McAdam: 5 Leftover thoughts from the ALDS - Cora, Martinez KOs Stanton, Kimbrel showing cracks and more

Before we move on to the start of the ALCS Saturday night at Fenway, here are five thoughts on the just-completed Red Sox-Yankees Division Series:

1. Round 1 to Alex Cora

When the Red Sox and Yankees fired their managers -- technically, Joe Girardi's deal was up and the Yanks used that as an opportunity to move on from him, but let's not get hung up on semantics -- it was inevitable that the newbies, Alex Cora and Aaron Boone, would be evaluated against one another. That was especially true since this was the first year since 1991 that the two rivals each hired new dugout bosses.

Using the ALDS as our first real measuring stick, Cora easily outmanaged his friend. While Cora brilliantly played hunches -- Brock Holt cycles, then sits; Christian Vazquez catches Rick Porcello for the first time this season and provides the game-winning homer; Nathan Eovaldi's start moved up; Chris Sale in the eighth inning -- Boone appeared to be a move behind for much of the series.

He was far too patient with Game 3 starter Luis Severino and got roasted for leaving his starter in too long. Then, he compounded things by making the exact same mistake with CC Sabathia. When he should have shown a sense of urgency in an elimination game, Boone was inexplicably passive.

The series demonstrated that Cora seemed to have an intuitive feel for his roster and clubhouse. Meanwhile, the games seemed to speed up on Boone in the dugout.

2. J.D. Martinez bests Giancarlo Stanton

...And while we're on the subject of obvious comparisons, let's go to the first-year sluggers, shall we?

J.D. Martinez:          .357/.421/.571; one homer, six RBI
Giancarlo Stanton:  .238/.273/.381; no homers, one RBI

In hindsight, Martinez's first-inning homer in Game 1 was one of the biggest hits of the series. It not only presented the Sox with a quick 3-0 lead, but also took an enormous pressure off a club that lost six of its previous seven postseason games.

Stanton, on the other hand, never had his "moment'' -- unless you consider his plate appearance in the ninth inning Tuesday night, representing the tying run, when he chased two breaking balls well out of the strike zone.

Like Boone, Stanton will get other chances to redeem himself. But if the first year is any indication, a few things appear obvious. First, Stanton has done nothing so far to disprove those who suggested he might have a hard time adjusting to the expectations that come with playing in New York. Secondly, while he possesses enormous strength, he's also a somewhat limited hitter who can be pitched to -- especially in big spots.

The good news for the Yankees? Stanton is signed for nine more years.

The bad news for the Yankees? Stanton is signed for nine more years.

3. Warning signs for Craig Kimbrel

After the Red Sox got three perfect innings from their bullpen from the sixth inning through the eighth, things got hairy.

Closer Craig Kimbrel consistently fell behind hitters and didn't appear to have much confidence in his fastball (his pitch mix, while clearly dictated by his inability to get ahead of hitters, was about a 50-50 mix of fastballs and breaking balls).

Kimbrel has been inconsistent for much of the year. He had his stretches -- in fact, Kimbrel was sharp for much of September -- but never appeared capable of extended periods of dominance. There seems to be a very delicate balance between getting him enough work to stay sharp and not overusing him.

That's problematic in the postseason when off-days pop up with more frequency and significant downtime can exist between rounds.

By every statistical measure, Kimbrel experienced slippage this season. He allowed more homers, struck out fewer hitters and walked more.

The irony, of course, is that the Red Sox spent the last couple of months fretting about to get through the treacherous seven and eighth innings. Now, they have issues in the ninth.

4. Some good, old-fashioned animosity reared its head during the ALDS

It seemed obvious: what this Red Sox-Yankee rivalry needed was a little October passion and the resulting ill-will. Now we have some.

Although the teams were complimentary and classy toward one another in postgame remarks -- Cora made sure to salute the Yankees organization in his very first postgame comment in the interview room and Boone did the same in return -- some hard feelings seeped through.

While they kept their reaction largely to themselves after Aaron Judge poked them with his boombox antics after Game 2 at Fenway, it's clear that the Sox quietly took offense. They were ready to respond in kind, cranking "New York, New York'' during their clubhouse celebration.

Moreover, Rick Porcello took exception to CC Sabathia's complaints about beleaguered umpire Angel Hernandez's strike zone.

"Throw the ball over the plate, CC,'' said Porcello. "I thought Angel Hernandez called a good game. You've got to put the ball over the white part of the plate and then you the strikes called.''

When a member of the Sox is publicly siding with Hernandez over a fellow pitcher, that's telling.

Yup, the hate is back. More, please.

5. It was a good week to be Dave Dombrowski

With the specter of an unreliable bullpen hanging over the Red Sox like the sword of Damocles, this series could have further advanced the perception that Dombrowski can't build a good postseason bullpen.

But Ryan Brasier pitched well in his last two outings, as did Matt Barnes. And despite some close calls in both Game 1 and again in Game 4, the Sox never surrendered any late-inning leads.

In the meantime, Nathan Eovaldi (seven innings, one run allowed), Steve Pearce (four hits, three runs scored, two RBI) and Ian Kinsler (.819 OPS, huge RBI in clinching game) all played significant role in the Red Sox advancing out of the first round for the first time since 2013.

Naturally, there's still time for the bullpen to faceplant and if that leads to the Sox falling short of a pennant or championship, the criticisms of Dombrowski will be freshly and properly re-introduced.

But for now, the Red Sox' president of baseball operations can take a bow.