Henry claimed to have been surprised by Alex Cora's involvement in the sign-stealing scandalgetty images
Red Sox Owner John Henry "had every intention" to keep Alex Cora as the team's manager despite any potential discipline given to Cora as part of the Astros sign-stealing scandal, but Henry changed his mind "when the possibility arose that the Red Sox could be stripped" of their '18 World Series title, according to sources cited by NBC Sports Boston's Gary Tanguay. Both the Red Sox and Astros are "nervous they could lose their championships" and there has been a "lot of anxiety at Fenway Park" in recent days ("Early Edition," NBC Sports Boston, 1/16). In Massachusetts, Matt Vautour notes Henry, during Wednesday's press conference explaining Cora's departure, claimed to have been surprised by Cora's involvement in the scandal despite there being rumors that he was the "ringleader/mastermind ... floating around for a while." Vautour: "That's hard to believe. Henry should have more access than the average fan, but the only thing surprising to anyone following along was the length of the punishments handed down to the Astros" (Springfield REPUBLICAN, 1/17).
COULD SOX CHANGE PLANS? In Boston, Sean McAdam wonders if all the "bad publicity" from Cora's dismissal could mean the Red Sox will "reverse course" on their well-publicized plan to cut payroll to get under MLB's $208M luxury tax. McAdam: "Reeling from the PR hit they've taken of late, the Sox might stop eyeing the bottom line so much, go into the season as is and worry about getting under the luxury tax some other time." That likely would only "postpone the inevitable," but if the Red Sox "believe it could help them with the fan base, it could happen" (BOSTONSPORTSJOURNAL.com, 1/16).
