Alex Cora was introduced as the 47th manager in Boston Red Sox history on Monday, finally being introduced at Fenway after his duties with the World Series champion Houston Astros ended over the weekend.
Cora knows Boston, having played with the Red Sox from 2005-08. He’s the first former Sox player to become manager since Butch Hobson 23 years ago.
It’s one thing to play in Boston, but quite another to manage the Red Sox. Virtually everyone in New England thinks he or she can manage this team. We argue nightly about the lineup, the defensive alignment and the use of the bullpen. In essence, we all think we can do the job.
We’ll be watching closely as this team comes together over the winter and into the spring. We’ll be looking for Cora’s ability to connect with a young team, and whether he can clear the air in a clubhouse that seemed toxic at times in 2017.
With all that in mind, here are a few “do’s and don’ts” for Cora to follow in 2018:
DO figure out a way to get David Price to relax in Boston. We’ve all heard the stories out of the Nashville area, where people love the left-hander. He’s active in the community, has donated his time and money to countless causes, and is a beloved neighbor.
Yet in Boston, he seems extremely uncomfortable. He engaged in shouting matches with reporters and analysts. He dismissively called John Farrell “Manager John.” He refused to acknowledge fan support after his impressive postseason run as a reliever.
The 2018 Red Sox need Price performing as a top-of-the-line starter. Cora needs to help him find the inner peace and inner strength he needs to become that pitcher again.
DO NOT spend much time on social media. Bill Belichick gets it right when he tells his players to stay off Twitter. Cora has an account, but is not very active. He needs to get his players to follow suit. There are far too many critics out there, and it’s far too easy to get caught up in what people are saying about you. Next summer, the Red Sox need to leave the phones on airplane mode and get to work.
DO embrace the “launch angle” philosophy now prevalent in most major league dugouts. There were a record number of home runs hit in 2017, yet the Sox hit the fewest in the American League. Hitting Coach Chili Davis seemed to eschew this philosophy, so while other teams slugged their way to victories the Sox tried to string together several hits to score a run. It would help to add a power bat in the offseason, but the current roster is also capable of producing more homers. Swing for the fences, boys.
DO NOT overwork Chris Sale. Quite simply, he is one of the best pitchers in the game. Yet he seems to wear down at the end of each season. Forget about 300 strikeouts or 200 innings. Take him out of games that are under control. Give him an extra day’s rest when you can. The Sox need Sale to be as sharp in October as he is in April.
DO get the young players to have a little fun. It seemed at times that Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Andrew Benintendi only had fun when they were doing their postgame dance in center field. It would be nice to see them have that kind of fun DURING a game. The Sox young core (including Xander Bogaerts) seem to put an inordinate amount of pressure on themselves this season. They need to take a page from the youngest of them. So ….
DO NOT change anything about Rafael Devers. He smiled after homers and after strikeouts. He vowed to enjoy his big-league experience when he was called up at the age of 20, and was the only Boston player with more than one homer in the four-game ALDS loss to Houston. Anyone who hits an inside-the-park home run while trailing in the ninth inning of an elimination game isn’t worried about pressure. Let that attitude become infectious.
DO get Dustin Pedroia to lead this team. Cora played with Pedroia for two seasons. In 2007 Pedroia was named American League Rookie of the Year. A year later he was AL MVP. Through that time he played cribbage and talked baseball with Manager Terry Francona every day. Cora can have that same relationship with his second baseman. When Pedroia returns from knee surgery midseason, he can have a tremendous impact on this team. Cora needs to make sure he facilitates that.
There will be a lot of things for Cora to do now that he’s in Boston. He’s still building his coaching staff. He’ll work with Dave Dombrowski on tweaking a roster that won two straight division titles but stumbled in the postseason. Cora is coming off an incredible run in Houston. Let’s hope he’s able to bring a little of that magic with him to Yawkey Way next summer.
Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
