*Red Sox’ chief baseball officer Craig Breslow gave Alex Cora a vote of confidence Saturday in Atlanta, but really, that was just a confirmation of the obvious: Cora, for any number of reasons, isn’t going anywhere.
Let’s start with his contract, which was agreed to last July and kicked in at the start of this season. If the Red Sox terminated him now, they’d owe him about $20 million. The Red Sox have eaten bigger contracts in the past, but they’re not about to walk away from a manager less than three months into a three-year deal.
Also, while three major league managers have already been fired (Baltimore, Colorado and Pittsburgh) since the season began, increasingly, teams are loathe to make in-season changes. Baseball is not an effort sport the way basketball and hockey are. Sometimes, changing coaches in the NBA or NHL can reinvigorate a team that has tuned out a coach and the installation of a new coach can improve effort and intensity. That doesn’t apply to baseball.
Even if it did, the Red Sox would have to find a replacement internally, since rival teams are not about to allow them to poach anyone from their staffs in the middle of the year. There’s no logical replacement on the current Red Sox staff, with the possible exception of Ramon Vazquez, who is a close friend of Cora’s and who views the game in much the same way.
Finally, ownership and upper management remain enamored with Cora. They remember 2018 and how Cora won a World Series in his first season managing at any level. Even if after Cora was suspended by MLB for his involvement in the 2017 Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, they’re squarely backed his return in 2021 and were rewarded with a trip to the ALCS in his first year back in the dugout.
They view Cora as the right man for the job and the right ambassador for the team, and are not about to have their minds changed over the course of 60 games — however disappointing those have been.
It’s easy to take issue with some in-game decisions — just as long as you remember that the same can be said of 29 other big league managers, a fact that some fans conveniently forget.
The frustration on the part of the fan base is both palpable and understandable. After three straight seasons out of the postseason and without a winning record, fans were led to believe that this year would be different. Instead it’s been more of the same.
When that happens, it’s natural to question the job security of the manager.
But not in this case. Cora is here to stay.
*The Stefon Diggs situation shouldn’t be altogether surprising. We know little about what went on on that boat or what Diggs was consuming and sharing with others. But at the very least, he was guilty of some poor judgement.
The last thing Mike Vrabel wanted was a distraction, but really, is anyone surprised?
It’s just one more example of the pattern of diva-like behavior by a star NFL wide receiver. What is it with that position, anyway? Imagine if, say, center fielders in baseball had that same reputation, and people just shrugged and said: ‘Well, what did you expect? The guy’s a center fielder!”
Either way, it’s inauspicious start to Diggs’ time in Foxboro.
*In the end, it won’t matter how long the Bruins took to hire a coach; it will be more about who rather than when.
And if the decision is to go with Marco Sturm or Jay Leach, who have built strong reputations as both AHL head coaches and NHL assistants, that’s fine, too. But here’s hoping that Sturm or Leach aren’t hired chiefly because they had ties to the organization.
*Say this for Brad Stevens: The Celtics’ GM isn’t afraid to think big.
As the Celtics transition to a season with their best player, Stevens seems to be investigating every option available, from landing a lottery pick to contemplating a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Anything and everything is on the table for the Celtics. And for a team intent on winning, that’s how it always should be.
*Wasn’t familiar with Rich Waltz, who handled play-by-play for the Red Sox-Braves on Apple+ TV, and I was left wondering how familiar Waltz is with baseball.
When his on-air partner David Ross casually noted that he was once teammates with Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, a surprised Waltz asked: “When did you catch him?”
Um, the 2016 Cubs, Rich? Won a World Series for the first time in 108 years, in a thrilling seven-game series in 2016? Is any of this ringing a bell? It was in all the papers.
*When players make their major league debuts for the Red Sox, Cora has a habit of saying: “He’s a big leaguer now and nobody can take that away from him.”
And I guess my question is: Who, exactly, would be trying to “take that away from him?”
*Weeks after the Celtics elimination by the Knicks, too many fans are unable to admit that their team’s second-round exit was not a matter of bad luck or even injuries. With or without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics had no business losing to the Knicks.
*There was some consternation that Rick Tocchet wasn’t interested in the Bruins’ job, citing the organization’s coaching turnover in the last little while and (at the time) Don Sweeney’s contractual uncertainty.
Both are fair points.
But when did Tocchet become Scotty Bowman? Recall that this past year, he oversaw a team in Vancouver where the franchise’s two top players — Elias Petterson and J.T. Miller — literally didn’t speak to one another, creating a divided dressing room that helped tank the season.
*How long again until Season 4 of The Bear starts up again?
*Edmonton over Florida in seven games for the Stanley Cup. But what do I know?
*Congrats to Mike Glavine and his Northeastern Huskies for their terrific baseball season.
*I’m guessing TV networks are less than thrilled with the prospect of a NBA Finals pitting Indiana (the league’s 22nd media market) against Oklahoma City (ranked No. 28).
