The weather forecast for the Boston Red Sox’s first home game of 2018 wasn’t great. Temperatures were expected to hover around 40 degrees Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park, with conditions feeling even colder thanks to some gusty winds.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora wasn’t too concerned, though. Because not only is that just life in Boston, where Cora spent four seasons as a player from 2005 to 2008, it’s also the type of weather the Red Sox could face later this year if they accomplish their goal of winning the World Series.
Cora on the cold weather says Sox are shooting to be playing in cold weather at the end of the year. ‘Just a rehearsal.’
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) April 5, 2018
Cora on Opening Day weather: 'Where we're shooting to go it's going to be cold in October, November'
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) April 5, 2018
The Red Sox returned home Thursday after going 5-1 on their season-opening road trip. They’ve won five straight games — three against the Tampa Bay Rays and two against the Miami Marlins — since dropping their season opener thanks to an epic bullpen collapse at Tropicana Field.
Boston will host Tampa Bay for three games on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday before welcoming the New York Yankees (three games) and Baltimore Orioles (four games) to Fenway Park starting Tuesday. The weather is unpredictable, with some precipitation expected to make its way through the area leading into this weekend and again next week, but that’s a perfect microcosm of the Red Sox’s 2018 season.
Expectations are sky-high for Boston with Cora in his first season as Red Sox manager. The offense looks stacked following the addition of J.D. Martinez, and the pitching staff — particularly the rotation — has the potential to be among Major League Baseball’s best. The question is whether everything will click.
The Red Sox have earned back-to-back American League East titles but haven’t won a playoff series since their World Series victory in 2013. Maybe this year will be different, and the Red Sox will play deep into October, when wins and losses — not temps and raindrops — (still) will be all that matter.
