moonslav59

Not at all. That does not detract from my point that I feel, if HRam had to play for a team to get the $22M, he'd have been knocking on doors. It will be interesting to see if he retires or tries a comeback.

I loved Manny. He made some big mistakes, some inexcusable, especially towards the end and during his time in LA, but he was so much fun to watch.

I totally agree, and I also strongly feel that was missing last year and in 2011.

I agree. I do see a marked change from last year. That was my main point. You are right. It's not just Cora, but the vets we brought in helped a lot. I also like how Cora went to visit Devers in his home country. That kind of thing is often over-looked.

We were pretty late on using the shift, or at least to a high degree.

Right, more like deification.

It's kinda like the chicken and egg argument. Having that great run early in the year certainly helped set the tone for the season.

I'm not so sure. I think it was all about the 2019 team and budget issues, and the fact that HRam was in a slump.

Except at 1B and maybe at 3B, I'm not sure that will play into the who sits when JD plays the OF. Maybe we choose to sit Beni vs a tough lefty, but both Beni and JBJ hit righties better.

The blunders have been greatly reduced. We were not the leaders on analytics the years before Cora took over.

I'm not worried about Kershaw or anybody's ace. We seem to rise to meet the challenges. I'm hoping it's a warm night for Sale's start. I like our 4 starters- all with extra rest. I'm thinking Sox in 5, maybe 6.

I disagree. They were seemingly having too much "fun" last year and not enough seriousness and focus. They forgot how many outs there were, what base to throw to, and so many blunders I can't even remember. I'm glad they got rid of the OF dance. I know winning makes everyone look better, but almost the entire team was on the downswing last year. I see an immense uptick in fire, enthusiasm and energy. Desire is hard to see or evaluate, but it's one of those things you know when you see it. I guess we see things differently on this issue, but I see a night and day comparison, and I think Cora was a big influence on the change. I can see, smell and taste the increased focus.

Cora inherited one of the worst running teams I've seen in years. We added JD, who is not known for running. Last year, we not only made a ton of base running errors, but we made a lot on defense as well. Cora greatly improved on that. He also added analytics in ways no Sox manager has ever done. True, the times are different than when Tito was manager, but Cora has done it. Tito inherited a team that should have won in 2003. I'm not bad mouthing Tito. He was awesome. Favoritism of vets has always been an issue with Sox managers and most MLB managers as well. Cora isn't that much different, I admit, except for maybe the HRam recommendation. Again, Tito was a great manager with us. He had a couple blips here and there, and I get how Cora has not managed long enough to have any, but that shouldn't be held against him. I'm not sure what was so great about 2010. True, Beckett only started 21 games, but Buch gave us 28 starts (2.33 ERA) and we still had Lester, Lackey, Wake, Dice-K and Doubront. Papelbon had an off year, which I don't blame Tito for, but Bard was great. The rest of the pen, which looks better than this year's on paper, all had ERAs over 4.40. While we had no Manny or Jay Bay to "protect" Papi, we still had this... Beltre .919 (28 HRs) Youk .975 (19 HRs) VMart .844 (20 HRs) Pedey .860 Nava with a .351 OBP JD Drew at .793 and 22 HRs Bill Hall even hit 18 HRs in just 344 ABs & Lowrie was at .907/ We finished in 3rd place with 89 wins.

Reading this makes me think we may sweep.

The money is the same, so yes, it wasn't about the money in that sense, but he lost his desire to play. My guess is, if the money was not guaranteed, and he had to play to collect the $22M, HRam would have been knocking on doors to play. We both agree on "he chose not to play."

I was responding to someone who said that "on paper" we were expected to win. I mentioned many felt otherwise. I did think we were going to win, in part because we have Cora, so in my mind we were the faves. Besides, this isn't the reason I view Cora as the best.

I have seen a marked difference in genuine enthusiasm and focus vs the fun bunch of yesteryear making bonehead plays left and right.

Um, yea. If he really wanted to keep playing, he could have latched on with a team somewhere. He was getting his check whether he played or not, and he chose to not play.

Exactly. This team seems very nonselfish. They often pick each other up after one makes a mistake or does poorly. I love this team!

Vegas and maybe more than half the posters here.

I thought "on paper" we were supposed to lose to the Yanks and Astros. The Astros were faves. once the Yanks won in Boston, they were faves. I'm going on what I see on the field. Cora is doing things no previous Sox manager has ever done. He's doing things many here used to criticize past managers, including at the end of Tito's reign, of never having the balls to try.

I think the whole "were better on paper" argument was faulty. We won 108 games. It wasn't luck. It wasn't by mistake. On paper, our catchers looked like the worst in MLB. That is so far from the truth, it makes me laugh. (And this from a "numbers guy".) On paper, JBJ was just a 2.8 WAR guy. His weak start at the plate muddied the numbers. On paper, Pearce is just a role player. Holt is just a sub. Our pen is weak beyond Kimbrel. Price wilts under pressure. Verlander and Severino are Gods. Many of us knew better. We won 108 games and lost just 54. In the playoffs, versus tougher opponents, we are now 7 and 2. There should be no surprises here.

One could argue playing the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers is the hardest path to a World Series ring in the history of MLB.

He sure did. While papi got much of the glory, and well-deserved I might add, Manny set the table for many of those moments- some with BBs, some with hits, some with earlier RBIs that allowed Papi's hit to be the game winner. No Manny- No Rings in '04 or '07.

The fact that so many put Cora ahead of Tito is pretty funny. I count one: me. I understand the love for Tito, and he is deserving of the support he has gotten. I get the longevity argument. I get the total rings argument. I also look at several missed playoffs, early exits and let downs with some damn good teams led by great starters. I think it's "funny" how Ben is always roasted for trading away a top rotation, but Tito was not blamed for not being able to win with them. He gets credit for winning the two rings but not for the other seasons. I know I'm the champion of not using small sample sizes, so my position seems contradicting, but in my opinion, Cora is the best manager I've ever seen the Sox have. Yes, it's a small sample size, and my opinion might change after he's had a couple poor or under performing seasons, but he hasn't had any, yet. I'm going by the totality of their work-- the good and the bad and the ugly. Cora has no ugly. Cora has no bad. True, Cora has no rings either, but from what I've seen him do, he's the best. Tito is a close second, and I'm okay with seeing him as #1. Dick Williams and Bill Carrigan are 3rd/4th.