Add this name to list of why these Red Sox have proven to be an average team: Alex Cora

Boston Globe

2 days ago

As the Sox traveled back home for this weekend's series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park, the fault for the frustrating inconsistency lies in many places — from a front office still pulling purse strings so tightly, to an injury list far too crowded for comfort.
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But while it may not be quantifiable statistically, there's more than a full share of blame for the manager: Cora, too, has been pretty average this season.
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This has not been his finest hour. He just can't seem to find the pulse of this team.
Amid the challenge of serious injuries to lineup mainstays like Alex Bregman, Tristan Casas, and Masataka Yoshida, as well as the shocking trade of the team's best hitter in Devers, it's no surprise these Red Sox
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You can start with the team's MLB-worst 69 errors going into Wednesday's game, move from there to an inability to win close games (league-worst 9-19 record in one-run games), and round the corner to its ongoing problem closing out leads (tied for second in the majors with 15 blown leads in the seventh inning or later). Part of that blame has to fall on the manager and coaches whose job it is to teach better fundamentals, and whose responsibility is to avoid putting players — particularly prized rookies like Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer — in unfamiliar situations that invite miscues.
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The on-field product has often been ugly, and backroom machinations have been uglier, particularly in the case of Devers. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has deservedly taken the heat for the
Once thought as a clubhouse strength, the relationship between Red Sox manager Alex Cora (right) and the team's best hitter, Rafael Devers, deteriorated through the season until Devers was shockingly dealt to the Giants.
Winslow Townson/Getty
The range of responsibility for baseball managers is vast. And while it's easiest to see the daily tasks like writing out lineups, making in-game decisions, and deploying the bullpen, so much more goes on behind the scenes. With their offices plopped directly inside a clubhouse, they set the tone from there, establishing lines of communication that are vital to a team's success.
For Cora, this has long been one of his strengths, built on the résumé of his playing days, his bilingual abilities, and a general openness of personality that vibes well with the current generation of players. But this season that part of Cora's arsenal seems amiss, with no more glaring example than the explosive trade that sent a onetime franchise cornerstone to San Francisco.
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By the time Devers was jettisoned, Cora toed the company line on the communication breakdown that began with the pursuit of Bregman and ended with the injury to Casas.
'The Alex [Bregman] situation happened right at the end [of the offseason],' Cora said on WEEI, two days after the trade. 'We communicated when we had to, when we were very close. And then after that, you saw what happened. I mean, you always try to think ahead and, 'OK, if this happens again, how can we handle it better?' But at the same time, it wasn't a given that Alex Bregman was coming here. There were a lot of rumors, you know? And I got to spring training very early to talk to Raffy about what was going on and what might happen, and obviously it looks like that communication wasn't good enough for his camp.'
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You think? By the time Devers got to San Fran, his
Maybe better times are coming, with the imminent return of Yoshida, an expected post-All-Star break return of Bregman, the ongoing brilliance of Garret Crochet and the resurgence of Trevor Story. Maybe that allows Cora to write out a more consistent lineup card, which leads to better communication and cleaner play. Maybe he won't get ejected from consecutive games like he did in California, unsuccessfully arguing over poor baserunning decisions by his own players.
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He certainly has management's support.
'Ultimately Alex is someone who puts the Red Sox organization first,' Breslow said on the conference call defending the Devers trade, 'and he is behind this and supporting it. And I say this with full confidence, that I couldn't imagine a better manager who could handle the player reaction, the clubhouse reaction, and the staff reaction to this type of trade.'
Halfway through an average season, it's harder than ever to see it.
Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at