Alex Cora has earned the benefit of the doubt after managing the Red Sox to a franchise-record 107 victories. His experience as bench coach of the World Series champion Houston Astros last season adds to the idea that he knows what is right for his team as the regular season winds down.
Cora, for one, is certainly sure of that. He smiled and laughed on Saturday when asked if he had concerns about how the Sox are playing after their latest loss, 8-5 against the Yankees.
The Sox have dropped three straight, five of seven and seven of their last 11 games. It’s their worst stretch of the season, the team playing with little passion or sense or purpose.
They’ve also lost four of five against the Yankees, one of the teams they could face in Game 1 of the Division Series on Friday at Fenway Park.
Cora dismissed the idea that any of it mattered.
“If we win eight out of 10, people will say it doesn’t count,” he said. “If we lose seven out of 10, people might say it counts. It really doesn’t count. We’re going to be 0-0 next week.”
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“It really doesn’t matter,” Cora said. “Take a look at the whole season. It’s 107 and that’s pretty good. It’s not that we’re going through the motions but we’re taking care of our players. They get what they need to be ready and we’ll be ready for October.”