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I can explain. Its because Cora hates us…

No. Theyre done until the ninth when they will score 2 runs and lose by 1….

No, it was not. They were a top 5 scoring team before the trade. Now they’re a bunch of complimentary players with no one to compliment…

I’ll take the over…

There’s no way they replace Devers’ production this year. Without it, this lineup is listless…

Actually, that’s what he did. He passed the buck on the promise to play third base off on the guy no longer around, rather than addressing the real issues, like the fact that Devers was a poor defensive 3b and moving him to a different position was definitely within the best interests of the team. I get that’s not an easy thing to tell a player if said player has any pride in his game. But it needed to be said then and there, and Cora needed to start with that. By pushing everything off on the “last guy”, he took steps toward turning the situation into Management vs Players, with the management telling Devers “you play where we want and you will like it!” Sure he clearly knew it wouldn’t go over well with Devers, so he avoided it altogether . He probably stayed Players Favorite in some eyes, but it’s not his job to be their favorite…

I have to discredit myself in your eyes. I was not fully on board with Bregman. I’ve been down on him since he whined about getting booed after the cheating scandal news broke and before this year, he was among my least favorite MLB players. I do like him better in the new uniform; it’s the fan in me. Free agency is largely a PR venture in my eyes. As I’ve said before, it involves paying heavily for players in their 30s for what they did in their 20s for another team. But it does show the fanbase money will not be an obstacle. Fans love that. And they should. As for Cora, I find him fungible. I can’t criticize his pitching staff management, since I know he and I are on very different planes of knowledge regarding their daily statuses. I don’t mind him resting players; I think he does it more so to keep the bench players involved, which is good. He may not do it for that reason, but it does happen. I hate his dedication to platoons and his apparent disbelief in defense. And I was thoroughly disappointed with his avoidance of the Devers situation where he blamed the departed guy, refused to handle the situation, and finally went and got ownership to do his job. I know I don’t have the savvy to manage an MLB team, but even I can shirk responsibility at that level…

It’s not about the end result; it’s about Cora deliberately side-stepping the entire affair, starting with his blaming of the departed Bloom rather than actually addressing the situation…

To be fair to Farrell, he did lose in the postseason to a team that was cheating. And Cora was a big part of that cheating…

Right. In fact, Cora never said he didn’t think Devers could play 1b, which he really shouldn’t say anyway, especially after moving him off third for defensive reasons. Cora did say he preferred Devers at DH, but that’s not necessarily the same thing. And Cora also said he planned on having ongoing discussions with Devers about 1b. To me, he was just avoiding another awkward conversation. Which is not good, because it’s part of his job to have those awkward conversations…

Pffffft. Once we add Rhys Hoskins, you’ll forget all about ol’ whatsisname…

And that’s a fair point, but why go in a new direction under old management? They’ve replaced people above Cora multiple times; they only replaced Cora when he got suspended…

You might be putting words in Cora’s mouth. Did he avoid asking Devers because he didn’t think Devers could play first? Or because he didn’t want to ask Devers to make another change after the first time went so awkwardly?

If his value is not quantifiable, why is he so important? Is it because he won a ring after inheriting a two-time defending AL East champion? And then proceeded to maintain .500 baseball for 6 years? Is his value in Henry still liking him? The same John Henry who didn’t want to keep Mookie? You’re expressing plenty of dedication to a man who has guided the Sox to a 453-439 record since 2018. It’s easy to list off bad moves and blame injuries - and I agree those things dont help. But they’re not unique to Boston, either. And stop copping out with “you just don’t like Cora.” I don’t think he is a good MLB manager. That’s hardly a condemnation. I don’t think I’d be a good one either, and I certainly don’t hate myself for it. So why the dedication?

I go the opposite. I hated the idea of trading him, but they seemed to get a decent return (one BA Top 100 SP, a first round pick, and a lottery ticket) for getting SF to take the entire contract. Granted, they were probably helped by the Giants’ inability to attract any major free agent…

Just like you blaming it on injured pitchers who threw only 24 fewer IP, I suppose…

You’re right. All you did was mention it. After all, it was on a laundry list of things you pointed out that worked against Cora. But you also, by saying maybe this roster isn’t as good as we thought, introduced the dangerous notion that “whatever goes wrong, it isn’t Cora.” (And I limited you to introducing the idea. Don’t run with that.) So I will again ask a simple question - what does Cora bring to the table?

Sale, Price, ERod and Porcello combined for 655 IP in 2018. That same 4 combined for 631 IP in 2019. Thats not some huge difference. 6 IP per pitcher. One start. They had Eovaldi for a full year in 2019, and he barely pitched. Still he gave them more innings than he did in 2018 since he was only there for 2 months. I didn’t count him because it was fever going to be fair…

The downfall started in 2019, when they lost 24 more games that the season previous. Betts and Sale were both on that team. And don’t accuse me of exaggerating when you brought the Sale trade up in the first place. Sale was on the roster from 2019-2023, and how much did he help during that 5 season stretch?

Let’s not completely overlook Bregman’s highest AAV in team history contract that allowed him to control his own free agency. It’s a fairly nice enticement. Since 2018, the Sox are barely over .500 under Cora (and that didn’t count 2020, as he was not here). That includes his 2019 season, in which the team won 24 fewer games than the year before (second largest difference in team history). If the roster was a great one in 2018, what made it a .500-ish roster in 2019? What exactly does Cora bring to the table that gives his fanbase such dedication?

Who did it before Cora? Cora has been around through 4 CBOs. At what point do we stop blaming everyone else around him and look at him? Or are you trying to argue that everyone else everywhere in the organization are the incompetent ones and Cora is just the victim here? And can we stop blaming the downfall of the organization on the Sale trade, as if no other team has made trades that didn’t work out? Wouldn’t the Yankees have been much better off holding on to Fitts and Weissert over the nothing they got from Verdugo?

More likely, Cora is vastly overvalued. Hes the common link in a long chain of mediocrity. Even his supporters defend him with “but he can win if you give him a roster anyone can win with,” as if meeting expectations is some sort of super power. He’s been around almost as long as Francona, with nowhere near the track record. Heck his predecessor was fired for being more successful (and Cora may have had a hand in that as well)…

Right! Anything but play first base, you mean!!

And they want to run this like a Tampa Rays forum. Even if it means packaging mvp with dgalehouse’s contract to make it happen…

Or more often with someone already on 2b?