Alex Cora Is Not Blameless In The Red Sox Dumpster Fire

Alex Cora didn't seem to have any answers for his underperforming team, couldn't get along with the front office, and is now out of a job. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Getty Images Last week, Alex Cora became the first managerial casualty of the new season, quickly followed by Rob Thomson of the Phillies. In the days after the ouster was reported and confirmed by Cora and team officials , Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow took the vast majority of the arrows.

And rightly so. Craig Breslow As reported by Chad Jennings, Jen McCaffrey, Patrick Mooney, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic , Breslow’s playing experience as a pitcher “did not immediately translate into clubhouse feel as an executive. ” In their reporting, they state that Breslow’s micromanagement annoyed the staff, and there was an overarching belief that he wanted to purge many of the hires from the prior regime.

In fact, The Athletic noted that former Red Sox, Alex Bregman, intervened on behalf of many member of the hitting department last season to save their jobs. Well, Bregman now plays in Chicago , and that hitting staff is now unemployed. But the coaches can only coach the players the front office makes available.

And by all accounts, the Red Sox were a poorly constructed team. With too many outfielders, too many middle infielders, and no one to play the corners (Triston Casas remains out with a patellar tendon rupture), the team traded for second-year third baseman Caleb Durbin and converted catcher Willson Contreras. Contreras has been just fine (arguably Boston’s best hitter), but Durbin is no Bregman (he is currently slashing .