Alex Cora talks about having a chip on his shoulder
FORT MYERS, Fla. - If there was any doubt about Alex Cora's mindset heading into the regular season, that was put to rest with his comments Tuesday morning.
The Red Sox manager offered a very pointed perspective when asked how he viewed his focus heading into the 2023 campaign, citing an offseason that wasn't short on motivation.
"I have a lot of reasons to go out there and guide this team to where we want to go. We always have the same expectations, just like the fan base and the organization. But there were a lot of things that happened in the offseason that kind of like, 'OK ...' I took it personal. It's not baseball-related. I think it's life related," Cora said. "If I needed a chip on my shoulder than I just got another one. I don't want to say I'm more locked in than previous years, but people lit a fire under me in the offseason, personally. I'm ready to go. I'm really locked in on what I want to do. Some things you take personal and others you just brush away. I think there are a lot of things that happened in the offseason where I was like, 'OK, this is how it goes? Well, let me go out there and do my thing.'"
Cora wouldn't elaborate on what specifically was serving as the impetus for the attitude, only saying, "I will reserve that one. But there are a lot of reasons I can just out there and do my job I know I can do it. It's not like last year I didn't do it. In simple, we sucked. But if I needed a reminder that you have to keep pushing the same way you have always done it, there were a few reminders in the offseason of that."
The Red Sox play their final spring training game Tuesday at JetBlue Park against the Braves before returning to Boston for their season-opener Thursday against the Orioles.