Alex Cora Clarifies Misconstrued ‘Jab’ Toward Red Sox Front Office

BOSTON -- The Red Sox are quickly approaching the Aug. 1 trade deadline and manager Alex Cora took a moment to set the record straight regarding his feelings toward the organization's front office.

Going 6-4 in their first 10 games since coming out of the All-Star break, the Red Sox are in search of some late-season momentum in order to uplift their playoff hopes. Cora, an advocate for deadline activity, felt his previous statement's regarding the team were taken out of context, clarifying said stance before Wednesday's matchup against the Braves at Fenway Park.

"At the end of the day, the Yankees have X amount of World Series rings, the Red Sox have X amount of World Series rings, and in the end, that's how people judge the organizations," Cora explained. "I'm not saying it in a bad way. I think people took it like I was taking a jab to the front office. No, this is the nature of the game. ... When we talk about organizations, the successful ones win championships, right? The Cardinals, the Red Sox, the Yankees."

The Red Sox have kept their season (and playoff hopes) alive despite tip-toeing from fourth to last place in the American League East. They've made strides against division competition, going 16-11 thus far, but still have plenty of work left to do.

Cora further noted that farm system rankings, player development and things of that nature aren't determents of a successful organization, but instead the final result -- championships. That's the ultimate factor in judging and crediting an organization for a job well done, and the primary goal in mind at the helm for Cora in Boston.

"(Chaim Bloom) knows where I'm at," Cora said. "I know how it works, you know. People take pieces and they use that for clickbaits or whatever you wanna call it. ... Some people just pick pieces of what I said and use it to their advantage, and I don't take it personally. I've been in that business, especially now. I remember sitting in the green room at ESPN, listening to ex-GM's talking about trades, going, 'No, no way, he just made it up so people can follow them and make it interesting.'"