Cora in line for major suspension?

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bosockboy

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DJnVa

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Cora has more culpability??? I guess I missed all the news on that front
The whole "developed the scheme in Houston" then took it to Boston tends to do that...

Any way, this thread is more for discussion as to who's going to be calling the shots on the field this year.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Ron Roenicke has 10 years of experience as a manager. He's probably the most likely option given its the middle of January. Unless he was involved too. Then that could really cause a major issue.
 

Comeback Kid

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Have to wonder if any of ownership's reticence to spend this offseason was because they knew this was coming down the pike.

Personally I'm more worried about losing draft picks than losing a manager.
 

bigq

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Varitek checks most of the boxes and would have Roenicke with him as a guiding hand. A franchise icon to keep selling tickets is where this is headed.
I will second Varitek. He seems the best of the bunch in the current front office but I also don’t know much about the balance of the staff.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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Wait, people want Varitek or Roenicke, two coaches who at best turned a blind eye and at worst were involved in Cora’s scheme? Clean house completely. Whole new coaching staff.
 

Salem's Lot

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Wait, people want Varitek or Roenicke, two coaches who at best turned a blind eye and at worst were involved in Cora’s scheme? Clean house completely. Whole new coaching staff.
This is where I’m at. Ownership just hired a new Chief of Baseball Ops. Empower him to clean house and build his own field staff.
 

JimD

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Wait, people want Varitek or Roenicke, two coaches who at best turned a blind eye and at worst were involved in Cora’s scheme? Clean house completely. Whole new coaching staff.
Yeah, kind of my thought also. Plus, even if Varitek wasn't involved, it would be a crazy time to throw him into the maelstrom with a month to go before spring training to boot.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Wait, people want Varitek or Roenicke, two coaches who at best turned a blind eye and at worst were involved in Cora’s scheme? Clean house completely. Whole new coaching staff.
It's not about wanting it's about what is realistic. The middle of January is not a lot of time to find a legitimate managerial candidate. You can make the move in November.
 

JimD

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It's not about wanting it's about what is realistic. The middle of January is not a lot of time to find a legitimate managerial candidate. You can make the move in November.
Is it any different than teams firing a manager in midseason, though?
 

nattysez

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I think you roll with Roenicke for this year and tell Mookie he can pick the manager during contract negotiations. I'm kidding about that last part. Mostly.
 

Marbleheader

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Great, more scandals! Sports should just adopt a policy that sign stealing is legal, let everyone do it. It's unenforceable with today's technology. Give the catchers, pitchers and managers mics and earbuds to communicate, it might even help with pace of play.
 

InstaFace

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Cross-posting from the MLB/Astros thread, here are the most relevant parts of Manfred's conclusory statement today:

I will not assess discipline against individual Astros players. I made the decision in September 2017 that I would hold a Club’s General Manager and Field Manager accountable for misconduct of this kind, and I will not depart from that decision. Assessing discipline of players for this type of conduct is both difficult and impractical. It is difficult because virtually all of the Astros’ players had some involvement or knowledge of the scheme, and I am not in a position based on the investigative record to determine with any degree of certainty every player who should be held accountable, or their relative degree of culpability. It is impractical given the large number of players involved, and the fact that many of those players now play for other Clubs.

But more importantly, the Club’s General Manager and Field Manager are responsible for ensuring that the players both understand the rules and adhere to them. Our office issues a substantial number of detailed rules and procedures to Clubs – many of which, including the sign stealing rules, are not sent directly to players. It is the obligation of the Club, and, in this case, the General Manager and Field Manager, to educate and instruct their players on the rules governing play on the field. Here, because the Club’s Bench Coach was an active participant in the scheme, and the Club’s Manager was aware of the scheme and did nothing to stop it, I recognize that some players may have understood that their conduct was not only condoned by the Club, but encouraged by it. This was misconduct committed by the team, and with the exception of the individuals whom I will hold personally accountable, my disciplinary action will be directed at the team.
Alex Cora (Bench Coach). Cora was involved in developing both the banging scheme and utilizing the replay review room to decode and transmit signs. Cora participated in both schemes, and through his active participation, implicitly condoned the players’ conduct. I will withhold determining the appropriate level of discipline for Cora until after the DOI completes its investigation of the allegations that the Red Sox engaged in impermissible electronic sign stealing in 2018 while Cora was the manager.
I don't know the latest rumors of the Red Sox' conduct in 2018, but I think that's going to be decisive. If he organized a similar scheme in 2018 he may be permanently banned, making a question of firing moot. Manfred's filing made much of the fact that the Red Sox' conduct in September 2017 resulted in a league-wide "knock it off" memo, and that anything happening after that - and the Astros' conduct continued after that - was viewed far more seriously.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Is it any different than teams firing a manager in midseason, though?
When was the last time a team was able to make an outside the organization hire in mid-season? I'm legitimately curious. Maybe Jack McKeon?
 

RIFan

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I would go with Roenicke with Tek as bench coach given that ST starts in just a few weeks. I think it's a lot to ask Tek to run a spring training camp on the fly when he's never been a full-time coach/ manager.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I remember if anyone wanted him back like a week ago assuming he was heavily involved in all of this. Most people said yes at the time. Now that it's looking that may be the case, it might not even be a choice.
 

Harry Hooper

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Beyond Cora, does the whole coaching staff get cashiered by the Sox for some kind of complicity?
 

bluefenderstrat

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Too harsh. However, is it possible they ban him from managing a team for 5 years or something like that?
I think it will be a de facto ban, in that Manfred will decide when or if Cora is eligible to return in an on-field role after his initial 2 year suspension or whatever.
 

JimD

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Beyond Cora, does the whole coaching staff get cashiered by the Sox for some kind of complicity?
Roenicke is certainly not in a good position - hard to believe that a veteran former manager like him didn't have some inkling that this was going on.
 

DJnVa

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Is it any different than teams firing a manager in midseason, though?
The difference is before the season you're still hopeful. You fire a guy midseason you generally aren't expecting much the rest of the season.
 

OurF'ingCity

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Beyond Cora, does the whole coaching staff get cashiered by the Sox for some kind of complicity?
Think it depends on the findings of the investigation into the 2018 Sox. For all we know other managers might have told Cora he should put a stop to it - admittedly that seems somewhat unlikely but point is a lot will depend on the specific facts.
 

brandonchristensen

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The way Cora talked about how the Yankees caught the Sox during the London series makes him look like such a dickhead.

Cora's done. Clean house.
 

8slim

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Great, more scandals! Sports should just adopt a policy that sign stealing is legal, let everyone do it. It's unenforceable with today's technology. Give the catchers, pitchers and managers mics and earbuds to communicate, it might even help with pace of play.
Agree completely. Sports are over-regulated as is, and the advances in technology means leagues are only going to create ever expanding rulebooks to prevent... things.
 

JimD

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Something to keep in mind - MLB's investigation into the Red Sox could take weeks. Do we really want to wait around to see how long Cora is going to be suspended (and if Roenicke and others are as well) and risk even more chaos as spring training opens?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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It would have been interesting to see what would have happened to Cora if there were no allegations against the Red Sox.

That would have put the Commish in a difficult spot -- do you punish the Red Sox for something that its manager did before he got there? Even if he masterminded it.

But with the 2018 allegations, none of that matters now. Even if, on the culpability spectrum, what the Red Sox did in 2018 was less pernicious and more closely in line with an "everyone is doing it" defense, it just doesn't matter. The mere fact of some improper conduct while he was here makes it so that the team is screwed.

Henry has to be apoplectic. I wonder whether they will even wait for MLB's findings before they act.
 

Plympton91

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If the players who were banging on the trash cans get nothing, then the bench coach has to be less culpable than the manager. So, Cora should get less than a year for what happened with the Astros.

What the Red Sox were doing in 2018 should be a 10-game suspension at most, maybe then triple it because it’s a second offense after the watch debacle.

So half season for Cora if they’re consistent about chain of command relative culpability. That’s so disruptive, you probably still fire him.

There are a lot of experienced managers out there after the carnage last offseason. Shouldn’t be hard to find someone who isn’t a dunce or an ass.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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The way Cora talked about how the Yankees caught the Sox during the London series makes him look like such a dickhead.

Cora's done. Clean house.
Could you (or someone) refresh my memory on this—have seen a couple references to it and can't recall specifics.
 

JimD

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Any good reason that Billy McMillon shouldn't be given a shot? Solid MiLB resume and it seems like most of the players who came up through the system played for him at one point.
 

thestardawg

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If the players who were banging on the trash cans get nothing, then the bench coach has to be less culpable than the manager. So, Cora should get less than a year for what happened with the Astros.

What the Red Sox were doing in 2018 should be a 10-game suspension at most, maybe then triple it because it’s a second offense after the watch debacle.

So half season for Cora if they’re consistent about chain of command relative culpability. That’s so disruptive, you probably still fire him.

There are a lot of experienced managers out there after the carnage last offseason. Shouldn’t be hard to find someone who isn’t a dunce or an ass.
What part of Cora helped put together the scheme did you miss
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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If the players who were banging on the trash cans get nothing, then the bench coach has to be less culpable than the manager. So, Cora should get less than a year for what happened with the Astros.
I think you may not be up to speed on what Manfred actually found. He suspended Hinch as captain of the ship even though he was against the video use and tried at times to disable it and stop it. Cora was more actively involved.

Cora seems to have been heavily involved and while he might have been Hinch's subordinate he was in management. He's screwed. This is not going to be a half-season ban.
 

JimD

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Looks like MLB is trying to walk back the speculation on Cora's getting a much longer suspension.
 
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