One blowout victory wasn’t going to fix all of the problems the Boston Red Sox were having, though it still could serve as a springboard to better times after they started the season 10-17.
On the other hand, maybe “springboard” is a poor choice of words, considering the Red Sox front office used a catapult Saturday on manager Alex Cora and several of his coaches after a 17-1 victory against the Baltimore Orioles.
It certainly was funny timing for the front office to can the skipper, given the offense finally breaking out after a dreadful start, not to mention a strong performance by ace left-hander Garrett Crochet, who also had begun inconsistently. Of all days to do it. Sportsradar reported that it was the first time since 1887 that an MLB team fired the manager the same day their team won by at least 16 runs. Hey, maybe next time don’t score so much. It only draws attention.
But the Red Sox must have been thinking about changing managers for a while. Cora, who led the Red Sox to a World Series championship as a rookie manager in 2018, was fired after failing to reproduce his initial success. Boston went as far as Game 6 of the ALCS in 2021, but never finished higher than second place in the AL East after Cora’s first season. The Red Sox currently are working on their third last-place finish since since 2022.
Cora is often regarded as one of the best managers in the league when anyone takes a poll of players. Some media types have been trying to land Cora his next job, with the Philadelphia Phillies or New York Mets. Still, his reputation took a hit ever since he sat out the 2020 season as punishment for his involvement in the Houston Astros cheating scandal, when he was bench coach.
Cora bears some responsibility for the Red Sox underachieving, as any manager would, though the organization’s dysfunction reaches well beyond the dugout. Craig Breslow has been the general manager since October 2023, meaning he’s responsible for a .500 season in 2024, the 89 wins and AL Wild Card berth in ’25, and what’s happened so far this season. Definitely a mixed bag.
But the same goes for owner John Henry, who has been in charge for the organization’s entire golden era, which includes titles in 2004, 2007, 2013, and ’18. Those trophies alone should cement him as a local hero, but somehow they don’t. Henry has been criticized for appearing to lose interest in the Red Sox occasionally, preferring instead to dabble in Premier League Soccer, the NHL, NASCAR, music halls and whatever else that isn’t baseball. Many fans would prefer that he sell the baseball team.
Red Sox payroll the past five seasons averages 12th or 13th in MLB. That’s in contrast to them having 17 payrolls in the top five or better in the 20 seasons before that. Henry definitely doesn’t put into the Red Sox what he used to, and it shows in the standings. No less damning, it just seems like few organizations do less with more than the Red Sox.
Cora told the media he feels “happy” now that the ax has fallen, which feeds into outsider perceptions of organizational dysfunction being the bigger issue. It is possible the Red Sox golden era has ended, which means even the best managerial candidates will find themselves at the mercy of how focused ownership can stay on baseball.
