On final day of spring, Alex Cora pronounces the Red Sox ready for the season

FORT MYERS, Fla. – On the occasion of the final Grapefruit League game, Alex Cora was asked – logically enough – for his impressions of the about-to-be completed spring training.

“I mean,’’ responded Cora with a twinkle in his eye, “besides (having) the friggin’ best record in baseball…’’

And indeed, the Red Sox went into the final day of spring training with more wins than any team in either Florida or Arizona. But even a first-year manager knows spring records are largely meaningless and can’t be seen as a predictor of future outcomes.

Still, Cora took satisfaction in how the Red Sox played – regardless of the numbers.

“Records really don’t matter,’’ said Cora. “We could be 9-21, although people would probably go nuts if that was the case. But we played clean baseball the last two-and-a-half weeks. We started implementing our defensive alignments (and shifts). The guys started using (the information provided to them) from our analytical department and we were in places where we are able to make plays.

“I know it’s spring training, but they had to get used to that and they did.’’

Cora then told a story of a recent game in which, after a pitching change, the third baseman, shortstop and second baseman were all supposed to adjust their positioning, but first baseman Hanley Ramirez was meant to remain where he was.

Third base coach Carlos Febles, seeing the others adjust, mistakenly thought Ramirez should, too.

“Febles was like, ‘Hey Hanley ... you gotta move!'" recounted Cora. “And Hanley was like, ‘Nah … check the card.’ If Hanley is buying into the defensive alignments, we’re fine.’’

Part of instituting the additional analytics to support shifts and other alignments is getting the hitters to buy into the information, and the organization has stressed to the players that the data is there to aid them, not rule their every move.

“They’re suggestions,’’ said Cora of the input. “We had a meeting a few days ago and Zack (Scott, vice president of baseball research) talked to the infielders. He said, ‘You have to go with your instincts sometimes. Hitters are going to make adjustments.’ Maybe the fastball that day is faster than the (data) expected, or slower. Or the hitter has a slow bat that day. So we’ll adjust. But at least we have a base, a starting point.’’

And Cora noted that, while spring training results can be misleading, the team’s data reveals that the Sox have been well above-average in turning ground balls into outs – a sign that both the execution and the team’s analytics are working.

Cora is also happy with the team’s baserunning, which turned reckless at times last season. Cora is trying to find the fine line between being aggressive and putting pressure on the opposition without running into avoidable outs.

“We’re not running into (the habit) of, (when there’s) a base hit to left field and there’s a man at second, you just keep running,’’ said Cora. “They’re going to cut the throw and the ball and we run into an out. They’re aware. They’ve been good. We haven’t run that much during the spring. But we’ll be aggressive and a number of guys are going to have the green light. That’s part of our game, but we’ve been preaching, ‘You have to be responsible. You have to be smart.’

“Aggressiveness is great and putting pressure on the defense, they can throw the ball away. But with the offense we have, I think we’d rather be safe than sorry and make sure you value the outs. You get 27 in a nine-inning game and each out is important and they’re starting to value that.’’

More than anything, Cora is encouraged by the fact that the Sox have been displaying strong fundamentals and good defensive play.

“For me, honestly, going into the season, the teams that are playing clean, most likely you’re going to have a good start,’’ said Cora. “I’ve always said that if you’re kicking the ball around, you don’t want that. That’s not a good camp. That’s not good baseball and it’s not a good feeling.

“I’m good with where we’re at. Record-aside, that doesn’t matter. But the way we’re playing, I’m good with it.’’