Alex Cora named Red Sox manager

RedOctober3829

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New threads are fun, guys. Per Jon Heyman, Alex Cora has been offered the Red Sox manager job and is expected to take it and will be named manager after Houston's season is over.

"Houston Astros bench coach Alex Cora, who’s been linked to four teams with managerial openings, has been offered the Boston Red Sox managing job, and assuming a contract is completed is expected to be named Boston’s manager as soon as Houston’s season is over, which could be as early as Saturday night following Game 7 of their American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.

Cora, who also drew interest from the Detriot Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, seemed to be Boston’s first choice from the start, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported.

The Red Sox also interviewed former Tigers manager Brad Ausmus and former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who was just hired to fill Ausmus’ old job in Detroit."

https://www.fanragsports.com/heyman-cora-offered-and-expected-to-take-red-sox-job/
 

E5 Yaz

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When one of his moves bombs, it'll be "Cora! Cora! Cora!"

Too soon?
 

E5 Yaz

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Along with Cafardo's Cora contemplation (what's wrong with a retread?), Little Nicky has this gem:

1. Tony La Russa said he’s done with managing but is seeking another advisory role with an organization. The obvious place is Boston. He and Dave Dombrowski have forged a long relationship after both were hired at virtually the same time by White Sox executive Roland Hemond in 1979. “There’s nobody in baseball I respect more than Dave Dombrowski,” La Russa said. La Russa spent this season in Arizona working with general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo. “I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said the Hall of Fame manager. “They were a quick study. I gave my evaluations of players I had signed and knew a lot about and they were very respectful of those opinions. I was with the team when they were home and then I’d go off to the minors to scout our team. It reached the point I didn’t feel they needed me anymore.” Dombrowski also had an affectionate response about La Russa, whom he respects as a friend and a baseball man. Dombrowski said, “We’ll see,” when asked if he would consider a job for La Russa in the Red Sox organization.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2017/10/21/nick-cafardo-yankees-are-set-for-very-bright-future/Svn1Krp1Mw85htopO8oKLI/story.html
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory
Along with Cafardo's Cora contemplation (what's wrong with a retread?), Little Nicky has this gem:

1. Tony La Russa said he’s done with managing but is seeking another advisory role with an organization. The obvious place is Boston. He and Dave Dombrowski have forged a long relationship after both were hired at virtually the same time by White Sox executive Roland Hemond in 1979. “There’s nobody in baseball I respect more than Dave Dombrowski,” La Russa said. La Russa spent this season in Arizona working with general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo. “I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said the Hall of Fame manager. “They were a quick study. I gave my evaluations of players I had signed and knew a lot about and they were very respectful of those opinions. I was with the team when they were home and then I’d go off to the minors to scout our team. It reached the point I didn’t feel they needed me anymore.” Dombrowski also had an affectionate response about La Russa, whom he respects as a friend and a baseball man. Dombrowski said, “We’ll see,” when asked if he would consider a job for La Russa in the Red Sox organization.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2017/10/21/nick-cafardo-yankees-are-set-for-very-bright-future/Svn1Krp1Mw85htopO8oKLI/story.html
Oh boy. If LaRussa is in the organization there will NEVER be any calls for him to be in the dugout if one of Cora's moves backfires, right?
 

simplicio

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Cool. Over/under on the first Fire Cora thread being started before they even make an official announcement of his hiring?
 

soxhop411

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Cool. Over/under on the first Fire Cora thread being started before they even make an official announcement of his hiring?
100000%

Seriously. Even the most perfect hire will
Have people who hate him and that nothing they can do will change that persons mind. (See Tito/Farrell etc) I think the only exception to that rule is BB

@Dogman2

My post was eaten
 
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Tyrone Biggums

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Happy with the hire. I would have loved Hale since he’s way overdue and he’s African American. However Cora by all accounts is an excellent baseball mind. Good hire. Honestly thought they were going to end up with Ausmus.
 

Moviegoer

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After the press conference
I'm more curious in who's going to start it. Is it going to be the same people on the same sides just changing the name in their comments, or is there going to be a SOSH draft for new pro- and anti- factions?
 

Rough Carrigan

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Good.

The problem I had with Farrell was that he would have a good plan before the game but he, somehow had almost no ability to perceive that a plan should be changed. He didn't seem to get anything out of watching the game. And that silly apple watch scandal fit that conception of him perfectly. Farrell said that he didn't know about it. There was a guy standing a little ways away from him in his own dugout constantly looking down at his watch and making some sort of signal. He didn't know. Pitchers were brought into games but had nothing. He didn't seem to know. David Price was signed as a free agent and for the first month of that season supposedly threw out of almost a slide step motion all the time and was losing a couple mph off his fastball but neither Farrell nor his pitching coach picked up on it. They didn't know. It was Pedroia who noticed. That's not good enough.

Alex Cora was not a great player, not even a particularly good one. But the one virtue for which he was famous was that he would make very clever plays on both offense and defense because he was completely focused and would pick up on something the other team was giving away. There's no guarantee that he can continue this skill standing in the dugout but it's likely.

He also seems to have a rep as a guy likely to help smooth over fractious clubhouse atmospheres. And now he's worked for a very sabremetric minded team. He's at least got a shot to be checking all the boxes as a guy who can run a clubhouse and mix appreciation for analytics with on field judgement.

Good.
 

mikeot

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Cora has been touted as manager material as far back as when he played for the Sox. Happy with this choice, looking forward to seeing how he fares.
 

rembrat

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It'll be interesting to see how the Spanish Joe Maddon manages. My guess is... not radically different from a by the book manager. Should be fun to debate nonetheless!
 

Rasputin

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So now that the Yankees are out, do we have to wait 2 more weeks?
If it's a sweep, Game 4 is on the 28th, give them a day to recover, parade on the 30th and we're introducing our new manager on Hallowfuckingween.

Because of course we are.
 

streeter88

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If it's a sweep, Game 4 is on the 28th, give them a day to recover, parade on the 30th and we're introducing our new manager on Hallowfuckingween.

Because of course we are.
Mwahahahaha.

I don't know why, but all of a sudden I have a spring in my step. Hmmm, oh wait - the Yankees lost. I can watch baseball again.

I am OK with waiting, as long as we get Cora. Even if we run his ass out of town three times before next season even starts. ;)
 

riboflav

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100000%

Seriously. Even the most perfect hire will
Have people who hate him and that nothing they can do will change that persons mind. (See Tito/Farrell etc) I think the only exception to that rule is BB

@Dogman2

My post was eaten
Tito changed a lot of people's minds. He was hated until the Yankees ALCS game 6 or 7 (the entire theme of the post-game show after game 3 was when are we going to get a REAL manager)? BB was also hated until beating the Raiders (my Dad was disgusted by him and I love to remind him of this about every 3 or 4 months!). I think the only coach I can remember who started off on the right foot and kept it there in the last 15 years was Brad Stevens. I'm not a hockey fan so maybe hockey fans can chime in. Going further back to the 90s, Parcells was beloved from day one and it continued but then who else? Maybe Pitino, at first, as weird as that sounds today but the honeymoon there was very short-lived - see Billups trade.

That said, most us including me welcomed Farrell with open arms because of Bobby V. We had our misgivings based on some turmoil he had in Toronto but man we all knew he was a major upgrade over the dreck of BV.
 
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Dr Manhattan

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Oct 9, 2017
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How does this work in practice, I'm struggling to understand how there can have been dialogue when the guy is actively involved in a team still involved in the playoffs. Isn't he kind of busy with that?
 

grimshaw

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Good start on the offseason. I hope Gardy and Ausmus were never seriously considered and they just knew Cora was their guy.

I'm thinking DD was just doing Ausmus a solid by interviewing him or checking in on what he may want to do if he doesn't manage.
 

Hee Sox Choi

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Mar 27, 2006
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When one of his moves bombs, it'll be "Cora! Cora! Cora!"

Too soon?
Years ago at Dodger Stadium, they would put up the WORST catch phrases for Dodgers players up on the scoreboard and A-Cor's was "Cora Cora Cora!!!"

So it's not too soon.