Yes, the Red Sox are dysfunctional – but Alex Cora did this to himself

By all accounts, Alex Cora is a good manager as far as these things go. Dan is correct in that you really can’t predict or even properly judge a manager’s contributions except in obvious outlier situations, but the buzz around Cora has always been positive. His strongest claim to fame is winning a World Series with one of greatest teams of all time, credit for which can go whichever way one is inclined.

Did the manager inspire or ride the team to greatness? Cora landed on the positive side of that unknowable gulf, having come out of the 2018 season with an incredible reputation that persists to this day even if it doesn’t necessarily stand up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, that was followed by a yearlong suspension by MLB for his role in the Astros’ cheating fuckery, leading him to being fired by the Sox, which honestly was probably a blessing given that the “season” he ended up missing was 2020, which was a fake idea (the playoffs were good tho).

But let’s assume for purposes of this column it wasn’t and say getting fired for cheating was generally bad for his career. So when Cora returned as the Red Sox manager in November 2020, several months and a “full” MLB season later during which the Mookie Betts-led Dodgers won it all, it was understandable from both sides. The Sox had been terrible and Cora needed to rebuild his reputation.

But the last time Cora had suited up for the Sox, Betts was on the team. Cora knew the environment into which he was walking. He was returning to Dysfunction Junction.