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Cleveland and Atlanta appear to have different views on name change
What I’m Hearing: USA TODAY Sports’ discusses the latest on whether or not the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves will change their names and how the two clubs seem to be going in different directions.
It was not a unanimous decision by any means.
It may not have even been the choice of the general manager.
No, we’re not talking about the Chicago White Sox and Tony La Russa.
This is about Alex Cora, who was rehired as manager of the Boston Red Sox, the club announced on Friday.
Yep, 10 months after he was let go by the Red Sox less than two weeks after being reinstated from his suspension by Major League Baseball, Cora is right back where he started.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to manage once again and return to the game I have loved my entire life,” Cora said in a statement. “This past year, I have had time to reflect and evaluate many things, and I recognize how fortunate I am to lead this team once again. Not being a part of the game of baseball, and the pain of bringing negative attention to my family and this organization was extremely difficult. I am sorry for the harm my past actions have caused and will work hard to make this organization and its fans proud.”
And you thought the George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin days with the Yankees were crazy times?
Remember when Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom announced the final day of the season that Ron Roenicke would be out the door, and when specifically asked about Cora, said that “he’s not on or radar”?
Here’s a refresher:
“I don’t want to get into any detail into my thoughts on Alex,’’ Bloom said on Sept. 27. “I don’t want to say anything about Alex that I haven’t said to Alex and obviously I have not spoken to Alex, so there will be a time when I can get into more detail on Alex and his situation, and my thoughts on it, but that time isn’t now.’’
That time is now.
Bloom will have to explain how he interviewed nine candidates, narrowed it down to three finalists, had his personal favorite in Sam Fuld, and still hired Cora.
Yep, the peoples’ choice.
And, of course, the choice by those who write Bloom’s paychecks.
“Alex Cora is an outstanding manager, and the right person to lead our club into 2021 and beyond,” said Bloom in a statement.
“We considered a very impressive slate of candidates – the brightest managerial prospects in the game today. Because of all that had happened, I knew that I wanted to speak with Alex once his suspension ended, but I didn’t yet know if it made sense to consider him for the job as well.”
The Red Sox ownership acknowledged that Cora had to go when he was implicated in MLB’s investigation into the Houston Astros in 2017, costing A.J. Hinch his job, too. MLB investigated the Red Sox as well and while investigators found no wrongdoing by Cora in Boston, he was suspended for his actions in Houston, with the investigation determining that Cora was an “active participant in the scheme” and that he “implicitly condoned the players’ conduct.”
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, who was fired in the scandal and still is unemployed, also blamed Cora in a January statement.
“The sign-stealing initiative was not planned or directed by baseball management,’’ Luhnow said. “The trash-can banging was driven and executed by players, and the video decoding of signs originated and was executed by lower-level employees working with the bench coach (Cora).
“I am deeply upset that I wasn’t informed of any misconduct because I would have stopped it.’’
The Red Sox and MLB stopped Cora, but all he missed was 60 games in a dreadful Red Sox season. They finished with a 24-36 record. It was the worst winning percentage since their 62-100 season in 1965.
So, instead of being punished, Cora caught a break, and won’t have that 2020 season sullying his resume.
Remember Cora’s words in January when he left the Red Sox, saying, “I will forever be indebted to the organization and the fans who supported me … This is a special place. There is nothing like it in all of baseball, and I will miss it dearly.”
Well, those words ring true today.
Cora is back.
And really, it’s as if he never left.
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