McAdam: After yet another loss, Red Sox hold players-only meeting in N.Y.

Alex Cora decided Friday that the Red Sox didn't need a team meeting after all.

On Saturday, his players apparently thought otherwise.

Following their desultory 9-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 1 of a scheduled day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox cleared the clubhouse of all reporters for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

The defeat earlier Saturday was the sixth in a row for the Red Sox following a stretch that saw them go 5-1 a week ago and cut their deficit down to eight games in the A.L. East. Since then, the Sox missed an opportunity to sweep the Yankees last Sunday, were swept three straight by the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway, and dropped the first two games of a critical four-game set in the Bronx.

Along the way, the Red Sox front office declined to make a move at the trade deadline, sending -- intentionally or not -- the message that the current roster was on its own the rest of the way.



"When things get bumpy,'' said Chris Sale, the losing pitcher in the Game 1 loss. "We care about each other in here. Obviously, we're not playing the way we want, but we take a lot of pride. We respect each other and we love each other. We grind together, we win together and we lose together.

"When something comes up and someone has something to say, we have enough respect and love for each other to get together as a group and go over some things.''

Starting Thursday, Cora three times made reference to addressing the Red Sox in New York before the start of the series. He mentioned in on his weekly radio appearance on WEEI Thursday afternoon, and spoke of it again later Thursday in his pre-game media session with reporters.

Cora noted he would think about his message on his way to New York later that night and noted that he wasn't in the habit of holding meetings -- suggesting that the planned meeting was a necessary one.

After the Sox were swept by the Rays Thursday night, Cora was asked whether he thought his team appeared flat. He took the opportunity to note that he had seen flagging energy with the team, and without mentioning specific players, the effort level. In that game, third baseman Rafael Devers lost track of a pop-up at dusk and gave up on the ball, perhaps one example of the behaviors that had gotten Cora's attention.

But when Cora met with reporters Friday afternoon, he insisted that no such team meeting had been in the works.

"The way I said it was kind of (blown) out of proportion,'' he said. He later added that he meets regularly with players in less formal settings and that a full-blown meeting wasn't required.

The decision by the players to meet Saturday, is noteworthy.

While it's hardly unprecedented for struggling teams to hold players-only meetings to clear the air and re-direct focus and the meeting can't be seen as a rebuke of Cora or the coaching staff, the fact that some players felt the need to do so is telling.

It may not have been tumultuous, but the fact that it was called in the first place is eye-opening.

"Just sharing ideas,'' offered Mookie Betts when asked by reporters about the meeting. "Everybody's frustrated.''

In the long run, it may be a positive that the players met. We can reasonably assume that the main message was: We're better than this. We haven't played nearly as well as we're capable of playing, and time's running out. Let's (bleeping) go.

That would show a level of accountability on the part of the players, and a recognition that they and they alone are responsible for the team's disappointing record through the first four months. Those are all positive indicators.

Perhaps it will result in some turnaround -- if not in Game 2, then soon, and in time to save their season. Or maybe it won't. After 111 games, the Red Sox may well be who they are -- no better, no worse.

But it's somewhat revealing that the Sox met less than 24 hours after their manager decided it wasn't necessary, which, in turn, came 24 hours after broadly suggesting that indeed it was.