Spring training is here and new Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora addressed the media Tuesday in Fort Myers, Fla., answering a bevy of questions, including one that has been on every fans’ mind: how will Boston combat the new-look New York Yankees?
The rival Yankees, as you may remember, acquired 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins in the offseason, pairing him with young sluggers Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez.
While many are concerned the Red Sox, who didn’t make a splash in free agency (yet), will have difficulty winning their third American League East title in a row over the powerful Yankees, Cora thinks the Bronx Bombers are just like any other good AL team.
“We’ll pitch. We’ll play good defense, and we’ll hit. Just like any other team,” Cora said. “It’s a great lineup, just like there’s a lot of teams out there that are good. The Indians, the Astros, the Angels. Everybody in the big leagues is capable of putting (up) a good offensive day any day of the week. So you still have to pitch, you have to execute, you have to stay with what you believe that you can get people out. We’ll involve the scouting report, the guys will execute, and we’re going to be fine. We need to get 27 outs just like any other team.”
Simple enough.
The first-year manager admitted that his style is yet to be determined, but he showed how different he is from former manager John Farrell during his Tuesday media session.
Only time will tell if Cora’s approach is successful, but the former Red Sox infielder certainly doesn’t seem to be intimidated by Major League Baseball’s fiercest rivalry.
