Alex Cora’s job is to push the right buttons at the right time to get the very best out of his players.
Sometimes, as we’ve detailed lately, that means not pushing any buttons at all.
One of the savvy Sox skipper’s latest magic tricks was to give his team some added time off following last week’s five-game losing streak. Instead of requiring his players to show up early to the park, as is usually the case, Cora pushed the clock back and set a 4 p.m. arrival time.
The results are speaking for themselves.
After losing five times in four days, including a sweep by the Diamondbacks and concluding with Monday’s doubleheader sweep by Toronto, Boston has responded with three wins in its next five games.
“Just to be able to have the whole morning to yourself, it makes you realize we spend too much time here. That’s something as an industry we haven’t figured out yet,” Cora told reporters. “Why do we have to show up at 1 p.m. when you can get your work in on the road in an hour and a half?”
It’s a valid line of thinking, and one that’s becoming more common in workplaces across America. It doesn’t matter when you get your work done, so long as you get it done and done right.
So far, the results are working in Cora’s — and the Red Sox’s — favors. Cora has shown a flexibility in his approach in the later months of the season, and I’ve certainly been critical of some of it.
Yet it’s all about the end result. If changing his approach every week, every series produces wins and helps get his team to the playoffs, then it was the “right approach” all along…
ROY Raffy?
Ceddanne Rafaela strengthened his case to be the American League Rookie of the Year in, what else, dramatic fashion.
Known for his highlight-reel defensive plays, it’s easy to forget that the younger Raffy can also swing the stick pretty well. Rafaela played the hero with a tiebreaking two-run homer in the 10th inning in Friday’s 7-5 series-opening win in Detroit.
Let the rook cook! 👨🍳 pic.twitter.com/fqtWkagefV
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 31, 2024
“I was just trying to be more direct,” Rafaela told the NESN broadcast about his 10th-inning at-bat against Shelby Miller. “He got me 0-2, so I have to make an adjustment and I did right there.”
In the first two full months of the season, Rafaela hit .167 and .239 respectively. Starting in June, Rafaela really started figuring things out with a season-best .304 month-long batting average. He hit .287 in July and has hit .269 in August.
On the season, the 23-year-old was slashing .254/.285/.401 with 14 home runs and 63 RBIs.
A reminder that Ceddanne Rafaela leads AL rookies in:
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 31, 2024
RBI (63)
Hits (121)
Runs (65)
Total bases (191) pic.twitter.com/pUMYVEAVbw
“I’m still learning every day,” Rafaela continued. “I think even guys with 10 years in the majors (are) still learning every day. It’s the best baseball in the world. So, yeah, I’m going to keep grinding, keep helping my team and keep learning.”
It’s clear the Red Sox thought they had something special in Rafaela given the sizable extension they gave him. Rafaela showed flashes of offensive potential in 28 games in 2023. Now? Everything looks like it’s starting to come together into a perfect blend.
And Rafaela? We already knew his future was bright. But now, he’s looking more and more like a superstar in the making…
Second chance
A day after doubling and homering in Boston’s extra-innings victory, Connor Wong made an impact in a different way on Saturday.
Negatively... at second base.
Wong got the start at second for the first time in his career in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Tigers. The reason? Cora wanted to stuff as many right handed bats as he could against Detroit ace Tarik Skubal.
It didn’t really make that much of a difference at the dish.
Wong went 1 for 3 with an inconsequential fifth-inning single. In the field, however, Wong proved to be a liability, committing a fielding error that allowed Jake Rogers to reach to lead off the home fifth.
It’s a sad state of affairs between the not-ready Vaughn Grissom, the error-prone (that feels generous) David Hamilton (though currently sidelined with a finger injury) and the in-and-out Romy Gonzalez that Wong presented himself as the best option at a position he’s never started at before.
I understand why Cora gave it a go, certainly. He’s a plus defender behind the plate who has shown he can play first base, and he has spent some time at second this season without proving to be problematic.
On the whole, positional versatility is never a bad thing. Wong being able to play multiple positions can help the Sox in a pinch when an inopportune injury or some late-game mixing and matching occur.
But for this team, right now, Wong’s time is best served behind the plate in a platoon with Danny Jansen — and I’d rather see much more of Wong behind the dish than I would Jansen.
As cool as the whole “played for two teams in one game” thing was, Jansen showed why the Jays were willing to move on from him prior to the deadline: he’s not a particularly skilled defensive catcher.
That isn’t the case for Wong, who has earned a place as worthy of a regular spot in the lineup and behind the dish. Playing a position that used to provide some offense around the game but doesn’t much anymore, Wong is a good hitter. He doesn’t hit for pop, but that’s OK.
At any rate, his performance in the field on Saturday proved his time anywhere other than catcher and first should be limited…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.
