Like any good manager or coach in sports, Alex Cora is a bit of a politician.
Much as we’d all like him to in the media ranks, Cora isn’t simply going to shoot straight in every single public-facing interaction. There’s nuance to it. If his star player or starter struggled, for example, well… he isn’t going to solve the problem by blasting him in the postgame press conference, is he?
But if you gave Cora some truth serum, I cannot help but wonder if even he is starting to face the music when it comes to the reality of where his baseball team is at.
Entering Sunday, his Red Sox sat 4 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot in the American League — and things haven’t been trending in the best direction. Boston has lost four of six after dropping the first two of their three-game weekend set with Arizona. Since the All-Star break, the Sox are just 14-19.
One answer in particular this week caught my ear. Asked about his team’s poor showing in Friday’s series-opening 12-2 rout, Cora surmised the day’s events like this…
“Today was kind of like ‘blah,’” he said, finishing the thought with an oddly-timed chuckle.
A nervous laugh, perhaps? The Sox’s season potentially coming apart at the seams doesn’t seem like an occasion for laughter. Not in my book, anyway.
Cora knows a thing or two about winning. He’s been at the helm of the greatest winner in franchise history, after all. At times this season, he’s been adamant that this group was headed in the right direction — even during the Houston series this past week saying “we gonna be OK” if the rotation keeps moving in the right direction (it’s been hit or miss).
Yet there have been plenty of occasions throughout the season — and a good number of them recently — when Cora has pointed to his “young” ball club and all of the growing pains being part of the process.
So which is it? One of the two has to give. Either the youth movement turns a winning corner, or the realities of a roster fraught with decencies that largely hasn’t experienced the heat of a postseason race are coming home to roost.
Is this much ado about nothing? Maybe, probably. But since he’s not likely to tell us otherwise, it’s fair to wonder if Cora is finally realizing the writing is on the wall for his ballclub.
And the story being written isn’t one that’s trending toward a happy ending…
Again, I’m not expecting Cora to pivot to full-on panic. Nor do I think that would be particularly helpful. Would sending a little urgency, a little tough love to his players through the press could lead to a positive outcome, though?
It’s all part of the guy who pushes the buttons. Cora has pushed a lot of right buttons this season, no doubt. But with the latest trajectory veering off course, perhaps it’s time to consider pushing some different buttons…
Danny’s time
When the Red Sox traded for Danny Jansen in late July, there was no doubt that the move would turn out to be a historic one.
OK, maybe that wasn't exactly the sentiment...
But here we are in late August, and the Sox’s backup catcher is set to make some big league history.
When Jansen plays in Monday’s re-started game — which Cora has confirmed he will — between the Red Sox and Blue Jays, he will become the first player in MLB history to play for two teams in the same game.
Jansen, who was at the plate for Toronto when the June 26 game went into a delay, will actually begin the resumed game behind the plate as the catcher — this time for the Red Sox.
Pretty cool stuff, right?
It reminded me of a few years back when I covered the famous 12-minute, next-day finish that saw Brock Holt hit a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning — on Thursday afternoon — after a nearly two-hour delay the night before. No sportswriter in America could possibly complain about THAT time of game…
Baseball has seen plenty of quirky occurrences, and it’s the obscure ones that make for the best stories and trivia. When Jansen sets up behind the dish in the first of a doubleheader Monday, he will etch his name in the history books in a cool new way.
It isn’t likely to factor much in the story of the Red Sox’s 2024 season, but hey, it’s just some good fun.
Youk on Duran
I could sit here and write all about the evolution of Jarren Duran as a hitter, and particularly his batting stance.
But there are two problems with that. First, well… I don’t want to. And secondly, as some certainly haven’t held back from telling me, I’ve never played the game at a high level… so what do I know about anything?
Kevin Youkilis, on the other hand, knows plenty. Especially about unique battings stances.
During one of Duran’s at-bats in Friday’s game against the D’backs, Youk launched into an impromptu deep-dive on how Duran’s stance — and by result, his production — has morphed during his time with the Red Sox.
“We saw him a lot spread out, we saw him lower in his stance (early in his career),” Youkilis analyzed during the NESN broadcast. “Now we’re seeing him very tall. This is something that, for me personally, I can equate to because in college I had a Jeff Bagwell stance, and in pro ball I got taller and taller and taller to get to more movement inside.
“This is what we’re seeing: he’s tall, and he gets up into that load. It’s allowed him to keep his hands through the ball and redirect it to left, because he is so strong that he has that ability to generate that power out to left field. He was pulling a lot of balls early, and he was getting out and not being able to use his speed. Now he’s doing a good job of going the other way with it.”
Indeed, Duran has found what works for him, and it was fun to hear Youkilis point that out. It’s certainly true that there are some things you aren’t likely to pay much attention to unless you played the game yourself.
Now, if Duran could mimic the results of Youkilis’ Red Sox career, we’d be in business…
Cavalry on the farm
It was a busy week down on the farm for the Red Sox calvary.
Rich Hill made his 2024 debut in Worcester on Friday night, his first game action sing re-re-re-re-joining the team, and put up some decent numbers. The 44-year-old left-hander tossed two scoreless frames with two strikeouts and a walk.
Hill faced some major league-caliber names, too. He got Jean Segura to strike out swinging to end the first after forcing a groundout from Orioles’ No. 2 prospect Coby Mayo in the first inning. After giving up a leadoff walk in the second, Hill got a double-play ball and an inning-ending groundout from Livan Soto.
Not bad for your first time facing hitters on a mound in over 10 months…
Liam Hendriks is officially on the road to return after starting his rehab assignment, making a pair of scoreless appearances. The 35-year-old former closer tossed a clean inning in his first outing a week ago Sunday. Then after receiving three full days off, Hendriks gave up a hit and a walk on 12 pitches in one-third of an inning on Thursday.
The return of a former All-Star bullpen arm would certainly be a welcome addition to the Red Sox’s 2024 playoff push, and he may not be the only reinforcement coming to the ‘pen…
Justin Slaten tossed a third of an inning for Double-A Portland on Friday, giving up one run on one hit with one walk. Not the most encouraging of appearances, I’ll grant you, but it’s more about getting him into rhythm — which Cora acknowledged he couldn’t fine.
Cora did hint at the possibility Slaten could return after just the one outing. Personally, though, I’d let him get another one under his belt before bringing him back up…
Then there’s the evergreen story of Trevor Story’s impending return. Cora said that Story is set to begin a rehab assignment within the next couple of weeks, which is certainly encouraging. Again, though, that puts us into September, and I just don’t think he’s going to make an immediate impact with the bat upon his potential return.
All in all, some encouraging stuff could be coming down the “Pike” (see what I did there?) in the next couple of weeks…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.