It is the third week of April, not even a dozen games into the 2022 season. But sometimes, a manager feels what he feels, and acts accordingly.
As the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays trudged through a frigid night at Fenway, neither team seemingly interested in scoring, Alex Cora started to think about his clubhouse and what had transpired over the last 24 hours.
He thought about his two regular catchers, Christian Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki, sidelined by positive COVID tests, watching the game from home, and Jonathan Arauz, his utility infielder, doing the same. He thought about the makeshift lockers that were hauled into the middle of the clubhouse, providing temporary space for call-ups Tyler Danish, Rob Refsnyder and Ronaldo Hernandez.
And, he thought about how Rich Hill, his heart heavy, had pitched Monday in determination to honor his father, who passed late last week.
Cora thought about all of those things, and determined that this was not just any old early-season game. He decided, all things considered, that this one meant a little more.
Accordingly, he managed with an aggressiveness not usually seen in April. He managed with a purpose, especially the way he utilized his relievers, seeking out specific matchups, moving the chess pieces around the board.
In short, he paid no mind to the calendar, or that there were two more games with the Blue Jays still to come. Somewhere in the middle innings of a 1-1 game, he made the call to go for it.
"We were very aggressive,'' acknowledged Cora after the Sox had held off the Jays, 2-1. "It was a very aggressive day, too. Sometimes those kids in the clubhouse, they deserve that. After everything that went on, there are certain days that, you know what, the human element takes over. It seemed like a playoff game, right, and I managed it like a playoff game. It was a very heavy day for everybody, a lot of stuff going on. And you know what? I went for the win.''
This is not standard practice, of course, especially this early in the season. Managers are forever talking about the long game, seeing the big picture. Cora himself has spoken about the dangers of "chasing wins'' -- extending your roster in an all-out effort to win one night, but perhaps causing harm for the next several days.
But Cora determined this one was worth it. This one was one to shove aside the usual caution, step on the gas and get this one locked down.
The machinations began in the fifth, when, for the second straight outing, starter Nathan Eovaldi exhausted his pitch count early, needing 95 pitches just to get 14 outs. Cora called on lefty Matt Strahm, his newfound lefty bridge option, to work out of a one-on, two-out jam. Strahm then came back for the sixth and turned back the Jays in order.
Next up was Hansel Robles, who has occasionally been the choice to close, but on this night, was called upon for the seventh, and the prospect of two tough righthanders -- George Springer and Bo Bichette -- due up second and third that inning. Robles retired all three without incident, and did so well enough that he was called back to start the eighth, getting two more fearsome righties, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., looking at called third stirkes.
With lefty Zack Collins, who had homered off Eovaldi in the second for the only Toronto run of the night, Cora opted for Jake Diekman, who has been utilized as Cora's rover -- summoned for the highest leverage situation, regardless of inning. After allowing a two-out single to Collins, Diekman retired Matt Chapman for the final out.
He might have brought Diekman back for the ninth, too, but Cora knew he had Garrett Whitlock, who last pitched Saturday with 2.1 innings, rested and ready. Whitlock quickly got three straight out and notched his third career save.
Closing is not supposed to be part of his job description. He's better used piggybacking a starter or providing multiple innings. But once in a while, the situation calls for a change of plans.
"I know I say it all the time,'' said Whitlock, "but whenever he calls my name, I try to be ready. Tonight, that was the situation. That's why he's the manager. He does an amazing job and you guys saw it -- he knows exactly what he's doing, and I always trust him.''
Cora emptied the bullpen tank Tuesday. It's likely that Strahm and Robles won't be available Wednesday night, and perhaps Whitlock, too.
"(Wednesday's) a big day for the other guys (who weren't used),'' said Cora. "If we have the lead, we have to use them, because we were very aggressive today.''
It was a trade-off Cora was willing to make. Never mind that it was April, with 151 games still to play. Sometimes you decide to go for it, and when your hunch pays off, it can like more than one win, too.