After an epic 6-5 win in Kansas City on Tuesday night to bring the Red Sox within a half-game of the final wild card spot in the American League, Alex Cora made his regular Wednesday afternoon appearance on Jones & Mego with Arcand to talk about the current state of the team.
It’s been an excellent week for the Red Sox, as they’ve won six of their last eight games after going 2-7 to start the second half of the season.
And included in this hot stretch was a 9-5 win on Monday night, Cora’s 500th win as a manager. He’s only the fourth manager in Red Sox history to reach this milestone.
“I feel blessed, I feel happy, I’m excited,” said Cora of both amassing 500 wins and the current spot the team is in.
And Cora wasn’t kidding.
“This team - we can accomplish a lot of things, you know?” said Cora. “And the one thing that we can really accomplish is win the World Series. We really believe that. But like I said, we’re very humble. We’re still hungry. We got a game today. We got a chance to sweep the Royals and move on to that last wild card spot. But we’re not shooting for the wild card, we’re shooting for something bigger.
“We did a lot of good things in the offseason. You know, we had guys flying to Fort Myers to work on their approach - Connor Wong, Ceddanne Rafaela, Reese McGuire. I had some meetings with the players, only ‘A.C. and the players,’ and I was very vocal about it. You know, like, ‘Nobody’s gonna give us a chance. But one thing for sure, don’t be afraid to express who we are and what we want to accomplish, right? Before the season, everyone wants to make it to the playoffs and win the World Series, so be vocal about it.’”
Cora went on to give credit to the veterans in the Red Sox clubhouse for the success of the young players this season. He also talked about the spark plug All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran has been at the top of the order.
“What he’s doing in the leadoff spot, it’s been amazing,” said Cora. “It’s been fun, right? You guys watch the games. And from the first pitch, you expect something great to happen, right?
“We’re playing good baseball. We’re athletic. We’re young. From a personal standpoint, like I told the boys - I was very honest with you guys a few weeks ago. My number one team is my number one team, the Cora-Felicianos. And we made a decision to be in Boston three more years. Not only because we love the city, but financially was a game changer, right? Life changer.
“But at the same time, man, going to the ballpark and have that, you know, like, ‘What’s going to happen today?’ You know, like, ‘What are we going to do today that is going to be great, and we gonna win a game?’ That’s there. And it was there March 28th, 2018, and it’s there today.”
2018 has been invoked.
The confidence is percolating for a team that was projected to finish in last place in the AL East ahead of this season.
Cora went on to say that he “has the passion” after the grind of the last few seasons both physically and mentally. These are seasons that included Cora losing his post as Red Sox manager in 2020 due to a 2017 sign-stealing scandal from his time on the Houston Astros coaching staff, being re-hired in Boston ahead of the 2021 season, going on an unlikely run to the 2021 ALCS, followed by two consecutive last-place finishes in the division in 2022 and 2023.
A huge piece of this confidence for Cora comes from the trade deadline acquisitions made by the Red Sox, bringing in starter James Paxton from the Dodgers, as well as relievers Luis Garcia of the Angels and Lucas Sims of the Reds.
“I think [Paxton] has been solid,” said Cora. “The first game he pitched, we didn’t play defense behind him, but the stuff was good. He had a good mix of the four-seamer up in the zone, and the breaking ball. And that’s what we expect out of him.
“He pitched well against us in L.A. Obviously they made a decision, and we saw a window of opportunity for us to be better. And he’s a guy that we know. He’s very comfortable with our medical staff, and, you know, we expect him to go out there in five days and compete, and give us a chance to win.”
Even with this additional capable arm in the mix, Cora does not appear to have any plans of using Paxton as a way to rest other starters in the rotation who have logged major innings since the spring. When asked if Paxton would aid in this effort, he was quick to point out upcoming off-days and said the bullpen would have to step up.
“Well, I think the schedule is gonna help us,” said Cora. “We get an off-day tomorrow, we get another off-day after Baltimore and Houston. So this is where we’re at right now. And then the kids - the young pitchers - are pitching innings that haven’t been there before. So maybe be a little bit more aggressive with the bullpen.
“Obviously we can add Chris Martin to the equation, which is huge for us. We got two new arms in the bullpen. Kenley [Jansen] throwing the ball well. We can go multiple innings with Cooper [Criswell], with [Josh] Winckowski and [Zack] Kelly. So pitching wise, I think we’re in a good spot. Hopefully the boys can turn a corner, and give us five or six innings consistently. If they do that, we’re gonna be in good shape.”
The Red Sox are in position to surpass the Royals on Wednesday night for the last wild card spot in the American League, which would complete their sweep of Kansas City and move Boston to 7-2 in their last nine games.
Despite their hot start to August combined with Cora’s optimism, BetMGM currently lists the Red Sox at +2500 to win the American League, and +4500 to win the World Series.
Let’s see if these underdogs can keep it rolling.