ALCS: Just Like Alex Cora, The Red Sox Keep Coming Back


Some year-round suspensions are better than others. For example, Major League Baseball’s suspension of Alex Cora could not have been applied at a more opportune time.

After Cora took the lead in the Astros’ illegal sign stealing offenses in 2017, MLB suspended her for the entire 2020 season. The Boston Red Sox let him go even after leading the team to a World Series title in 2018 with a flawless and at times excellent post-season manager run.

Being exiled at the time was humiliating and made his family suffer. But in terms of baseball, the only thing Cora missed was 60 rotten Red Sox games. During his four months out of office, he suffered the same fate as almost everyone else in baseball: He was locked at home while the world awaited the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

When baseball returned in July, it was for a shortened season and Boston spent just over .500 on its first day, finishing last in the AL East under Cora’s unlucky placeholder Ron Roenicke.

Still, the repercussions and emotional scars of Cora’s poor decision were perhaps not fully realized in public until the American League division series in Boston upset the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. During the celebration at Fenway Park in Boston, Cora hugged and kissed her daughter Camila and seemed to wipe tears of joy and relief from her eyes – and hers – then hugged her some more.

In a field interview with Fox Sports, Cora admitted that Camila and her entire family had suffered significantly because of the wrongs she had done the previous year. He said it was his fault, resulting from a “terrible decision” to join the sign stealing scheme when he was the Astros’ bench coach.

“For those who think it’s in the past, no, we live every day,” Cora said on Thursday. “I live every day. We made a mistake and we’re paying the price.”

When the suspension ends after the 2020 World Series, Red Sox bring back CoraEven if it required some difficult conversations about the public backlash, as many suspect.

“No, it was easy,” said Red Sox owner John Henry after Boston beat Tampa on Monday. “He made a big difference. You see it every night. The decisions he makes, especially in October, just like he did in 2018. His instincts and intelligence for this game are unmatched.”

Henry commended Cora for helping him overcome the many flaws of this Red Sox team that entered the American League Championship Series as an underdog against the Houston Astros on Friday.

Cora has actually been candid about these flaws and weaknesses all season – most defenders pushing their position in some situations and making careless blunders in others. Most recently, after Wednesday’s practice, he said that some mistakes made in the episode series cannot be repeated if Boston hopes to beat Houston.

“We just had to work on a few things,” Cora said. “We’ve improved some things, others still stink.”

Such frank assessments are rarely voiced by the managers of playoff teams. But for now, Cora has a cute and candid presentation that doesn’t outwardly anger her players. It’s one of the few ways Cora’s influence is tangible, and she even encouraged her players to perform above everything by mid-October.

“He’s a guy you can walk through a wall for,” said Boston pitcher Garrett Whitlock. “If he had told me to walk through that wall, I would have believed there was something there to make sure he would fall for me. That’s a leader like that.”

Countless times throughout the season, the Red Sox have been doomed to dismal failure only to recover and continue playing. Managers tend to be praised for their stamina, but Red Sox players deserve praise, as do the often criticized baseball chief Chaim Bloom, which has proven effective in the long run.

It started with the opening series screening in Baltimore. Then, after blowing out a healthy divisional lead on the last day of July, the Red Sox demoralizing scan He lost two out of three by the Yankees at home in late September and then at Baltimore in the penultimate series of the season.

In the eyes of many, Boston had waved the white flag of defeat and simply let go. That was not the case. It turns out that they are reuniting for one final attack.

Again, their final rites were given when they fell 5-1 against the Washington Nationals in the final of the regular season and fell 5-2 to the Rays in the first hit of Game 2 of the division. soap opera. Both of these games had a titular ace, Chris Sale, who beat the top, but recovered to win.

Inside 2nd gameAfter a disastrous first hit, Cora quickly picked up Sale and then began a series of micro pep talks on the bench. Boston won 14-6 and hasn’t lost since.

“It was definitely a bit uninspiring at first,” said Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo of the poor start of Game 2. “But I just remember walking into the bunker and the AC going up and down, ‘It’s okay, we have a whole game, eight more hits. Carry on.’ I felt like that really set the tone.”

One theme of the Boston season so far has been the perseverance of its flawed roster. Players deserve praise for fighting back against contention over and over, and also blame for previous missteps. The same goes for Cora. Many of his decisions worked, but not all.

If he was the manager who brought Boston to the ALCS, he was also the manager who had a four-and-a-half game lead in the league.

Playing in the big leagues for 14 years, Cora has left many with a feeling that she will become a general manager, so she was very smart in judging all aspects of the game from a managerial standpoint. But current talent is manageable and has left its mark on the craft, though it has learned from a long list of successful captains including Davey Johnson, Jim Tracy, Terry Francona, Ron Washington, and Jerry Manuel.

In 2018, her first year in Boston, Cora delicately manipulated all of the tactical dials, particularly her launching shooters from the field in the postseason. He excelled under Dave Dombrowski, a traditional general manager, and proved equally capable under an analytics-based manager like Bloom.

For some, Cora’s year in exile helped solidify her position as one of Baseball’s outstanding executives.

“He used his time to improve his life, be closer to his family, spend time with them and learn from his mistakes,” said Joe Espada, Astros bench coach and a friend of Cora. “When he was away from baseball, it helped him become the manager he is today.”

People like Espada and Carlos Correa, Astros talented short defenderI’m not surprised by Boston’s success. Correa and Cora bonded during the latter’s season in Houston—a bond that some have included in a cheating scandal.

It’s a stain they all should bear, but Correa pointed out that while she continues to thrive after the scandal, Cora’s return to Boston is the key move that took them from the final place in 2020 to the emotional embrace between father and daughter in Fenway Park.

“He went in and put them back on the map,” Correa said. “After everything he’s been through, I’m very happy that he was able to achieve this. Not only himself, but also his family. It was a beautiful moment for her, her daughter, her family. I am very proud of him.”

James Wagner contributing reporting.



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