Since firing long-time manager Alex Cora on Saturday, April 25, the Boston Red Sox are 2-2 under interim manager Chad Tracy. But just because the world keeps spinning after a momentous decision like that, it doesn’t mean people in the baseball world won’t continue to analyze and critique the decision from the Red Sox front office.
Former Cincinnati Reds general manager turned MLB analyst and writer Jim Bowden opened up about the situation in Boston on Thursday’s episode of the “Foul Territory” podcast.
“That firing made absolutely no sense… In my opinion, when you have a manager at the level of Alex Cora, that is not a manager you fire,” Bowden said. “You figure out everything around him. He is special… There’ll be a lot of teams that are coming after Alex.
He knows what it takes to put a World Series team on the field. And his input wasn’t heard, nor was it respected, and so someone had to go.”
The Red Sox certainly hadn’t played up to their lofty expectations, as they were 10-17 when the decision to move on from Cora was announced.
“This is a team that was going to turn it around, this was a team that was going to get to .500 regardless of the manager,” Bowden said. “And to fire one of the top five managers in in baseball? At that time? That makes no sense to me. If you were going to do it, you should have done it in the offseason.”
Phillies Offered Cora Manager Role After Red Sox Fired Him
Dave Dombrowski, the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies confirmed earlier this week that he had offered Cora the Phillies managerial role one day after his firing in Boston. Dombrowski and Cora have a relationship from their time together in Boston; Dombrowski hired Cora as the Red Sox manager when he was the GM back in 2017.
The Phillies have gotten off to an equally rocky start through the first month of the season, and as a result, have fired their manager as well. Dombrowski wanted Cora to fill that role, but Cora declined in order to spend more time with his family and wait out the season before looking for a new position.
Even though Cora turned Dombrowski down, the Philly executive had nothing but praise for the now former Red Sox skipper.
“I think Alex Cora’s one of the finest managers in the game of baseball,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Hall of Fame managers like Tony La Russa and Jim Leyland, and have been very fortunate in my career. I think if Alex Cora decides to keep managing again, he has a chance to be in that same category.”
Red Sox Looking to Right the Ship Under Chad Tracy
Boston got off to a 2-0 start under interim manager Chad Tracy, picking up wins in the rubber match against Baltimore on Sunday and a win in the first game in Toronto on Monday. They fell in the final two games up north.
Now, as the calendar turns to May, Tracy will manage his first big league game at Fenway Park as the Sox will host the Houston Astros for a three game series this weekend.
Former MLB GM Bashes Red Sox Decision to Fire Alex Cora