to get for a first time manager.  He was a bench coach for a good team, a personnel guy in Puerto Rico - and yeah, the media stuff doesn't hurt given the media obligations here.  

2. You can't REALLY sit here and say the rosters of the most recent teams were good enough to match up with the best in the league.  This does not absolve Cora of some blame, but this is clearly a personnel thing.  

3. Even if we wanted to buy this crazy diversity theory - it would not explain why the team rehired Cora after the suspension.

4. I guarantee you that Alex Cora is not the reason Trevor Story forgot how to hit a baseball.  Seriously.  

1 - No experience as a manager is NO EXPERIENCE as a manager.  Bench coaching is coddling players and educating them on how to cheat.  Media compatible is where on your list of managerial skills?  It's not near the top for me.

2 - The Red Sox roster was off the charts in 2018.  In 2019 too except Cora screwed up ST by asking SPs to show up 2 weeks late since they pitched in November!!!  Who does that except a manager who is clueless.  Once DD was fired in 2019, the roster was dismantled by Bloom and I don't hold Cora responsible for the results.

3 - I have a crazier theory on why he was rehired.  It made absolutely no sense to support a guy who cheated in up 90 games including the playoff games AGAINST BOSTON where Sale suddenly got rocked like never before.  Cora had saved the owners money and dignity by lying to the commissioner about the Red Sox scandal that he was a part of.  My theory is Cora went behind DD's back to implement the Video Room scheme, but he let ownership (Henry) know about it because they became very close after he made Cora his token effort at diversity.  By forcing the whistle blowers to recant their original stories and by working with the Players Association with a gag order to all players the commissioner had no evidence despite everyone knowing they did it and Cora was involved.  Payback for his part in the cover-up got the guy guilty of the biggest scandal in baseball history in Houston a reprieve from Baseball Jail and a job in Boston as payback for all he did for Henry.

4 - Never said a word about Story.  That is just a hyperbole to over emphasize your argument.  I already stated that I don't blame Cora for Bloom's many, many mistakes.  To me Cora and A Boone are the two worst managers in baseball.  Both are considered less serious brother in baseball families where they were known for shortcuts instead of hard work.  Both have many, many connections inside the industry that allowed them to get offers they weren't qualified for, and both are social animals whose top skill is the gift of gab but clearly not the gift of managing. 

[TedYazPapiMookie]

2 hours ago, sk7326 said:

Counterpoint:  Corey Seager is better than any player the Red Sox have.  And the most critical pitching addition Texas had was a guy the Red Sox drove to the airport. 

Counterpoint to what?  Seager and Semien were both better than Devers and Duran when they went to Texas.  That is why Boche signed up in Texas.  He also got deGrom.  Cora came to Boston with Mookie, Bogey, Benny, Price, Sale and they added JD and Kimbrell.  The 2018 Red Sox were much, much better than the 2023 roster of the Rangers and Boche won with less but there was a huge jump in wins with Boche that is evidence of the impact of adding players and a great manager.  The 2017 Red Sox with an excellent manager that had pitching experience was a very strong roster that won the division that just needed someone to replace Papi and no cheating from Houston to win in 2018.  DD got JD to replace Papi and the rest is history. 

FYI.... You could have managed the 2018 and won more than 108 games!!

[Jasonbay44]

If the argument for Cora being a good manager is winning a World Series with the 2018 team, that isn’t a great one. That team was absolutely stacked with talent.

However, he does deserve credit for some of the moves he made, especially during the run. IE. Pinch hitting for a young Devers who was having a good playoffs with Eduardo Nunez and Nunez delivering a 3 run homer was ballsy. 

[jdc69]

4 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

The change of manages won't change the culture too much but it might significantly improve Breslow's chances of being successful.  He needs to pick a manager he's confident in, that he has worked with before and trusts his knowledge.  He must have observed the tricks that Cora has pulled under DD and Bloom and played the long game to gain full control that a GM should have.  If Cora is moved elsewhere not promoted, then Breslow won the chess game, but it took entirely too long for the Red Sox fans.

I say let Breslow make this his team and then measure his success on his choices.  Nothing is guaranteed but if you look at what Boche did in Texas because he brought his pitching coaches to a team that needed better infrastructure, I think that could happen if Breslow can go get the manager he wants and bring the coaching staff that they can influence to join the Red Sox in  addition to the guys Breslow has already brought.  There is no guarantee that will work every year because of injuries but Texas is significantly better than it was before Boche.  

When I think of the type of manager I want for the Red Sox, Bruce Boche is the first to come to mind. 

[mvp 78]

10 hours ago, sk7326 said:

This is genuinely nuts.

1. Cora was extremely qualified - or more to the point, about as qualified as you're going to get for a first time manager.  He was a bench coach for a good team, a personnel guy in Puerto Rico - and yeah, the media stuff doesn't hurt given the media obligations here.  

2. You can't REALLY sit here and say the rosters of the most recent teams were good enough to match up with the best in the league.  This does not absolve Cora of some blame, but this is clearly a personnel thing.  

3. Even if we wanted to buy this crazy diversity theory - it would not explain why the team rehired Cora after the suspension.

4. I guarantee you that Alex Cora is not the reason Trevor Story forgot how to hit a baseball.  Seriously.  

On point 2:

2022- team of expiring contracts and starting pitchers that couldn't stay healthy (or had a history of doing so), stayed close near the deadline but the CBO chose to do nothing of significance except trade the starting catcher 

2023- Kluber was the Opening Day Starter, the 2b with the most appearances had -0.2 bwar (Arroyo), the SS with the most appearances had -0.6 bwar (Kiké)

2024 - another season with no plan for 2b, early injury took out SS for the year, pitching was healthier but faded badly after the All Star break which was unsurprising giving the lack of career innings thrown by the starters

2023 was obviously the worst setup of the previous three teams. The other two are similar, but had two unique issues. The '22 team should have just sold off prior to the deadline when they were securely in a playoff position. Instead, they went over the CBT because of the dumb JBJ trade. The '24 team seemed primed to compete, but another Story and Casas extended vacation exposed a lot of their depth issues at the high minors. Without a plan at 2b, they became too weak up the middle overnight. Hamilton did have a hot stretch in the middle of the season, but it was bookended by equally brutal stretches. Were these teams ready for the playoffs coming out of Spring Training? They had an outside shot at it, BUT NEEDED EVERYTHING TO BREAK RIGHT. That means they were closer to a .500 team than we wanted to believe. 

[Old Red]

Cora said after the game yesterday that Milwaukee played better team fundamental baseball than we did. He said the game was close, but we didn’t play good, and we got to do better. Right? At least he didn’t say we competed well. This is 4 years in a row now we’ve heard these things, so why change the status quo?🤭🤭

[mvp 78]

8 hours ago, Jasonbay44 said:

If the argument for Cora being a good manager is winning a World Series with the 2018 team, that isn’t a great one. That team was absolutely stacked with talent.

However, he does deserve credit for some of the moves he made, especially during the run. IE. Pinch hitting for a young Devers who was having a good playoffs with Eduardo Nunez and Nunez delivering a 3 run homer was ballsy. 

He was good in '21 as well. He's been given a pretty tough hand from Bloom and Breslow. Looking at the lineups he's had to run out, especially in the middle of the field, it's not surprising that they've been a middling team. If you give him an above average team, he can make in game moves to put them over the top. If you give him a .500 team, they are going to stay .500. 

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, Old Red said:

Cora said after the game yesterday that Milwaukee played better team fundamental baseball than we did. He said the game was close, but we didn’t play good, and we got to do better. Right? At least he didn’t say we competed well. This is 4 years in a row now we’ve heard these things, so why change the status quo?🤭🤭

My concern is that fundamentals don't start the second you reach MLB. These are things that should be worked on as they are in the lower levels of the org. I worry that there's more concern about focusing on maxing exit velo than spending a few extra minutes to go over sac bunts and other things that have been lost over the past 30 years. The lack of fundamentals aren't strictly a Red Sox issue, it's a problem all across MLB.

[Old Red]

11 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

My concern is that fundamentals don't start the second you reach MLB. These are things that should be worked on as they are in the lower levels of the org. I worry that there's more concern about focusing on maxing exit velo than spending a few extra minutes to go over sac bunts and other things that have been lost over the past 30 years. The lack of fundamentals aren't strictly a Red Sox issue, it's a problem all across MLB.

That may all be true, but bad fundamentals have made the Red Sox a 500 team, or below now for 4 years in  row, and nothing has changed, or worked to get batter.

[sk7326]

8 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Counterpoint to what?  Seager and Semien were both better than Devers and Duran when they went to Texas.  That is why Boche signed up in Texas.  He also got deGrom.  Cora came to Boston with Mookie, Bogey, Benny, Price, Sale and they added JD and Kimbrell.  The 2018 Red Sox were much, much better than the 2023 roster of the Rangers and Boche won with less but there was a huge jump in wins with Boche that is evidence of the impact of adding players and a great manager.  The 2017 Red Sox with an excellent manager that had pitching experience was a very strong roster that won the division that just needed someone to replace Papi and no cheating from Houston to win in 2018.  DD got JD to replace Papi and the rest is history. 

FYI.... You could have managed the 2018 and won more than 108 games!!

John Farrell managed a nearly identical team in 2017 and won 93 games and went out in the first round (whatever weight you want to give the chaotic postseason).  Alex Cora took that group (well that group plus JD Martinez) - won 108 games and went 11-3 against two fellow 100-win teams and the 2nd best team in the NL.  2018 was a good group on paper sans dout ... but the managerial change took it from a good team to a historically great single season wagon.  In 2019 it faded away for the same reason most seasons go to pot - pitcher injuries. 

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

That may all be true, but bad fundamentals have made the Red Sox a 500 team, or below now for 4 years in  row, and nothing has changed, or worked to get batter.

Fundamentals aren't the biggest reason the team is a .500 team. If the 2023 team was a strong fundamental team, they still don't make the playoffs. 

[sk7326]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He was good in '21 as well. He's been given a pretty tough hand from Bloom and Breslow. Looking at the lineups he's had to run out, especially in the middle of the field, it's not surprising that they've been a middling team. If you give him an above average team, he can make in game moves to put them over the top. If you give him a .500 team, they are going to stay .500. 

and honestly, that 2021 team was closer to a .500 team than a 90ish win one in a lot of ways.  

This season has been frustrating because the underlying stuff has actually not been bad.  The defense is a lot better than it has been, Crochet has been everything you'd want, and Bregman when he was healthy was excellent.  Part of me think this is nothing that a couple of hitting hot streaks can't fix - but it also feels like waiting for a bus that might not show up.  

[Bellhorn04]

5 minutes ago, sk7326 said:

John Farrell managed a nearly identical team in 2017 and won 93 games and went out in the first round (whatever weight you want to give the chaotic postseason).  Alex Cora took that group (well that group plus JD Martinez) - won 108 games and went 11-3 against two fellow 100-win teams and the 2nd best team in the NL.  2018 was a good group on paper sans dout ... but the managerial change took it from a good team to a historically great single season wagon.  In 2019 it faded away for the same reason most seasons go to pot - pitcher injuries. 

Always good to have a voice of sanity here. 

[Bellhorn04]

27 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Cora said after the game yesterday that Milwaukee played better team fundamental baseball than we did. He said the game was close, but we didn’t play good, and we got to do better. Right? At least he didn’t say we competed well. This is 4 years in a row now we’ve heard these things, so why change the status quo?🤭🤭

I get what you're saying, it sounds all too familiar, but I'm not sure what else he's supposed to say.  He could go all Hal McRae, but I don't think that would accomplish much either.

 

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, sk7326 said:

and honestly, that 2021 team was closer to a .500 team than a 90ish win one in a lot of ways.  

This season has been frustrating because the underlying stuff has actually not been bad.  The defense is a lot better than it has been, Crochet has been everything you'd want, and Bregman when he was healthy was excellent.  Part of me think this is nothing that a couple of hitting hot streaks can't fix - but it also feels like waiting for a bus that might not show up.  

Hard to wait on a hot streak if the Sox are going to call up a bunch of young guys. This team is giving 2014 vibes (young guys added, but the team isn't there yet and it may take another year or two to really figure out). 

[Old Red]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Fundamentals aren't the biggest reason the team is a .500 team. If the 2023 team was a strong fundamental team, they still don't make the playoffs. 

Being fundamentally bad is not the biggest reason the 500 has been a 500, or below team for 4 years in a row now, but it certainly hasn’t helped.

[Bellhorn04]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Being fundamentally bad is not the biggest reason the 500 has been a 500, or below team for 4 years in a row now, but it certainly hasn’t helped.

We haven't been exceptionally good at anything, when you get right down to it.

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Being fundamentally bad is not the biggest reason the 500 has been a 500, or below team for 4 years in a row now, but it certainly hasn’t helped.

It hasn't helped and it makes for an ugly game to watch. 💯

[Bellhorn04]

I'm willing to buy into a conspiracy theory that the Red Sox organization has bought in too much on purely data-driven approaches at the expense of other areas of the game.   I'm even willing to agree that the Jim Rice incident was concerning.

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, Bellhorn04 said:

We haven't been exceptionally good at anything, when you get right down to it.

Some of the home run celebrations have been good! 

Laundry Cart: 5/5

Marathon Medal: 2/5

Plastic Weights: 1/5

Decapitated Wally Head: 6/5

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I'm willing to buy into a conspiracy theory that the Red Sox organization has bought in too much on purely data-driven approaches at the expense of other areas of the game.   I'm even willing to agree that the Jim Rice incident was concerning.

They've laid off a lot of scouts and are deferring to the models. We'll see how it works out in the long run, but I think a team with a lot of money should use scouting AND data together. It's not either or! 

[moonslav59]

I've been a big Cora supporter, as I was with Tito, but sometimes a change is needed, even if just "change for change's sake."

I'm not saying I'm on the fire Cora bandwagon, yet, but I'm as close as ever, and the wagon is already weighted down with posters and fans.

[drewski6]

47 minutes ago, Old Red said:

That may all be true, but bad fundamentals have made the Red Sox a 500 team, or below now for 4 years in  row, and nothing has changed, or worked to get batter.

Can we meet in the middle that bad fundamentals have made contributed to the Sox being a 500 team or below

I dont want to dismiss your point, but if presented as the sole reason, I cant get behind it.  It was also (in my eyes) complacency with mediocrity (e.g. not aggressively pursuing deadline upgrades, keeping mediocre players like Verdugo around for too long...)

[drewski6]

32 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Being fundamentally bad is not the biggest reason the 500 has been a 500, or below team for 4 years in a row now, but it certainly hasn’t helped.

Nevermind, looks like you were already there (see my previous post)