This has become the team Alex Cora had hoped for
It could only be classified as the kind of stream of consciousness that comes with winning your sixth straight game. The message: Alex Cora likes his team.
"I think it's the deepest lineup we have in a while here," said the Red Sox manager after his club's 10-2 win over the Rockies, securing its second straight series sweep.
The deepest? Was this hyperbole or reality? And where exactly would one rank this version among the other batting orders from recent years?
"I don't know, it’s a quote," admitted Cora with a smile. "But we're deep, we're deeper."
Perhaps it's not the best time to accurately rank this group, considering the circumstances it finds itself in. In going 9-2 in the last 11 games, the Red Sox have outscored their opponents 96-39, hitting 22 home runs over that span. Cora's club has managed 10 or more hits in seven straight games, while now sitting a season-high four games over .500.
What's not to like?
But while it's a fun exercise to compare and contrast each position in the batting order, while basking in the euphoria that came with Masa Yoshida's three-hit season debut, there is one indisputable element that served as the jumping off point for Cora's proclamation.
Once again, this manager really likes his team.
It's interesting to juxtapose Cora's existence in the first few months compared to the here and now. The obvious change is how the Rafael Devers cloud has been replaced by a dramatically different way of doing things.
Part of the impetus for moving on from Devers was to make room for players that the Red Sox and Cora firmly believed would be at least somewhat blocked from playing time. Roman Anthony, for starters. And now, Yoshida.
Since June 28, the Red Sox have seven qualifying players with a .973 OPS or better, with Romy Gonzalez (1.459), Ceddanne Rafaela (1.262), Trevor Story (1.203), Jarren Duran (1.163), Wilyer Abreu (1.161), Anthony (.994) and Carlos Narvaez (.973) all allowing for Cora's narrative.
Wednesday night served as a microcosm of the resurgence, with Gonzalez, Duran, and Abreu all going deep to complement Yoshida's 2025 introduction.
Another thing that has Cora feeling a bit giddy: All of a sudden, his team isn't striking out at a mind-boggling rate. During this 11-game stretch, the Red Sox haven't fanned more than 10 times once. Conversely, from Opening Day until June 25, the Sox had more than 10 strikeouts an MLB-high 31 times, going 10-21 in those games.
A different approach. Some different players. And some very different vibes.
For Cora, the puzzle pieces weren't quite fitting, which was evident to anyone watching him attempt to bob and weave his way through that first half of the season. There were glimpses of hope, but not enough of them to lock in on any sort of identity.
Now? Lucas Giolito has been one of the best starters in baseball, throwing six or more innings with two or fewer runs in each of his last six starts, paving the way for an American League-best 0.70 ERA.
The bullpen has been somewhat stabilized thanks to the improved starting pitching, with Cora able to define roles and expectations (as the group's .193 batting average against in the last 11 games suggests).
And then there is the aforementioned lineup.
There are options and execution, which will always lead to managerial optimism. They have got to the return of Yoshida, and Alex Bregman is slated for a weekend return.
After weathering the post-Devers storm, nobody could have imagined the skies could be this sunny. Not the fans. Not the front office. Not the manager. But here they are, basking in the glow of a brand new forecast.
