For the first time since 2017, the Boston Red Sox are facing legitimate adversity.
Mired in a 2-7 start to the new season, the defending World Series champions have played every bit as poorly as their record indicates. And when things go this bad for a team, finger pointing tends to follow.
But while some have suggested that manager Alex Cora failed to have his team ready for the start of the season, the players in the clubhouse refuse to put blame on the second-year skipper.
“It’s definitely not him,” Mookie Betts said after Friday’s 15-8 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, via the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato. “It’s us. Our heads aren’t in it in some situations. A couple tough bounces, it’s just a part of the game. We have to play better for sure.”
At the end of the day, the players are the ones most responsible both when things go badly and when they go well. But the truth is that everyone deserves some share of the blame, including Cora — you win as a team, you lose as a team.
To his credit, Cora already has shown willingness to take responsibility for his team’s woefully slow start.
No one questions whether Boston will turn things around. A battle-tested roster with that much talent deserves the benefit of the doubt. The only question is when the Red Sox finally will get back to playing their brand of baseball.
However, given just how ugly the Red Sox have looked in all areas of the game, it might be naive to think an abrupt switch-flipping is on the horizon. This might take longer than anyone expected, and longer than anyone is comfortable with.
