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Red Sox' Reunion With Alex Cora Seen As Safest Choice

Cora was ousted as Red Sox manager after the '19 season for his role in the Astros' cheating scandalGETTY IMAGES

In the "New England bubble," the path to a reunion between the Red Sox and manager Alex Cora was "always straightforward and never particularly tangled," according to Chad Jennings of THE ATHLETIC. Cora was the Red Sox' "safest choice," and any other manager "would have faced an inevitable comparison." Even as ownership "ushered him out the door in January," its "praise for Cora was absolute." Jennings: "Make no mistake, bringing Cora back is a public relations problem which he and the Red Sox will have to navigate together." There "will be some damage control in the coming days," a lot of "questions about what Cora did, how he reacted, and why he deserves another chance." Not everyone "will be happy to see him back." But from up close, it is "hard to be surprised" at a reunion that was "always the easiest, shortest, most obvious path forward" (THEATHLETIC.com, 11/6).

TWO SIDES: In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy noted the return of Cora "brings two sets of reactions." The pro-Cora crowd "likes this move because it makes the Red Sox relevant again," and it "brings some star power to a team suddenly lacking household names." Cora is a "known commodity and a proven winner." But many fans are "bothered by Cora's cheating with the Astros and do not want to have him back in the Fenway dugout." The "dynamic" between Cora and Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom also is "going to be awkward." This was Bloom's "first chance to hire his own guy to manage the Red Sox," and given his background and his connections throughout baseball, it is "difficult to believe that he would have arrived at a decision to bring back Cora, especially after interviewing so many other candidates" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/7).

BRAVE NEW WORLD: In Boston, Peter Abraham writes when Cora is reintroduced as manager tomorrow afternoon, he "will find a lot has changed around the team and little of it for the better." The Red Sox had a $243.6M luxury-tax payroll in '19. That was dropped by $45.2M last season and is "likely to go down even more as the Sox ... adjust to the revenues that vanished because of the pandemic." The Red Sox likely "will maintain one of the highest payrolls in the game, as they have for nearly two decades now." Still, "buying their way out of every roster issue is a luxury they'll have to live without." Abraham: "And where is ownership in all this? [Red Sox Owner] John Henry's last public remarks about the team were on Feb. 17. [Red Sox Chair] Tom Werner has been more accessible, but the Sox are pushing the idea that Chaim Bloom has the final decision on all baseball matters" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/9). 

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