BALTIMORE -- Alex Cora has been through the days leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline as a player, and last year as a coach. So he has some understanding about what kind of anxiety and expectations come with the moves are made and not made.
Prior to his team's game against the Orioles Monday night at Camden Yards, Cora offered the reminder that just no deal guarantees success, a reality he lived through on multiple teams.
"Sometimes, and I understand where people come from and all that, but it doesn't mean it's a guaranteed World Series ring," Cora said. "We went through here in 2007. With Eric (Gagne). We traded for Eric, we thought it was over. And then it was the total opposite. He struggled. We went through it in L.A. in 2004. We thought that we were one pitcher away from dominating. All of a sudden we traded (Dave) Roberts, (Paul )Lo Duca and (Guillermo) Mota. It was a totally different team. Although we made it to the playoffs, it felt awkward. So I don't know. We'll be fine. We have a good team. Everybody knows Dave (Dombrowski), he's looking for ways to improve the team. He did already with Steve (Pearce), that was a great baseball move. You see the impact. We'll see what happens."
Another saving grace for Cora and Co. is that there doesn't appear to be a scenario where their clubhouse is turned upside-down via the moving of a major-league piece. The Red Sox players appear to be genuinely at peace with the current group, which heads into the three-game series against the Orioles 39 over .500.
"Whatever we do, whatever happens, I think we're going to keep our core, which is very important," he said. "I don't see too many people anxious about it. Not too many questions. Probably they talk about it, obviously, but there's not a guy that has come to me and said, 'Hey, what's going on?' We're very locked in with what we're trying to accomplish. I know playing in this division has kept everybody in check. Every day counts. We went to Detroit, took care of business, now we're here. We know there was a rainout last night. We know it. That's one less day on the calendar and we come here and do the same thing regardless of who we're playing. That's a very capable team out there. Win the season and moved on. That has helped the players. They're very locked in on what they're trying to accomplish. That makes me feel good about it. You don't have to worry about the other stuff."
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