Is Alex Cora worried about his job security with the Red Sox? Here’s his response
"It feels like you’re in every game but it’s not going your way."
A Red Sox season that initially opened with so much promise has gone off the rails in short order.
Following a frustrating three-game sweep at the hands of the Brewers — Boston has fallen four games below .500 at 27-31 and have now lost five games in a row.
In the midst of Boston spiraling down the AL East standings, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked on “WEEI Afternoons” if he feels as though he’s standing on unsteady ground and feeling the heat with his job security.
“No, not really,” Cora said. “You know, from my end, you know? I actually don’t ask coaches about that, you know? I just ask them to do their best on a daily basis. But I can answer that question personally — no.”
Despite Boston’s lackluster showing so far this spring, Cora does have some security in place with his contract — as he inked a three-year extension with Boston last July worth over $21 million.
Still, the Red Sox have been plagued with inconsistent play, lineup/bullpen second-guesses, and miscues both on the field and the basepaths. Boston has not been able to capitalize on the margins, as the team is just 6-15 this season in one-run games.
“I feel like every day we go out there and we’re doing our best,” Cora continued. “It hasn’t happened for us. You look at the season and having conversations with some people this morning, I was like, ‘It’s a weird one, right?’ because it feels like you’re in every game but it’s not going your way.
“Just a tough stretch for us and for me as a manager and we’ve just got to be ready for tomorrow. We’ve got a big series coming up here in Atlanta. Hopefully, we can win two out of three or sweep it and get this bad taste out of our mouth.”
The Red Sox’s recent slide — which has been further compounded by critical injuries to both Triston Casas and Alex Bregman over the last month — has Boston already on the ropes before the summer has commenced. Boston is currently 9.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East.
According to FanGraphs, the Red Sox currently have a 17.9 percent chance of making the playoffs.
“It’s not early,” Cora added. “I’ve been saying that… It’s the first third of the season we have played and we’re playing under .500. We have fallen behind a lot of games in the division. Obviously, there’s a lot of ways to make it to the playoffs. But if we’re going to talk about playoffs, we just have to play better. I think the first goal is to get back to .500 and start winning more games.”
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