Alex Cora named Red Sox manager

johnnyfromspain

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Nov 10, 2006
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A few years back Craig came to share his knowledge with us at the Spanish Coach Convention. I was lucky enough to work very closely with him as I was assigned to be his translator.
I am totally convinced he will be a great addition to the Sox coaching staff. He is extremely hard working and dedicated and LOVES his profession. His enthusiasm rubs off to anyone who is willing to listen and, believe me, he is worth listening to.
He knows so much about pitching that he makes all his explanations sound simple -anyone can understand him. No mumbo jumbo.
I predict he will not be the bullpen coach for long. I am sure he will soon be promoted to pitching coach, either within the Sox staff or someone else's.
Coaches in Spain still repeat his mantra years after his visit: Pitchers have to be "suelto y libre" ("loose and free") to generate velocity without sacrificing control".
Everyone can relate to that!
 

bohous

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Nice endorsement from McCullers


"Thank you for everything CB, you are the best around. A lot of guys, myself included, wouldn't be where we are without you. Good luck in Boston!"
 

h8mfy

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Jul 15, 2005
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Wasn't sure where to put this, but given the past interest in the Red Sox' "shoulder program" and the influx of Astros, this seemed like a good spot:

https://www.sporttechie.com/houston-astros-forcedecks-shoulder-test-fatigue/

"A strength assessment for the shoulder rooted in judo, devised by a soccer physio, tested in rugby and administered with a tool associated with the lower body has been adapted for baseball and used this past season by the World Series champion Houston Astros organization.

The Astros tested the use of ForceDecks — a leading supplier of force plates featuring an innovative software interface — in the minor leagues for the 2017 season after being shown a new shoulder evaluation that can be used for fatigue and injury monitoring."
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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Here's the original piece. There are a bunch of articles which riff off of this, many of which use it as an excuse to jump down Price's throat again. And it's from Evan Drellich, so it's not all that surprising.

http://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/new-boston-red-sox-manager-alex-cora-engaged-public-disputes-houston-astros-broadcaster-geoff-blum-manager-aj-hinch

These kinds of conflicts aren't rare. They never really used to be news, either. But it's a different era and it's the Boston media, so if Cora sneezes too loudly, expect to see the hatchets come out in a hurry.
 
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Buzzkill Pauley

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I’m sure it doesn’t help Cora’s standing with the Boston media that “proven winner” Tony LaRussa was also brought aboard this offseason.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Did he seriously spill all that ink on a shouting match between coaches? What is his point? That Cora doesn't have the right temperament for the job?

What a weak play.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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Did he seriously spill all that ink on a shouting match between coaches? What is his point? That Cora doesn't have the right temperament for the job?

What a weak play.
He's just getting the ball rolling. There's a provision in the CBA that Boston Red Sox managers have to be hated. The honeymoon had lasted too long already.
 

Doc Zero

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Dec 6, 2007
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Whether the lack of self-control Cora displayed proves a footnote to Cora’s coaching career or an omen entering his first managerial gig is to be seen.
Whoa, it's almost as if no one should care about this?
 

OurF'ingCity

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If anything, all that article suggests is that the Eck-Price thing was not the armageddon the Boston media made it out to be but rather something that is pretty standard over the course of a long season with many ups and downs and occasionally the stresses of long stretches of travel. The takeaway shouldn't be "omg, Price and Cora are both hotheads!!" but rather "ok so this kind of thing happens all the time."

But we all know the pearl-clutching is going to reach new levels of ridiculousness the first time Cora inevitably snaps at a reporter, player, fan, etc. etc. And given the undercurrents of racial bias that were obvious with the Price story, the fact that Cora is Latino probably doesn't help in that respect (and even removing race Cora is young and relatively inexperienced so he's not a "baseball grandfather" type like LaRussa, Torre, Leyland, etc. who the media would be too "respectful" to criticize).
 

Laser Show

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who would have thought that putting 50ish people into close proximity for 6 months would result in shouting matches wow
 

Toe Nash

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It seems like this is key from the article:

As Houston came into view on the plane back from Florida, where games were temporarily relocated, some Astros had trouble seeing land because there was so much water everywhere, an unsettling moment. Everyone was worried about their family, their friends, and their city, as they began to see the devastation firsthand. In addition, Cora was greatly concerned about potential damage to his native Puerto Rico from Hurricane Irma, which would hit the island within a week. (The more powerful and destructive Hurricane Maria, which would not reach Puerto Rico until Sept. 20, had yet to form.)

Against that backdrop, behind-the-scenes friction between Cora and Blum boiled over when Blum, who played 14 years in the majors like Cora, asked Cora to turn down music on the bus. Curse words came at Blum for about five minutes. (Unlike the Price-Eckersley drama, Cora’s argument with Blum did not stem from commentary on air.)
So, under a particularly stressful backdrop Cora got pissed in the spur of the moment when a non-teammate asked him to turn down his music? Seems only barely comparable to the Price / Eck thing, where Price could have easily left Eck alone but sought him out to yell at.

And yes, this didn't need to be written. Maybe (only maybe) if there's simultaneous disasters in Boston and PR, and the team has to be uprooted for 6 days, and hasn't been playing well to boot, Cora might get mad if someone butts in and asks him to do something he doesn't want to do.
 

Sampo Gida

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I see nothing wrong with printing the story if its factual. Generally when managers/players have good relationships with the writers stuff like this never gets out there. The fact it is out there is interesting in itself.

Losing your temper over a beer or two happens. An isolated event is no big deal. How often it happens determines if that becomes a problem. Its not like Boston is a no stress gig for a manager, especially a rookie one. Unlike Farrell Cora is not inheriting a last place team. Expectations are high. Stay tuned.
 

BigPapiMPD34

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Apr 9, 2006
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I see nothing wrong with printing the story if its factual. Generally when managers/players have good relationships with the writers stuff like this never gets out there. The fact it is out there is interesting in itself.

Losing your temper over a beer or two happens. An isolated event is no big deal. How often it happens determines if that becomes a problem. Its not like Boston is a no stress gig for a manager, especially a rookie one. Unlike Farrell Cora is not inheriting a last place team. Expectations are high. Stay tuned.
For a little background on this, Evan Drellich used to be the beat writer for the Astros, so he presumably has lots of contacts in the Astros media. The shouting match occurred on the team bus, which only had coaches and Astros media (players were on a separate bus). So it seems like another member of the Astros media sent the details to Drellich.

If it was an Astros coach or player leaking details of this to the media, that would definitely be a red flag that someone didn't like Cora. However, this seems to be more along the lines of media buddies saying "hey, I'll give you info if you give me info."

Also, AJ Hinch called Dombrowski after the report came out and told him "the reason I never mentioned it to you was because I didn't think anything of it. I don't think it was much of a situation, whatsoever." Seems like a non-story to me.

http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/12/dave_dombrowski_boston_red_sox_11.html
 

lexrageorge

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I agree that the story is a big nothing burger, and the only reason it's got any press is that the hot stove season is getting off to a fairly slow start.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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TonyPenaNeverJuiced

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Mods, apologies if dragging up a thread from two months ago is worth it - but I can't stop chuckling over Cora's watch selection in his team photos