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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2021 14:44:09 GMT -5
seems we have a new LF whatever did happen to that 1B Bloom dealt for?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2021 14:52:06 GMT -5
Jen McCaffrey @jcmccaffrey · 4m Arroyo and Brasier are supposed to play/pitch tomorrow with Worcester. Darwinzon Hernandez also has a bullpen scheduled for tomorrow. All of that will likely be pushed to Monday or Tuesday because of weather. Santana is running the bases today.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2021 14:54:19 GMT -5
Head on in, pack the car buy a few sodas, some franks, few hats we will make out minds up later when the rain stops going sideways
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 16m Per Alex Cora, the Sox have not yet made a decision on tomorrow's 1 p.m. game as the storm approaches.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2021 15:10:10 GMT -5
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 8m If the Red Sox and Rangers don't play tomorrow, Monday would be an option for a makeup game IF it stops raining by then. Other than that, only date the sides match up is Sept. 27. Sox play in Bal. the next day. Rangers finish a series in Baltimore on 26th, off, then home on 28th.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 21, 2021 16:01:14 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb · 35m This is Alex Verdugo’s second day taking groundballs at first and throwing to second. He’s not wearing a first base mitt but you never know. Sometimes outfielders take infield for fun
Alex Verdugo said he was working out at first just for fun and it helps him with his overall defense. He said nobody in the organization asked him to do it … so that’s that
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 2:47:36 GMT -5
Cora: Red Sox's effort 'embarrassing' E-Rod chased in 4th inning; Boston commits season-high 5 errors 1:35 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- “E” didn’t just stand for errors on a Saturday night in which the reeling Red Sox made five of them in an ugly 10-1 loss to the Rangers.
“Embarrassing is the word,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “It starts from me. Five errors. We didn’t run the bases well, we didn’t put good at-bats [together], we didn’t pitch. I think in this thing, it’s a team effort. It starts with us, with the coaches, to keep coaching, and we’ve been playing sloppy ball for a while. They keep doing it. At one point, we’ve got to be accountable too.”
Cora was clearly steamed after watching his team slip to 7-15 since July 30, and it was hard to blame him after a performance like this.
He went back to the “E” word again, and added in some other doozies in perhaps his most pointed postgame press conference in the three seasons he’s managed the Red Sox.
The disjointed defeat against the 43-80 Rangers came the day after Chris Sale stifled Texas, 6-0, in his second start back from Tommy John surgery.
“That was embarrassing today. It’s not acceptable. For a team that is fighting for the playoffs, to show up like that and play like that, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose a game,” Cora said. “It’s how you win or lose the game. That’s not acceptable. We played a good baseball game yesterday, and today was awful. That was a bad game.”
It’s hard to fathom things could spiral downward so quickly for a Boston team that was 63-40 on July 28, and led the American League East by 4 1/2 games on July 5.
After playing their worst all-around game in 2021, the third-place Sox slipped to 6 1/2 games behind the Rays in the division and remain a half-game behind Oakland for the second AL Wild Card spot. The Red Sox, who led the Yankees by 10 1/2 games in early July, now trail their rivals by 2 1/2 games for the first Wild Card spot.
“I know what we have in front of us, and we’ve got to get better. It’s a total team effort, organizational effort,” Cora said. “This is not, you know, [pointing fingers to] that guy, this guy, whatever. It’s everybody in the same boat. We put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, and we still have a chance to make the playoffs. Obviously we have to be better. We have to start now.”
While the Red Sox have struggled at times in all areas in recent weeks, Saturday was the game they didn’t do anything well.
It started with Eduardo Rodriguez, whose perplexingly inconsistent season (9-7, 5.19 ERA) took another downward turn, as he couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning.
“There’s not much to talk about [with] him,” Cora said. “You saw what happened. He wasn’t able to put people away. He didn’t give us enough innings for us to win the game.”
Rodriguez's night turned south on a 67.1-mph grounder back to the box by Brock Holt. Before Rodriguez could field it, it hit him on the left foot and caromed into right field. Instead of being out of the fourth inning down just 2-1, a run scored on that hit and an error ensued from Kiké Hernández, allowing Holt to get all the way to third.
One pitch later, Isiah Kiner-Falefa belted an RBI double, and Rodriguez was out of the game. The Rangers scored three in the inning, and the Red Sox never recovered. Instead, they unraveled.
“I just say, it’s embarrassing the way I pitched today,” Rodriguez said. “Everything was missing with my pitches, location-wise and everything.”
Before the night fell apart on Rodriguez, the Red Sox short-circuited their offense by running into two outs on the bases. The Sox didn’t score after the third inning. The Rangers outhit them, 17-5. Yes, the Red Sox had the same amount of hits as errors.
The bats were stifled by a middling pitcher in Rangers righty Jordan Lyles, who has a 5.23 ERA in 282 career appearances.
How do the Red Sox fix all that ails them?
“It’s 100 percent up to the players,” Rodriguez said. “We’re the ones who go out there and play every day. [Cora is] just the manager. He’s just managing the lineup. I think it’s up to us. Pitchers, position players, hitters. It’s up to us to change the way we played today and the last couple weeks. It’s 100 percent up to us.”
Can they do it?
“One hundred percent,” Rodriguez said. “We still have [37] games to go. If we win all those games, we’ll be in the playoffs. I think 100 percent we can.”
That optimism likely didn’t help Cora sleep any better on Saturday night.
“We deserve what happened today on the field,” Cora said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 2:49:49 GMT -5
Injuries & Roster Moves: Darwinzon update August 21st, 2021
INJURY UPDATES 10-day IL
LHP Darwinzon Hernandez (right oblique strain) Expected return: Late August Good news on the Hernandez front. He is projected to throw a bullpen session on Sunday, though that could be impacted by the weather. Hernandez would be a significant re-addition to a bullpen that has struggled in recent weeks. The lefty last pitched for the Red Sox on July 29. (Last updated: Aug. 21)
INF Christian Arroyo (left hamstring strain) Expected return: Aug. 24-26 Arroyo played three Minor League rehab games for Triple-A Worcester this week, and on Friday he went 0-for-3 while starting at second base. He had a scheduled day off on Saturday but will play Sunday, weather permitting. Look for Arroyo to make his return to the Red Sox shortly after that. (Last updated: Aug. 21)
1B/OF Danny Santana (left groin strain) Expected return: Late August/early September Santana ran the bases on Saturday and could start a Minor League rehab assignment within the next couple of days. He suffered his injury on July 21. (Last updated: Aug. 21)
60-day IL
RHP Ryan Brasier (concussion) Expected return: Late August Brasier pitched on back-to-back days for Triple-A Worcester on Aug. 18 (allowing a two-run homer) and Aug. 19 (throwing a 1-2-3 inning). The plan is for Brasier to pitch again in the Minors on Sunday, but that is contingent on the weather. (Last updated: Aug. 21)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 2:56:41 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 5h The Rangers now have 17 hits, matching their season high. They lead 10-1 and the Sox have 5 errors.
Cue the song! So good! So good!
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 3:00:03 GMT -5
Matthew Kory @mattymatty2000 · 5h I'm not in Boston but it seems to me since coming back Alex Cora has had a pretty smooth ride. I wonder if that starts to change because it doesn't speak well of any manager to have their team perform as the Red Sox did tonight.
Jon Couture @joncouture · 3h It does remind of how he spent the latter half of 2019 basically just saying, "We'll be fine" repeatedly until the season ended.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 3:04:46 GMT -5
Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez stymied by fielding woes in hideous setback to Rangers By Julian Benbow Globe Staff,Updated August 21, 2021, 10:37 p.m.
Pitchers fielding practice doesn’t come around to often, but Saturday was one of those days.
Practically every arm on the Red Sox staff was on the field getting work in before they faced the Texas Rangers. Chris Sale didn’t have to participate because he had thrown the night before.
Eduardo Rodriguez was preparing to take the mound, so he was able to skip the drills and go through his game day routine. Related: Red Sox Notebook: Hurricane Henri casts a dark cloud on Sunday's finale with Rangers
Rodriguez only lasted 3⅔ innings in the Sox’s 10-1 loss, but baseball, being the funny game that it is, made sure he got his reps in anyway. Rodriguez’s miscues in the field were symptomatic of larger issues that plagued the Sox all night.
The Rangers lineup churned out a season-high 17 hits, but the Sox aided them with a season-high five errors, the most since 2017 when they committed five errors against the Orioles. The ugly night led to an ugly loss at a pivotal point for a Sox team trying to claw its way back in the division race. The Sox are in the middle of a nine-game run against sub-.500 teams.
“Embarrassing is the word,” said Sox manager Alex Cora. “And it starts from me. Five errors, we didn’t run the bases well, we didn’t put good at-bats. We didn’t pitch. In this thing, it’s a team effort, it starts with us, it starts with the coaches to keep coaching. We’ve been playing sloppy ball for a while and they keep doing it. So at one point, we’ve got to be accountable, too.
“That was embarrassing today. It’s not acceptable. For a team that’s fighting for the playoffs to show up like that and play like that, it’s not acceptable. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose the game, it’s how you win or lose the game and that’s not acceptable.”
The first test for Rodriguez in the field was small but revealing.
With one out in the first inning, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa chopped a ground ball to second. Rodriguez was a step slow to getting off the mound to cover first and Bobby Dalbec ended up in a foot race to the bag with Kiner-Falefa, who beat him by a step.
It wasn’t costly. Rodriguez struck out Adonis García and got D.J. Peters to line out to center.
But the Sox trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning when the ball found Rodriguez again. With Andy Ibáñez on second, Rodriguez fed Brock Holt a 2-and-1 sinker. Holt shot it back to the mound. Rodriguez couldn’t react fast enough.
“I saw the ball at the last second and by the time I realized where the ball was, it was already over second base,” Rodriguez said.
The bouncer ricocheted off Rodriguez’s foot. Sox second baseman Kiké Hernández chased it down at the lip of the infield and tried to fire home to get Ibáñez, but the one-hopper was too late. The errant throw allowed Holt to take third on what started as a simple ground ball up the middle.
“We’re not in the business of ‘trying to make plays,’ we have to make plays,” Cora said. “And we haven’t been making plays for a while. We have a job to do. We’ve got to play better, and today, we we didn’t play good. We didn’t play good, we deserve what happened today on the field.”
The seams came apart from there.
On Rodriguez’s next pitch, Kiner-Falefa doubled to center to score holt and stretch the lead to 4-1.
Cora didn’t wait to see if Rodriguez could clean up the mess.
Rodriguez took out his frustrations in the dugout, slamming his glove into the bench.
Despite his success in August up to that point (2 earned runs in 16.2 innings in three starts), Rodriguez failed to make to out of the fourth inning for the third time in his past six starts. He gave up five runs on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
Cora brought Hirokazu Sawamura out of the bullpen. García worked Sawamura to a full count before shooting a ground ball to the hole at short. Xander Bogaerts made a sliding snare, but couldn’t hit the target at first. Kiner-Falefa scored and the Rangers pushed the lead to 5-1.
An RBI double by Ibáñez padded the Rangers lead, 6-1. The game got messier in the eighth.
Martin Perez took over and gave up a single to Kiner-Falefa and a double to García to start the inning. After gifting Peters to ground out to first, a wild pitch let Kiner-Falefa come across to give Texas a 7-1 lead. Yohel Pozo singled to left to score García. Nick Solak reached on a fielder’s choice to third, then Ibáñez shot a ground ball to right for a single that scored Pozo and Solak and put the Sox in a 10-1 hole.
For a team starving for scoring, the 10-run performance felt like an outburst. The Rangers have only scored double-digit runs four times all season.
The Sox’s lone run came in the third inning on an RBI single from Hernández.
The Sox have been sliding in the AL East standings since the All-Star break, and falling to one of baseball’s bottom feeders doesn’t help.
The Sox came in 2-4 against Texas on the season. They’ve lost four of their last five and are 15-19 since the All-Star break. With the loss, coupled with the Tampa Bay Rays’ 8-4 win over the Chicago White Sox, the Sox fell to 6½ games behind the AL East-leading Rays in the division.
With 37 games left in the season, Cora said the team had to double-down on fundamentals. If it meant more work on base running, defense, bunting, situational hitting, then so be it. But he couldn’t stomach watching his team play the ugly brand of baseball it submitted vs. the Rangers.
“Today, we took a few steps back,” Cora said. “Like I said, it’s not acceptable. We’ve got to be better. It’s hard to watch. It’s hard on us. I hate the way we played today. I hate it. I know a lot of people praise me because I pay attention to details and all that stuff.
“Well that that’s not an attention to detail. That’s not good, sound baseball. It starts with ownership, right? I’m the manager of this team, so I’m accountable. I’ve got to do a better job to put these guys in a better position to be successful.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 3:07:40 GMT -5
These Red Sox are running out of excuses after another embarrassing loss By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated August 22, 2021, 12:36 a.m.
There are only so many times you can write, “Alex Cora was as angry as he’s been all season” before it starts to become meaningless.
It feels like we’re at that point.
“Embarrassing is the word,” Cora said Saturday after a 10-1 loss against the Texas Rangers. “It starts on me. Five errors, we didn’t run the bases well. We didn’t put good at-bats; we didn’t pitch.” Related: Red Sox notebook: Hurricane Henri casts a dark cloud on Sunday's finale with Rangers
He was just getting warmed up.
“That was embarrassing today. It’s not acceptable for a team that is fighting for the playoffs to show up like that and play like that. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose the game, it’s how you win or lose the game. That’s not acceptable.”
Asked his opinion of starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, who allowed five runs against the worst offensive team in the American League, Cora was dismissive.
“There’s not much to talk about him,” he said. “He wasn’t able to put people away. He didn’t give us enough innings for us to win the game.”
Cora went on to say that he and the coaching staff have to do a better job of preparing the team.
That’s what a manager is supposed to say. We heard it from Terry Francona when the Sox collapsed in 2011. John Farrell was angry and accountable when the Sox fell apart before the 2014 trade deadline.
Now Cora is in their shoes, trying to figure out how to ignite a good team gone bad.
But it’s ultimately not on the manager or any of the coaches. The Sox have the same players they did when they were in first place at the All-Star break.
They are 15-19 since and unless you believe injured utilityman Christian Arroyo was the key to the entire operation, not much has changed on the roster.
That the Sox are 7-13 since the trade deadline suggests the players feel let down by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who wasn’t as aggressive as his counterparts with the Blue Jays, Rays, and Yankees.
That’s not a bad excuse for a few days. But it’s been more than three weeks now and the Sox have won both games Chris Sale has started since coming off the injured list.
He’s already been worth more WAR than anybody the Yankees, Jays, or Rays picked up.
Good for Cora saying he’s part of the problem. But either the players care enough to make a better effort over the final 37 games or they don’t.
Seven of the 10 players in the lineup on Saturday have at least one World Series ring. They understand what’s needed.
Cora isn’t going to make the Sox better by throwing their bats in the shower or ordering midnight batting practice. The players played to a high level in the first half of the season and have not since.
The Sox are a half-game out of a wild card berth. That’s not exactly climbing Mount Washington.
“There’s frustration all over the place,” Rodriguez said.
The anger and frustration were warranted. The Sox were held to five hits, one after the third inning. A Rangers team that was 7-25 since the All-Star break and had lost 17 of 18 on the road made them look bad.
That Rodriguez failed to cover first on a grounder to the right side in the first inning was the start of a sloppy game.
Rodriguez, whose earned run average is up to 5.19, didn’t duck responsibility.
“It’s 100 percent up to the players,” he said. “We’re the ones who go out there and play every day. [Cora] is just the manager. He’s just managing the lineup. It’s up to us. Pitchers, position players. It’s up to us to change the way we’ve been playing.”
I asked Rodriguez if he thinks they’re capable of doing that.
“100 percent,” he said.
Good answer. Now how about some proof?
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 3:13:26 GMT -5
Red Sox notebook Hurricane Henri casts a dark cloud on Sunday’s Red Sox-Rangers series finale By Julian Benbow Globe Staff,Updated August 21, 2021, 7:23 p.m.
As Massachusetts braces for Hurricane Henri, the Red Sox have yet to announce their plans for Sunday’s series finale against the Rangers. But manager Alex Cora suggested that the game would likely be postponed.
“As of now, I’m not sure,” Cora said. “I don’t know where we’re at, but obviously the chances are very slim.”
Sox ownership has been in talks with Major League Baseball to determine the proper course of action. The Rangers don’t make another trip to Boston this season. And the most accommodating open date in their schedule is Sept. 27 at the end of a seven-game road trip through New York and Baltimore.
Henri was upgraded to a hurricane Saturday by the National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm warning was issued for Cape Cod and the South Coast with winds expected to while between 39 and 70 miles per hour.
The last time a hurricane hit New England was 1991 when Hurricane Bob rushed in with winds reaching 138 miles per hour. The storm killed 17 people and caused $1.5 million of damage.
The storm hit Aug. 19, as Cleveland Indians were arriving to start a three-game series. The two teams didn’t play until Aug. 21.
The Sox were in a similar situation 10 years ago as Hurricane Irene moved up the East Coast and threatened to make landfall in New England. Sox management took the proactive measure of moving up the team’s Sunday series finale against the Oakland Athletics and playing a day-night double-header that Saturday.
However, coming off a stretch of 14 of 17 games on the road, players protested the decision. The Sox swept the doubleheader but lost 21 of their last 29 games. Rehab complications
The weather will also complicate plans for several of the Sox working their way back from injuries after the Worcester Red Sox canceled Sunday’s Triple A game against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Polar Park.
Christian Arroyo took batting practice Saturday and was expected to play Sunday. Ryan Brasier was also scheduled to throw Sunday, while Darwinzon Hernandez was expected to throw a bullpen.
“Obviously, the weather, it looks like it’s going to be an issue the next two days,” Cora said. “So we’ll have to kind of scramble to see what we do . . . So we’ll figure out. But everybody’s progressing. Everybody’s feeling better. So we’ll keep moving forward.” Connor Seabold shines
Should the Red Sox need another starter to fill out the rotation, they could turn to Connor Seabold, who threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and allowed just one hit and one walk Saturday for the WooSox in a 2-0 victory against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Seabold (1-3, 3.73 ERA) was acquired a year ago by the Sox along with righthanded pitcher Nick Pivetta in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies for relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree and cash.
Seabold started the season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. He made two rehab starts with the Florida Complex League Sox before returning to Worcester in July. In five starts prior to Saturday, he was 0-3 with a 4.81 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24⅓ innings. J.D. Martinez not far afield
J.D. Martinez was in the lineup in left field, giving him 26 appearances in the outfield this season.
His workload in the outfield had been gradually decreasing over his four years in Boston — from 57 games in 2018 to 38 in 2019 to 6 last season.
Cora joked that Martinez has been out there so much, he might call his agent, Scott Boras.
“He’s calling Scott right now, he wants to renew his contract, he wants to add some incentives in the outfield,” Cora joked.
Cora, of course, has tried to build in some incentive of his own. Martinez is a three-time Silver Slugger, twice as an outfielder (including 2018 with the Sox) and once as a DH.
“I keep telling him I’m trying to get him that Silver Slugger in the outfield like an ‘18, but he’s very realistic because he knows that the DH one, it has one name and if the name is of a pitcher, he’ll win that one.”
On the whole, Cora said, Martinez has been effective in the outfield and the job hasn’t taken a toll on his body.
“He’s doing well,” Cora said. “We stay in constant communication, we talk after the games, we talk in the morning and he’s moving well.
“If you put his whole season defensively overall, it’s been a solid one. You put him in a spot and he’ll give you full effort to make plays and he’s been very consistent at it.” Snow Day for Chris Sale
When Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow celebrated his 40th birthday at Fenway Park with his wife, Kelsie, and their two children, 10-year-old son Cohen and 6-year-old daughter Willa, by his side as he delivered the first pitch earlier this month, he made an impression on Sox ace Chris Sale.
Snow, who also is a former Sox beat writer for the Boston Globe, was diagnosed with ALS in 2019. Doctors told him he had a year to live, but with the help of a clinical trial, he’s been able to defy odds.
Sale, who was 6 when lost his grandmother to ALS, was touched. He invited Snow back to Fenway for Friday’s game.
Snow shared some of their exchange Saturday via Twitter.
“I just wanted to meet to say thank you,” [Sale] told us. “You are literally changing the world. I just pitch. Do you mind if we get a picture? I’m going to send it to my mom. She is going to freak.” Marcelo Mayer touches ‘em all
Marcelo Mayer, the No. 4 overall pick by the Sox in this year’s draft, hit his first professional home run, a three-run blast for the Florida Complex League Red Sox in an 11-5 win over the Twins. He went 2 for 6 with four RBIs. In seven games, Mayer is hitting .231 with five RBIs and five runs . . . Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers missed the game due to illness. His absence was not COVID-related.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 3:18:00 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 6h Barring a change in the score, seems like the #RedSox are going Johnny Wholestaff on the mound for the rest of the night. Clearly planning for a Sunday postponement, and there are a few guys they must want to see work an inning.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 3:21:11 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 7h The Sox had PFP (pitcher's fielding practice) before the game today. Rodriguez did not participate because he was starting.
So of course he messed up two plays in the field, one that led to two runs scoring,
Austin Davis retired the side in order. He's your New Bedford House of Pizza Red Sox Pitcher of the Game.
Sox fall to 70-55, 6.5 games out of first. They have lost 4 of 5 and are 20-24 since July 1.
Sox are 2-4 against Texas this season.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 22, 2021 3:22:24 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 5h "That's not acceptable," Cora said.
"That's just playing bad baseball," Cora said.
This is probably the 3rd time in a few weeks you could legitimately write, "Alex Cora was as angry as he's been all season."
He should be angry. But ultimately the players either care about fixing it or they don't.
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