Gasper in the Glob with a preview of J. Álex Cora, Super-Genius, heading into his first season:
"The Red Sox feel like Cora, a first-time major league manager who only spent one season as a major league coach, will be the difference in 2018. He will be the one to change the Red Sox’ culture and the team’s results in the postseason, both of which have been disappointing and underwhelming the last two seasons, despite back-to-back American League East division titles.
Cora is supposed to be the change you can believe in on a Sox team that looks awfully similar to the one that flamed out last fall... Cora is charged with making the Red Sox a fun team to root for and a fun team to play for again. His maiden voyage as a Major League Baseball manager doesn’t come with a learning curve. It comes with a mandate to get the most out of a team that ownership and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski believe has all the tools to be baseball’s last team standing come the end of October."
Cora was also quoted in the Glob about tweaking the lineup and getting players enough rest:
"Cora plans to liberally use his bench and change the lineup based on ballpark dimensions on the road or the style of the opposing pitcher. He’s already planning when players will get days off in the first series of the season on the turf at Tropicana Field. “The more rest they get, the better they’ll be,” Cora said."
I am hoping we will see far less of banged up players trying to play through injuries and failing badly. Based on what he has said so far, it would be shocking to see Cora keep a guy with a broken toe in the lineup for over a month of horrendous hitting.
In February, Cora talked promisingly about resting players to keep them healthier:
"Cora knows it will be hard to convince some players to embrace the downtime, but had similar conversations with players as bench coach of the Houston Astros. "We will talk to them about it that's a conversation as a staff, medical staff and obviously the front office," Cora said Friday. "We'll sit down with them individually and talk about it. I know it's a hard conversation because I went through it last year but if they start buying into it, they will see the benefits of having off days."
Cora is happier with the infield defense than he was earlier:
"Cora said he’s pleased with Bogaerts after some adjustments led to a better tempo and improved first step. The 25-year-old has regressed defensively in recent seasons after a strong 2015 season...
Devers changed his pre-pitch routine to improve his timing. Like many infielders, Devers hops a bit as the ball is delivered. That helps square your feet to plate. Dustin Pedroia is an advocate of this. The problem was how Devers timed his hop. “The ball was getting to the hitting zone and he was in the air,” Cora said. “You have to have your feet on the ground, just like a sprinter. It got to the point where he was late and he was reacting late and he was always getting that in-between hop [on ground balls].” Cora said the adjustment should help Devers going to his backhand. “He’ll have that first quick step, cross over, and get it,” the manager said.
On Hanley: "“I’ve never seen a first baseman play so aggressively off the bag,” Cora said. “He’s way out there and he’s comfortable. That helps us out because we can adjust our defense. There are different defensive alignments, but if our first baseman is aggressive that way, it helps Eduardo because we can cover another lane.”
In yet another Glob article, Cora's good friend Ramon Vazquez will be the liaison between the analytics department and the players:
"Vazquez’s role, described by the Red Sox as “a liaison between the major league club’s advance scouting and statistical analysis efforts for the purpose of presenting information to players and coaches,” is a new one for Boston brass... Cora witnessed the value of such a role while serving as bench coach for the World Series champion Astros a season ago, and knew it was something he wanted to have here with Boston.
It’s one thing to gather the information from computers and spreadsheets, but it’s no surprise that players don’t always enjoy absorbing information that way. Having it go through Vazquez, a dedicated coach backed by nine years of major league experience with six teams, makes those factoids more palatable and resonant."
"The Red Sox feel like Cora, a first-time major league manager who only spent one season as a major league coach, will be the difference in 2018. He will be the one to change the Red Sox’ culture and the team’s results in the postseason, both of which have been disappointing and underwhelming the last two seasons, despite back-to-back American League East division titles.
Cora is supposed to be the change you can believe in on a Sox team that looks awfully similar to the one that flamed out last fall... Cora is charged with making the Red Sox a fun team to root for and a fun team to play for again. His maiden voyage as a Major League Baseball manager doesn’t come with a learning curve. It comes with a mandate to get the most out of a team that ownership and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski believe has all the tools to be baseball’s last team standing come the end of October."
Cora was also quoted in the Glob about tweaking the lineup and getting players enough rest:
"Cora plans to liberally use his bench and change the lineup based on ballpark dimensions on the road or the style of the opposing pitcher. He’s already planning when players will get days off in the first series of the season on the turf at Tropicana Field. “The more rest they get, the better they’ll be,” Cora said."
I am hoping we will see far less of banged up players trying to play through injuries and failing badly. Based on what he has said so far, it would be shocking to see Cora keep a guy with a broken toe in the lineup for over a month of horrendous hitting.
In February, Cora talked promisingly about resting players to keep them healthier:
"Cora knows it will be hard to convince some players to embrace the downtime, but had similar conversations with players as bench coach of the Houston Astros. "We will talk to them about it that's a conversation as a staff, medical staff and obviously the front office," Cora said Friday. "We'll sit down with them individually and talk about it. I know it's a hard conversation because I went through it last year but if they start buying into it, they will see the benefits of having off days."
Cora is happier with the infield defense than he was earlier:
"Cora said he’s pleased with Bogaerts after some adjustments led to a better tempo and improved first step. The 25-year-old has regressed defensively in recent seasons after a strong 2015 season...
Devers changed his pre-pitch routine to improve his timing. Like many infielders, Devers hops a bit as the ball is delivered. That helps square your feet to plate. Dustin Pedroia is an advocate of this. The problem was how Devers timed his hop. “The ball was getting to the hitting zone and he was in the air,” Cora said. “You have to have your feet on the ground, just like a sprinter. It got to the point where he was late and he was reacting late and he was always getting that in-between hop [on ground balls].” Cora said the adjustment should help Devers going to his backhand. “He’ll have that first quick step, cross over, and get it,” the manager said.
On Hanley: "“I’ve never seen a first baseman play so aggressively off the bag,” Cora said. “He’s way out there and he’s comfortable. That helps us out because we can adjust our defense. There are different defensive alignments, but if our first baseman is aggressive that way, it helps Eduardo because we can cover another lane.”
In yet another Glob article, Cora's good friend Ramon Vazquez will be the liaison between the analytics department and the players:
"Vazquez’s role, described by the Red Sox as “a liaison between the major league club’s advance scouting and statistical analysis efforts for the purpose of presenting information to players and coaches,” is a new one for Boston brass... Cora witnessed the value of such a role while serving as bench coach for the World Series champion Astros a season ago, and knew it was something he wanted to have here with Boston.
It’s one thing to gather the information from computers and spreadsheets, but it’s no surprise that players don’t always enjoy absorbing information that way. Having it go through Vazquez, a dedicated coach backed by nine years of major league experience with six teams, makes those factoids more palatable and resonant."
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