Alex Cora had a quip ready to go Wednesday afternoon.
Amid speculation that there’s a rift between the Boston Red Sox manager and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said Tuesday on “The Greg Hill Show” no such thing exists.
Asked one day later point blank during his weekly appearance on “Merloni, Fauria and Mego” about their relationship, Cora was ready to go.
“It’s awful, awful,” Cora said, laughing as he cut off the question. “We don’t like each other.”
The reality is that way Bloom operates is different from what Cora experienced during his first stint with the Red Sox under Dave Dombrowski. While Dombrowski had more willingness to throw caution to the wind and swing big with personnel decisions, Bloom takes a more methodical approach. That might not work for some managers.
It worked for the Red Sox in 2021, Cora’s first season back following his one-year suspension, but this season has been more tumultuous. Still, Cora insists that he and Bloom are good.
“We have a great relationship,” Cora said. “We keep learning from each other, when you think about it we've been together, what, two years and two months, before the (suspension) happened. And we’re learning from each other. I think one of the things that is a little bit different in a sense, he’s very patient and I’m pedal to the metal.
“I attack the day because that’s what I do, I’m the manager, I want to win every game. But the whole concept of we’re trying to win now and obviously get better for the future, it’s something that it's different from my end, but he’s been great. I’ve learned a lot about projections, how to evaluate players.
“Sometimes we get caught up on the very emotional side of it. (You think) this guy is raking, but it’s like no he’s not actually raking, he’s just getting lucky. Stuff like that, so I’ve learned a lot from Chaim, and him talking to me, he’s learned a lot from me, too. It’s been great.”
The Red Sox are not in a great spot with the deadline six days away thanks to a ghastly July that was preceded by a fantastic June. Messaging from the team suggests Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers likely aren't going anywhere, but the next few days could determine if the Red Sox buy, sell or do some combination of both by the Aug. 2 deadline.
But even as the Red Sox stumble and face uncertainty, the relationship between Bloom and Cora apparently hasn’t been knocked off course.
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