Red Sox’s David Price, Matt Barnes Praise Alex Cora’s ‘Even Keel’ Attitude

While it certainly hasn’t been the start to the 2019 Major League Baseball many predicted the Boston Red Sox would have, their manager still is sticking to what he knows.

After winning a franchise-best 108 games in 2018 en route to a World Series championship, many believed Boston would come out hot considering it was bringing back a bulk of its lineup. But ace Chris Sale is 1-6, and reigning American League MVP Mookie Betts has struggled a bit from the leadoff spot.

It would be easy for Cora to change his tune, but the skipper is staying true to himself. And it certainly does not go unnoticed amongst his players.

“It’d be easy to change and try and press and do things drastically different though we had success doing them last year, but he hasn’t,” reliever Matt Barnes told MLB.com. “He’s got his principles and what he expects of us.”

David Price echoed his teammate’s comments, noting Cora “hasn’t changed one bit.”

‘Us as players definitely respect that,” Price said. “Managing is not easy, especially in Boston. He hasn’t changed one bit from last year to this year. The difference is where we started and how our season has gone so far. For him to stay the same AC, that’s awesome.

“When managers feel that pressure and start making unnecessary moves or just feeling panic in the dugout or in the clubhouse, I think that can definitely kind of filter its way to the players,” Price added. “For AC to stay even keel through all of this, I think that’s kind of helped us get back on track.”

The Red Sox currently sit 7 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees heading into Friday’s game. But there’s still plenty of baseball left to be played, and it sounds as if the players certainly trust their manager to lead them to another lengthy playoff run.