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Red Sox Fire Alex Cora

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The Red Sox announced Tuesday evening that manager Alex Cora will not return as their manager in 2020. The news comes one day after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the results of his investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, wherein Cora was revealed to be one of the architects of Houston’s trash-can system. The Red Sox organization issued the following statement:

Today we met to discuss the Commissioner’s report related to the Houston Astros investigation.  Given the findings and the Commissioner’s ruling, we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward and we mutually agreed to part ways.

The Red Sox’ usage of “mutually agreed to part ways” notwithstanding, there’s no way that Cora would’ve been ousted as manager were it not for his role in the sign-stealing scandal. It’s been extraordinarily difficult to fathom a scenario in which Cora would’ve stayed on as manager after Houston GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were fired by the Astros yesterday, given his involvement in the Astros’ scandal as well as the current investigation of the Red Sox’ 2018 . The now-former manager issued a statement of his own:

“I want to thank John, Tom, Sam, the players, our coaching staff and the entire Red Sox organization.  I especially want to thank my family for their love and support. We agreed today that parting ways was the best thing for the organization. I do not want to be a distraction to the Red Sox as they move forward.  My two years as manager were the best years of my life. It was an honor to manage these teams and help bring a World Series Championship back to Boston. I will forever be indebted to the organization and the fans who supported me as a player, a manager and in my efforts to help Puerto Rico. This is a special place. There is nothing like it in all of baseball, and I will miss it dearly.”

As was the case when Houston let go of its GM-manager tandem, this represents a stunning turn of mid-winter events for Boston. In terms of wins and losses, the two-year Cora era was especially fruitful for the Red Sox. As Cora mentioned, he helped the club to a championship in 2018 – his first year on the job and one in which it piled up a whopping 108 regular-season victories before steamrolling the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers in the playoffs. Of course, now that the league’s investigating Cora, there are perhaps questions about the legitimacy of that title.

Last season was far less successful for Cora and the Red Sox, though they were still an above-average team that won 84 games. Now, depending on how MLB disciplines Cora, that could go down as his final season as a manager in the league. Cora’s reportedly facing “harsh” punishment for his misdeeds, so the end of his Red Sox tenure seems likely to serve as a forerunner to a significant suspension.

The Boston organization, like Houston, now finds itself in the once-unimaginable position of suddenly having to find a new manager just weeks before pitchers and catchers report to camp. The responsibility rests with new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who inherited Cora from ousted president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

This post was originally published on 1-14-20.

Check out our new video below (app users click here), as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd lays out the implications of Cora’s dismissal as well as the Twins’ signing of Josh Donaldson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Comments

        • What you mean – a guy who had no problem with it while he was on the team and got a ring? Only called it out wherever his career is winding down? That the type of guy we need? Let’s not pretend Fiers is some unselfish hero of the game.

          22

        • Really? More like him? A guy who cheated while throwing a no hitter and is totally fine with the Astros while it was happening – the rumor is he was bent he was let go from the team and wanted to get back at the Astros … PS he isn’t giving his ring back is he?

          3

        • Who told you this? News to me. And BTW, he has two no hitters to his name.

          8

        • search on youtoube mike fiers cheating and you can find clear evidence.

          3

        • The problem with so many Astros fans on this site is they’re more angry at an ex-Astro that called out the cheating than the fact that their team systematically cheated for multiple years.

          BTW, Fiers went 15 – 4 with a 2.9 WAR in ’19, yet Astros fans making it out like he’s some scrub that shouldn’t be in baseball.

          What a joke.

          23

        • @HarveyD82

          “fiers is a snitch”

          Sorry but that’s just prison talk. Are you an inmate?

          17

        • You should e-mail your link to MLB since evidently you have incontrovertible proof.

        • If it was your favorite team, and the only championship you ever won was on the line, I GUARANTEE you’d have the same reaction.

          2

        • And let’s not forget he was the only player to say anything. And the rat did it after he had left the team! Grudges and contempt for his former team quite evident.

        • I’d be furious at the organization that they felt the need to cheat, especially considering the undeniable talent that the team posses. I’d be mad as hell at my team’s management.

          2

        • And Cora etal are scumbags. I’ll take the snitch every day of the week.

          6

        • No, most are upset that he did it the way he did. If you are going to make him out to be some hero you’d be wrong – if that was the case he would have called it out in 2017.

          And it is ok to be angry at both of them.

          4

        • The Astros were idiots to think they could get away with it. Of Course Fiers is going to tell his new teammates something is going on. You think anyone pitcher is going to keep that quiet?

          I think you people are nuts.

          2

        • So you are angry at the whistleblower but seemingly ok with the cheaters. Interesting.

          10

        • So you are angry at the whistleblower but seemingly ok with the cheaters. Interesting.

          1

        • He did it for his own purposes. There is no way he set out to help baseball. I don’t believe his story of how he felt bad for pitchers and other players. But in the end he did help the game by kinda ending all this nonsense. I don’t recognize the Astros or the Red Sox world championships in 2017 and 2018. They will forever be tainted

        • Yes the record books will forever say asterisk- Jubilee doesnt approve

          1

        • Even though I stated this on another thread, I’m going to state it again here. For ALL of you whining about not recognizing championships, lifetime ban, etc this is for you. The 2017 Astros were 52-27 in AWAY games. THAT was tied for 1st in MLB. Yes, they cheated. Yes, they were caught (ratted out, snitched or WHATEVER you want to call it). 3 men lost their jobs. However the 2017 Astros were among the BEST for the year. They did WIN. No, I’m not an Astros fan nor apologist. I’m a baseball fan and my favorite team is the Atlanta Braves.

          2

        • The Astros cheating had agent in other players as well. How about the pitchers who got shelled due to the cheating and either got benched, sent down etc? There are more than just Astros players affected.

          1

        • I have to completely agree with you Damon.

          It is just like the vast majority of Braves’ fans when they got the hammer brought down on their organization. Instead of acknowledging
          his wrongdoings and placing the blame on Coppy and his scouts, the vast majority of Braves’ fans wanted to just complain that the Braves weren’t the only organization doing it, and that the Braves were somehow just getting called out because somehow everyone hates to see the Braves succeed and do well..lol

          Absolutely ridiculous, just own up to the fact your favorite team got caught trying to get away with breaking the rules. Take the punishment, come to terms with it, and move on hoping they learned their lesson..Its really that simple, complaining and placing blame elsewhere just makes you look IGNORANT and like a PETULANT CHILD!!

          5

        • Saavedra- Capt Obvious says: every sgl pitcher in mlb uses ‘foreign substances.’ They are not fixing their hat and clothes before each pitch because they’re ill-fitting!

        • 8-1 at home, 3-6 on the road. OPS was .862 as a team at home, .631 on the road. 5.7 runs per game at home, 3.0 on the road. .273 BA at home, .208 on the road.

          5

        • Exactly. Didn’t see him complaining while he was on the team and he certainly didn’t return his ring or his World Series share. He has one more season on his contract and then he will slink off. No team will sign him. You have to be able to trust your teammates and no one trusts Fiers now.

          3

        • He wasn’t on the post season roster – so no ring, no post season share. But why let facts get in the way of your rant? Why – for that matter – trust a colleague with integrity?

        • Fiers was a scrub when he was with the Astros. He also didn’t come out while he was benefitting from the cheating with the Astros. He only came out after the Astros beat him silly for 2 seasons with the A’s. He is going to pay the same penalty that Cora will, he will never play another game in MLB after 2020 regardless of how he pitches.

          Fiers has no room to talk about cheating when he used pine tar constantly including in his no hitter. He cheated in that way and he cheated in his starts with the Astros since he knew about the sign stealing and said nothing at that time.

          1

        • You don’t have to be on the spots season roster to get a ring. He still got a ring.

        • A snitch. You pathetic POS!!!!! Cheating is unacceptable. It doesn’t matter how it came out. Cheating is cheating and should not be tolerated. If you want cheating, then go join a cheating league. Otherwise STFU!!!!

          2

        • Not only players. Did this cause Girardi hid job? The record and home/away splits during the post season are very telling.

          All the praise they got that year from being one of the worst strikeout teams to the best During the 2016/2017 offseason, which was attributed to the analytics dept and pitch recognition… well we now know they recognized pitches very, very well. They were marching to the beat of that trash can…

          2

        • Youtube can absolutely be evidence. Maybe you need to look up what that word means

          1

        • Using capitalized words makes you look like an ignorant child. Also, you don’t know what petulant means.

        • Wasn’t Fiers the one who used pine tar to throw his no hitter for the Astros?

        • Last time I checked there is nothing confirmed about the Red Sox…. and nothing occured during the playoffs in 2018 because MLB was monitoring the video rooms… that is a fact.. Just keep assuming in grouping the two together and jumping to conclusions based on lack of facts and keep making yourself look even more stupid then you already appear to be..

        • Well, we will see how the Boston investigation by MLB turns out. Any cheating by Boston during the regular season and/or the playoffs during 2017, 2018, or 2019 is going to be a big issue for BOS. And in this climate where Cora was at the heart of the Astros scandal, and acknowledged that to BOS management, well, it isn’t going to be pretty if MLB finds evidence.

          We’ll see how this turns out.

        • Snitches gets pitches on the ribs. He’s lucky he pitches in the AL.

          1

        • @batter up

          You sound like an inmate talking about snitches. And your anger is heading in the wrong direction. But I guess some inmates don’t have integrity.

          But I am looking forward to the raft of crap heading the Astros team’s way on the road this year. Fans will crucify them! BWAHAHAHA!

          8

        • Fiers had 0 choice to tell the truth. He was not the guy who started the investigation and not the only ex-astro to testify. There was 2 un-named players that also testified. He was the one that talked about it to the media. Who should get more respect Fiers for admitting the cheating or Altuve refusing to say anything?

          4

        • Focusing on the “snitching” is just a left-field way of saying you’re ignorant to the actual crime at hand.

          Mike Fiers is a small, small part of the equation. The bigger part is – the Astros are filthy cheats and liars.

          5

        • Astro players wearing extra protection at baf for rest of the pitchers getting even with them.

          1

        • I am all about the integrity of the game. I admire anyone that came forward.

          3

        • The league implemented the necessary changes to combat electronic sign stealing in 2018. The Astros were not using the method they used in 17 during 2018 or 2019 because the league made changes. Clearly the league knew something with going on, and not just the Yankees and Red Sox.

          So no, Fiers clearly had an axe to grind. He wasn’t doing this to “clean up the game” as he put it. The league did clean it up in 2018 and further in 2019.

        • Batter up — You’re going to single out Fiers for your anger? An entire group of players either actively cheated, or were too timid to stand up for what is right. Those other players are somehow “noble” because they carried on the conspiracy without regret or remorse? Fiers isn’t an angel, but he had the guts to say something. Unlike his weaker teammates. Where is your condemnation for his teammates who lacked the courage to do the right thing?

          4

        • Batter up — You’re going to single out Fiers for your anger? An entire group of players either actively cheated, or were too timid to stand up for what is right. Those other players are somehow “noble” because they carried on the conspiracy without regret or remorse? Fiers isn’t an angel, but he had the guts to say something. Unlike his weaker teammates. Where is your condemnation for his teammates who lacked the courage to do the right thing?

          1

        • Batter Up, are you ten?

          You know you have lost your moral compass when you have the morality of a prison inmate.

          1

        • Correa gets pitches in the ribs right back. And Glasnow might have a score to settle too at 99 mph.

        • You are forgetting that he said nothing for 2 years. Not a peep while he was on the Astros. He never went to the GM or the owner. He never spoke up to any of the media when it was helping him win. Well, nothing could have helped him win as an Astro. He absolutely stunk as an Astro and that was why they traded him to the Tigers after the 2017 season. He only comes out with it 2 years later after the Astros absolutely kicked his behind while he was with the A’s.

          2

        • He didn’t say anything about it when it benefited him, so I’d give neither of them respect.

        • Believe they didn’t use the trash can method but think report showed they were still using center field camera / video method to decode signs.

          1

      • I’d like to hear from that Bregman, since he always has lots to say other times.

        3

      • Mike Fiers is ready to be a commissioner on day 1 if his retirement!

      • Congrats to Fiers regardless of the consequences. Imagine if he played on the A’s in the late 80s. Maybe the PED situation would be far different when looking back on history.

        • I meant if MLB took action then because players complained, they could have stopped it in the bud. Problem was after the strike MLB needed the juice (pun intended) that PED usage provided.

        • Only if he got moved to a team where he no longer benefited from it.

    • For years I have heard “if you aint cheatin you aint tryin”. Screw you! This isn’t the NFL or the NBA. “If you aint honest you don’t belong in baseball”.

      2

    • Ban cora for life period. Cheated twice obviously he learned he has to cheat to win. Send a message fire the cheating scum.

      1

  2. Based on what they announced they found, he’s going to be gone a year at a minimum.

    1

    • No one will hire him again anyways, so it doesn’t matter how long he’s suspended for.

      9

      • Hinch will work again eventually. Luhnow might not get a full GM/PBO job again but he’ll be around front offices again.

        Cora… his career is probably over regardless of the suspension he gets.

        7

        • AJ took the innocent road which is crap, he threw his entire team, including players, under the bus. He needs to OWN IT.

          2

        • AJ literally went around the clubroom smashing up the monitors Cora and Co were using to cheat. Is he guilty of not doing enough? Probably. But he at least tried to stop it.

          8

        • AJ was the manager. If he really wanted to stop it, he could have.

          4

        • Clearly not. The only way he could’ve stopped it was if he told MLB about it, and that would’ve killed their season.

          1

        • His entire team avoided penalty for their actions. He got suspended and fired. Hard to make the case that he “threw his team under the bus” when they’ve escaped punishment.

          5

        • Xactly Joe. AJ three his entire team under the bus. Do the fans sincerely think Cora would act on his own? I seriously doubt it, Cora was a bench coach, UNDER AJ. I feel he would not have done it if not supported. IMO AJ prolly said do anything you feel will help. Then took a backseat. The monitor breaking, if I were to guess was perhaps due to someone too close to have it running.

      • It matters for his contract. He has 2 years left, so if it is just a 1 year suspension, the Red Sox will have to pay him his 2021 salary.

        • I doubt that, unless the front office knew about the scheme when he was hired. If not, Cora’s contract will be really easy to nullify.

        • No they won’t, He violated his contract. There are morals and conduct clauses.

          1

        • Cora was not suspended. He was fired while under contract. The Red Sox agreed to pay his contract if he would just go away.

        • 99% sure if he is suspended he forfeits his salary for the time he was suspended, regardless of whether he was fired before or after suspended. No way the Red Sox don’t wait until after the suspension is announced to fire him if not waiting means they still have to pay him.

          1

    • There’s no way in the world he’s not getting more than Hinch and Luhnow. He was the person who carried out both scandals most directly and who was the architect of stealing two world titles. He’s a candidate to be banned for life and is getting at least a two year suspension.

      With all that said, I want Cora to get his fair share of the punishment and not get scapegoated like Hinch and Dombrowski. The players involved CANNOT be allowed to get away with this with zero consequences.

      11

      • Proven beyond a doubt that the Red Sox did not cheat during the playoffs. So Dodgers fans can cry all they want, they lost to a better team
        in 2018, end of story.

        Glad Cora was fired…nice to see Manfred grow a pair for a change.

        5

        • Ummm Manfred didnt fire Cora, so I am unsure how he has grown a pair for a change.

          1

        • Proven beyond a doubt? Are you joking? Give me a link to the investigative report

          1

        • @Koamalu I keep hearing this dumb argument about winning on the road. You’re aware that once sets of signs are stolen they are still known on the road right??

        • Yes, because we all know cheaters have huge integrity and live by the “no cheating on the road” unwritten rule.

          1

      • AJ knew everything throwing players along with administration under the bus.

        1

    • Between what happened in Houston and Boston, 5 years to permanent ban

      6

      • They, like all other teams, might have done it… but nothing thus far has implicated anyone other than Stros and Sox

        1

        • The Sox and Yankees were both fined during the 2017 season for using electronics to steal and relay signs.

          1

        • It is just starting though… LOMO came out that he had knowledge of more…

          IE::: ” He also said he knows that the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox have also used film to “pick signs.” ”

          Plus houston was using the banging in 14 when he was in seattle….

          foxnews.com/sports/astros-sign-stealing-ruling-fak…

        • They were fined for an incident where the Yankees were setting up an MLB approved TV in gameand Brandon “glad we got Ozuna” taubman started yelling at then asistente manager of the Yankees claiming they were cheating. The YAnkees assistant Gm was the one that reported the incident to MLB!!

        • @oldoak33 That was before Manfred clarified the rule and warned the league.

      • Where do you think Coppolella and Gordon Blakely learned it from? Anyone watching John Hart on MLB Network knows he’s not the brains of that operation, just smart enough not to be the fall guy.

      • Lol there is nothing remotely as bad being accused on the Yankees haha but good try

        2

        • There’s a current player that says he knows the Dodgers and Yankees also have used technology to steal signs.

          1

    • This is worse than betting on baseball. Winning the world series is the single goal of the game, and here we have two that were absolutely stolen, with a vast spider web of consequences negatively affecting thousands of people, if you don’t include the fans.

      11

      • If you took the time to read anything on this, the actions propped up by Cora to cheat only occurred during the regular season. There were MLB officials in the video rooms during the playoffs, and World Series. So there was no cheating during the playoffs/WS but there was during the regular season.. Not saying that what happened shouldn’t get punishment, but to say that it is worse than betting on a team is a bit of a stretch. I think Cora should get a 5 year ban from the game at all levels.

        • Once you steal signs, they can be used in the future. Including signs stolen in the regular season to be used in the playoffs. This year, the Nationals famously thwarted the Astros by changing all of their signs for the playoffs.

    • I’d argue that it’s actually WORSE than betting on baseball. These guys cheated to win a World Series. Betting on baseball is peanuts compared to this.

      3

        • I think that depends what you’re betting on… I don’t see any harm in betting on your team to win.

          1

        • It never ceases to amaze me how people parrot Rose’s defense on this. The guy was a degenerate gambler who got caught betting on baseball games. Naturally, his weak defense was “I only bet on my team to win” but you’d have to be incredibly naïve to actually believe that. Yet, here we are, all these years later and you constantly hear people say that like it’s the gospel.

          Using insider knowledge to bet on baseball games is far worse than PEDs or sign stealing.

          I still believe these punishments are too light and the players getting off scot free is a travesty.

          1

      • They cheated to GET to the post season, but not during the post season. The video replay position was set up differently for the post season.

        • Still cheated to win a World Series. Still worse than betting on baseball.

        • what they did was awful but cheating to win the ws and cheating to get to the ws are 2 totally seperate things

        • Both are wrong. What’s their 108 win regular season worth now? If there was no written mandate after Applegate, I’d feel differently. Reminds me of after 2004, realizing much of the league including Boston was using PEDS. My guess here is it will come out more teams violated the rules on electronic equipment and stealing signs. Perhaps MLB should come out with a voluntary grace period for self-reporting where teams and management will face penalties that are far less than if MLB learns from other sources. Such may not eliminate the problem as coaches and lower level management who have jobs and careers on the line may not report but ownership will.

      • Can’t compare but who needs to? If two felons from the same past job get out of jail after each serving the same sentence, each will like face obstacles returning to their old profession.

    • You shouldn’t be satisfied unless the players get disciplined and the world series title stripped.

      4

      • they didn’t cheat in the playoffs/WS – why should the championship be stripped. There were mandated mlb officials in the video rooms during playoffs, not the regular season…so the cheaters couldn’t cheat then, just the regular season…unless they figured a way around that during WS and playoffs.

        1

        • Oh they got to the playoffs on merit did they??? They shouldn’t have been in the world series in the first place

          1

        • Astros found a way around cheating in playoffs, and the MLB investigation specifically said they were doing it in the post season.

          So repeating over and over again it didnt because it couldn’t have happened in the postseason is not factual

          2

        • Will the Yankees give back their titles in the 90s or the 80’s and the A’s because of PED use? Reminds me of everyone who says there is no proof of who actually used. Not meant as a knock on specifically those two teams as I believe it will come out more teams cheated in one form or another. Just typical of the personal and team greed of today. Sort of reminds me of today’s politics where the parties continue to win at all costs and look for loopholes to support their agenda instead of trying to compromise for the best interests of America. They can justify their actions at least in their own minds.

        • PEDs were not against the rules in the 90s and 80s. No discipline was issued for PED use in that era. So no, you have no idea what you’re talking about.

        • The substances they were using then were mainly illegal to possess without a prescription. They were purchased by others or cash and delivered elsewhere to hide a paper trail. You don’t need a baseball rule regarding something illegal. Please reconsider as yes I do know what I’m talking about in this situation.

        • Dewey – I missed the Yankees ‘80’s championship… they won the most games in the decade, only one appearance (‘81, lost to Lasorda’s Dodgers) in the series though.

      • Players were just as responsible as anyone else. Single them out and suspend or fine or both. It’s a game that needs to be played without cheating.

        • It would be a different ball game if there wasn’t prosperity in the sport, a union and an expiring MLBPA agreement.

  17. Wowwwww let’s now here the suspension and take away the World Series title.

    4

    • If they didn’t take it away from the Astros, they’re not going to take it away from the Red Sox.

      2

      • Why not? Unlike the Astros, the Red Sox are second time offenders and had been specifically warned by the Commissioner. The Red Sox penalties should and will be worse than the Astros.

        7

        • Idk how you can say proven beyond a doubt. I understand the league put people in the replay rooms in the playoffs but we have no idea what else they were doing. The number of 2 strike and 2 out hits the RS got in the playoffs has to make you at least think something was going on. And the elephant in the room is how JBJ goes from .100 hitter who was a guaranteed K all season to being the ALCS MVP hitting a HR every other AB with no help at all.

          1

        • Let’s look at something entirely different. How far does the cheating go back? Roger Clemens goes to the Astros and instantly becomes the Clemens of the mid 80’s again. Charlie Morton was well below .500 for his career until landing with Houston in his mid 30’s and then goes 29-10 in two dominating seasons there. Gerrit Cole, always with great stuff with Pittsburgh takes it to an “off the charts” level with Houston and of course the biggest example, a fairly washed up Justin Verlander goes to Houston and becomes absolutely untouchable again and wins the Cy Young and going 60-23 since becoming an Astro. I think in addition to sign stealing, there was some HGH being needled around in that clubhouse. Verlander can be enraged and complain about it all he wants, but like Bonds, guys don’t get SUBSTANTIALLY better in their mid 30’s.

        • All teams were warned. Cora was not on the team when those warnings were issued and he wouldn’t have been hired if the truth on 17 came out then. His punishment if the allegations regarding 2018 are true should be far worse but wait for the full report before convicting him and especially the team. The Sox had no choice based on his involvement as an Astro bench coast to fire him and now the Mets need to do the same with Beltran if his interviews and written application/emails were not truthful.

        • JBJ’s entire career has been marred by short bursts of .350+ hitting and what seems like under ,200 hitting the rest of the time. Sox though did have an amazing two out AB history then so who knows. What though could they have done? Did they have another set up elsewhere? Doubtful given the size of Fenway and limited other players spots to install a set up. Just another stain on the sport and reason not to pay for MLB TV this year.

        • Sad but your points are well taken Keens. It could also be in recent years differences in the ball that allows for spin rate adjustments. With the electronics of today, a small adjustment could explain big results. If there is an illegal explanation, another Mike Fiers, probably a hitter who no longer is on the Astros will soon make a public statement.

        • I’m not actually accusing of them doing anything in the playoffs and if they were, I don’t know what it was exactly… I’m just saying you have to at least consider it. I wouldn’t say they “were without a doubt” not cheating in the payoffs for the reasons I sighted above.

        • Dorothy – how are you this comfortable with lying? You realize people have read the commish’ report, right? Your parents failed you, liar.

      • I’ve already taken the championships away in my mind, Dodgers win in 17 and 18.

        1

      • I’ve already taken the championships away in my mind, Dodgers win in 17 and 18.

        • Not so fast … Logan Morrison has come out and says he has first hand knowledge of the Dodgers doing it too. (And the Yankees).

          1

        • Logan Morrison never played on the Yankees MLB team so he has first-hand knowledge of absolutely nothing.

          2

        • Morrison is a known attention hog and he played in the AL during those years. How would he know how the Dodgers run things.

          3

        • No, but Beltran was on the Yankees right before joining the Astros. That’s who brought the idea to the Astros clubhouse.

          1

        • Just thinking the same thing. I can’t wait for the Yankees and Dodgers to be implicated now.

        • Dodgers fans and Yankees fans getting righteous are hilarious. To outright say you’re team didn’t do it is stupid. The Astros and Red Sox are guilty with proof but you all forget all the accusations around your teams. Logan Morrison is not the first …

          google.com/amp/s/www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-wer…

          The Brewers and the Mets both accused the Dodgers in 2018 as well … and the Yankees have had a bunch of accusations.

          You’re allowed to be mad at the Astros, they cheated, we get that. But if you’re a fan of any other team right now I wouldn’t be beating your chest and acting righteous, I’d keep my mouth shut and hope they don’t investigate your club.

  19. Make Pedroia a player/manager. Might as well get some use out of him and the $28mil he still owed.

    9

  20. Well, that was predictable. Good riddance.

    Beltran, it’s your turn to resign. (I’m not predicting the Mets to do anything right.)

    1

    • It’s crazy that he’s going to get by with this 100% because he was a player and not a coach/front office personnel

      1

      • He’s not a player now. Crimes big or small don’t go away with a job promotion. Just my opinion.

        • Not only was player at the time, hes supposedly cooperated completely with the investigation.

          He’s not getting punished

  24. The sad thing is that because all the players are getting let off the hook, the Red Sox think they can dodge the bulk of the PR nightmare by ditching Cora early since Dombrowski is already gone.

    The players should absolutely not get away with blatant cheating with zero consequences.

    And the Red Sox should bear the full embarrassment of having been caught cheating their way to a world series title.

    1

    • Hunch will land somewhereRead the report. Cora should be banned for life.

    • I’d be surprised if he gets a lifetime ban, but I have a feeling Cora, Hinch, and Luhnow will never be employed in MLB again. Hinch either knew and is still lying, or he had no control over his team. You think any teams will want a guy who couldn’t stop his players and coaches from cheating? That’s the best-case scenario for Hinch’s involvement, and it’s hardly what you want in a manager.

      • Hinch did know and he expressed his disapproval by breaking the tv they were using on at least two occasions. But lets be honest, even if Luhnow forwarded the memo and Hinch escalated the matter, the players still wouldn’t be punished for their actions because they and the owner are untouchable in this business scheme.

  29. How does this work for his contract? Seems like they’d have to pay out the remainder like a normal firing since it wasn’t done until after the suspension/ban (like Hinch)? Or would they be able to file a grievance and keep all that money?

    • No way he’ll get any money. He was fired for cause. Let’s say the investigation into the Sox turns up nothing, he still has an impending suspension because of his conduct in Houston.

      • it was a mutual agreement so it wasn’t technically a firing … isn’t that the same as tearing up the contract? so no more money changes hands I would think.

      • Well aren’t other coaches does for cause? Not winning enough is a fireable offense in baseball and they still get paid. If he was already suspended I could see it (like Hinch), but don’t know this way. But it is irrelevant now because it was mutual.

    • Mutual agreement = leave now with dignity and no money or we fire you in a week with no money

      • That part wasn’t in the post when I initially wrote the comment. But yes, that’s exactly how it went down.

    • Once he is officially suspended, I dont believe he is eligible for pay, in any form, from MLB. If they fired him with no suspension coming, he might be still cash in. With this whole story it’s hard to imagine either side making a big deal of it, they want it forgotten asap.

    • Well done? Are you kidding me? Well done would have been firing him when they found out about the cheating and not allowing the cheating to continue. But they wanted their world series title, so we have to settle for them firing Cora when finally forced to

      2

  31. Perception control? Won’t save you. Hit them with the hammer Manfred.

    1

    • Agree. They can’t skate because they preempted the MLB punishment with two firings. Still have to pay the piper, Red Sux. I love how they get caught cheating and the only response from some fans is, “well the Yankees cheated too so they will get theirs.” Especially when there is no evidence whatsoever that they’re even being accused of cheating.

      See you guys in another 100 years…

      2

    • Alex Cora played college baseball at the University of Miami, a college known for their own scandals. His older brother Joey played at Vanderbilt, a university with a better reputation and more academic credibility.

      1

    • Lmao. Ur that stupid He was never charged or said he was doping ,unlike many of the stinkies who have emitted to it.

      1

      • That’s the difference, A-Fraud and Pettite admitted. Ortiz, who also failed a test (and produced age 40 results on the worst feet in baseball that are a dead giveaway), will die a fraud who never admitted it.

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      • He did fail a test. It was when the MLB was testing to see if they needed to screen harder. He did the classic Boston thing (like I’ve heard from Chavis and Edelman) that he had no idea how the test was positive. Shocking…

        1

  35. Cora and Hinch are a couple of morons that threw away promising managerial careers

    2

  36. Look for Kyle Snyder as he has ties to Bloom and the Red Sox. Current Rays pitching coach and former pitcher for the Sox

    1

  37. I love Cora, but he made stupid choices that ruined his career. I do not by AJ bring against it, that is dumb, especially hearing some of his statements in the past. Thier mutual decisions ended up punishing the fans most of all. I’m disgusted.

    1

  39. Just wish they would’ve been caught before the ‘17 and ‘18 World Series dammit lol

    1

  40. Hopefully the last baseball hears about this PoS for good. Lifetime ban please

    2

  41. Literally an hour or so ago I saw an article saying the Red Sox should fire him to save face…. then it happens. Right decision probably. Sucks to see what seemed to be good managers falter

  42. Preemptive strike? I thought they would get the results of the other investigation before cutting ties.

  43. Smart pro-active move by Chaim Bloom before Rob Manfred’s hammer falls on Alex Cora and likely the Red Sox as well for their own sign-stealing scandal in 2018 under a different front office.

  44. All things being equal he was getting suspended a year w/o pay. Im not sure of his contract length but its a freebie for them unlike other firings they dont have to pay him. I noticed someone mentioned Beltran hes in the clear cuz he was a player at the time

  53. “help bring a world championship back to boston….” by cheating

    2

  54. I like how his quote mentions no remorse for being a scumbag to the game of baseball.

    4

  55. Meanwhile all us Dodger fans are rejoicing karma smacking the Astros and soon to be Red Sox for stealing both World Series from us.

    1

    • They still lost the series. May be an asterisk, but an asterisk loss none the less.

      1

    • Red Sox did not cheat during any of their playoff series (proven by MLB) so the Dodgers plainly lost to a better team in 2018.

      Not sure if the Astros were still doing their misdeeds in the playoffs during the 2017 title.

      • We’ll see in a few weeks if that’s still the case. They already announced equipment help through 2018 and getting rid of the mastermind behind the Astros scandal doesn’t hide the fact he didn’t bring it to Boston.

  56. The Astros are going to set a record this year….Most times being hit by pitches in a season

    4

    • And loud, continuous booing, all……year……long. Gonna be a fun year watching it.

      1

  57. Should Bostons world series win 2018 have an asterisk attached like Houston’s will be? I think so.

    3

    • Vacate both. Well, Houston to be sure… we’ll see when the report on Boston comes out.

      1

  60. The players on the Sox and Astros are going to get killed for a long time by the fans of the other teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two teams are black balled by the other owners and don’t trade with them.

    2

  63. I dont understand, how did Coppola get a lifetime ban for cheating but these guys got one year?

    3

  64. The more the technology increases the more this stuff will happen Baseball need to get rid of the replay room and make managers make the call using how they feel instead of the replay room.

    • Not like it matters, but I’ve always thought that’s how it should work… you have like 5 seconds to throw the challenge flag after a call, then you live with it. Also helps with pace of play.

      1

  65. But, why not just keep him, keep cheating and force your media partners to ignore the truth and praise his genius, no matter how many times they get caught cheating?

    Bob Kraft can explain this proven strategy to John Henry.

    5

  67. Cora arranged his own demise, difficult to feel any sympathy for the guy.

    3

  68. The most crazy thing about this is how dumb it actually was. Like it’s so easy to spot once you know what to listen for. And you know a player will tell his new teammates as soon as he leaves, right? Like you could do it for one season but after that…words going to get out quick unless you keep everyone

    1

    • So easy that no one spotted it until 2 full seasons later? In retrospect – yes, but it worked on two teams.

      1

      • Yeah it’s like how did you not know a player would tell his new team and it would get out. And then easy to go back and prove

      • The Red Sox did not use trash cans or audio signals during the game like Houston. They went into the replay room in between at bats (regular season only) to see if they could figure out the signs, and if they got a runner on 2nd base, he would try to signal the batter as to what pitch he thinks is coming.

        Most teams change their signals 2, 3 or even 4+ times during a game, and change them when runners get to 2nd base too, so it’s hard to tell what advantage Boston got out of this. Every team watches the same video of the opponents prior to the game and do the exact same thing if they figure out the sign sequence. The real issue is that they were trying to decode in game vs. before the game. This is MUCH different than what HOU did (signaling every batter via noise using a LIVE feed). Red Sox were not using a live feed. They were watching previous at bats via replay.

        Also, MLB had officials in the replay room during every 2018 playoff series so no batters went in our tried to use this during the playoffs. If this gave Boston such an advantage, wouldn’t they have lost during the playoffs to a ‘better’ team since this was no longer available to them? Instead they went 11-3 and proved they were the best team in baseball in 2018.

        3

        • Come on guy. Why would they take the risk and go to those lengths if it didn’t provide a big advantage.

        • I’ve seen a lot of smart comments from you, Mantooth. Well said. Nonetheless, the club was caught twice between 2017 and 2018, with Cora apparently walking them into the latter transgression, and I think a lot of the Houston penalty will apply here—2 years suspension from baseball for Cora, $5MM fine to the club, and at least 1st and 2nd draft picks forfeited for 2020 (2021 a possibility).

        • Also, and quite counterintuitively given the situation, the Red Sox had several better team batting statistics in 2019 than in 2018, when they were aided by electronic cheating (Team Ave, HRs, and Runs scored all higher in ’19).

        • More likely they used sign sets already stolen during the regular season to succeed during the playoffs. Or some other system. Cheaters don’t just cheat when it doesn’t matter then suddenly stop when it does.

          let’s also not forget that by dominating during the regular season the Red Sox materially affected how ptchers approached their batters during the playoffs.

          Your insistence that the Red Sox 2018 playoffs are squeaky clean is simply not supported and doesn’t even pass the smell test. I’d tell you what it smells like but I would get banned from this board.

          1

        • Well said Mantooth….but all the whiny Dodgers fan can keep crying because their team lost to a better team.

        • Well said Mantooth….but all the whiny Dodgers fan can keep crying because their team lost to a better team.

  69. I hate to think this but AJ is not as innocent as he portrays. HE is the manager allowing it, but playing the “innocent” one which is crap. Cora made bad decisions n happy he owned it, unlike AJ. The fans are hurt most of all.

    4

    • I feel that at about the owners who should get more than a slap on the wrist.

      1

    • Either Hinch couldn’t control his players and coaches, making him feckless and impotent as a leader, or he knew what was happening, supported it or even encouraged it, and continues to lie about it.

      Either way, who will want to hire him to run their clubhouse in either case?

  71. poor red Sox and astro fans, you now have tainted world series champions lol

    3

  72. Cheating is an ugly stain on the great game we all love, I would permanently ban them all from any future MLB jobs.

    3

  73. Another thing……how or will it affect Mookie getting the payout as a FA? Mookie is gone, n I hope they trade him soon.

  74. Nobody should be applauding this dumpster fire. If these guys were doing it, so were others. I doubt this is the end of it.

    • It’s another sad day for baseball. What you’re saying is it could get sadder. True.

  75. Question… Will Luhnow, Hinch and Coras contracts be voided…or will they be paid the remaining balances. Because they shouldn’t receive another dime. If they are paid going forward, then Pete Rose belongs in th Hall of Fame.

  76. Can we discuss how AJ Hinch smashed equipment (more than once) and yet never told anyone to stop? So Hinch objects with physical violence to equipment used for cheating, but Cora( his bench coach) continues to cheat? Cora, Hinch and Lucknow never discuss Hinch’s destroying corporate equipment? Was Hinch or his family threatened by Beltran and Cora during this period? Cora moves to Boston with a refined cheating technique? Joe Torre has no clue of any cheating for years. Neither Crane and his idiot family have no idea of cheating? John Henry is oblivious to cheating? Both coaching staffs are blameless?

    1

    • Ultimately Crane is responsible for Luhnow just like Luhnow is responsible for all the players actions? Why didn’t Crane make sure the commissioners misguided memo was in fact distributed???

      Not punishing Crane is just as senseless as punishing Luhnow for what the players did.

      3

  78. Not one player punished? Wow!!! Let this be a lesson to all those who actually stepped into the batter box and used technology to gain an advantage – your manager and gm will be suspended/fired for your actions! Why aren’t managers and gm’s fired for their players who use steroids, gamble and beat their wives? How about banning the person who attempted to white wash this situation? Make Baseball Great Again!

    7

    • Because they were cheating in plain sight. The supervisors (manager, gm) allowed illegal activity in the dugout. In any normal place of work where the supervisors ALLOW illegal activity, the supervisors get the hammer. The employees (players) have plausible deniability (my supervisor said it was ok).

      • There’s no incentive for the players, who did the cheating, to stop with this punishment structure. But perhaps the commissioners office isn’t concerned with the cheating and steroid use in comparison to revenue?

        1

    • 50 men….ooops 52 men out….. or else apoligize to the 1919 white sox.

      1

  83. The issue is not the fact they stole the signs. The issue is that in 2017 the commissioner sent out a letter thru email telling all ball clubs that if they were using electronics to steal signs for them to stop immediately.
    These 2 teams obviously ignored it and are now paying the price.
    But if you don’t think more teams than just them were stealing signs than you are dumb. Just watch a game and look at how many sets of signs a catcher goes thru when there is nobody on base.
    It has been wide spread throughout baseball and these teams got caught and refused to stop and were made an example of.
    Rumors of sign stealing in this fashion goes back to the white sox in the 80s. Rumor has it a light would go on in the stadium somewhere when an off speed pitch was coming
    Also I know for a fact that in 98 the Mets instituted cameras down the lines and behind home plate to supposedly catch pitchers/hitters to see their swings and tendencies and after every pitch the home plate camera would fall to the 3rd base side and catch the signs the 3rd base coach would be throwing out to the batter & any runners on
    Both Steve Phillips and Bobby Valentine admitted to it
    I don’t agree with their brash arrogance in continuing to do it when the commissioner said to stop but it would be horrible if any of these guys never get to coach again.
    Lunhow is a diffrent story because in 2017 he refused to even bring the letter to the attention of Hinch. His arrogance was at a whole different level so I hope he doesn’t come back but the other 2 deserve to pay their respected punishment and at some point in time get another opportunity somewhere

    1

    • I’d argue that Hinch, who was in a perfect position to stop it (and didn’t), should be banned for a very long time. From what I heard earlier, Hinch knew about what was going on, didn’t condone it, and didn’t do a damn thing to stop it. Just turned a blind eye. That’s a tacit OK in my book and he is close to being equally at fault as Cora is and thus deserves a harsher punishment.

      1

      • Hinch was in a tough spot because of his reputation in Arizona for being not popular with the players. He took the choice of breaking the equipment instead of ratting everybody out.

        • That’s a pretty weak excuse for allowing it to go on during his watch…he’s the manager, and the players go by his rules…..and his higher than though attitude doesn’t help either! Remember when he laughed when accused during the divisional series against the Yankees?

          1

      • look at you with your moral superiority in your ivory tower. #OutrageCulture

        1

        • Look at you, in your idiot bubble completely unaware of how the real word works.

        • have you ever done anything morally wrong aloop? has anyone ever found out about it? or did you cover it up too? America – land of the hypocrite home of the slave.

  85. By by Cora!! Damn cheat!!
    Had to cheat 2 years in a row to beat my DODGERS….. you should be banned for LIFE…..

    2

    • NO RED SOX CHEATING DURING THE PLAYOFFS!!! Dodgers just lost to a superior team. Deal with it Bridesmaid!

      1

      • Bridesmaid??? This is like the fifth post I see from you crying that “they didn’t cheat in the playoffs.” Oh-Tay!!!

        4

    • Dodger fan here as well: I think both teams should be stripped of their titles. Not that the titles should be given to the Dodgers (because their are other teams that both the Astros and Red Sox beat who would complain, and rightfully so) but just do it like the NCAA: vacate the title so no one won.

      3

  86. The awful stain these people have put on MLB will not fade with time. I believe it will only get worse. Hinch, Cora and Beltran will never work for a major league team again. This will fester with the fans and the baseball media. The perpetrators may think that time will heal all things, but they will be proven wrong. Personally, I’m disgusted.

  87. This doesn’t necessarily mean players won’t be punished maybe their just trying to get the managers coaches etc out of the way 1st

    • Actually it does: Joel Sherman just said Beltran isn’t going to be punished because MLB decided not to deal with players. (Which is ridiculous: if you wanted to punish the players, just vacate the title). Manfred is half assing his response to this (some of which is because of their CBA) and it’s not looking good, IMO.

    • Players won’t be punished per Joel Sherman, not just Beltran. Sorry for not being clear earlier.

  88. If Cora isn’t banned for a significant amount of time (life would be appropriate, but I’d take 10 years), then baseball will, IMO, have lost whatever credibility it had left after the laughably light punishments handed out to the Astros.

    2

    • Any team that values character and integrity would fire Beltran, the Mets aren’t that type of team. Fortunately the NY media won’t forget Beltran’s statements when he was introduced. Mets, fire the cheater.

      1

  90. Mutually agreed to part ways….lmao

    Yeah because Cora’s integrity is off the charts and he couldn’t live with the guilt so he mutually decided to part ways….okay sure….this was 100% Red Sox decision

    2

  92. TIME TO ALLW FOR THE WHOLE SIGNAGE SYSTEM IN BASEBALL TO BECOME OBSOLETE.

    IMPLEMENT TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS THE PITCHER AND CATCHER TO COMMUNICATE ELECTRONICALLY. (SMARTWATCH OR EARPIECE)

  93. At this hour, Chaim Bloom is wishing he stayed in his little corner cubicle in Tampa…..
    Pretty reasonable that Ron Roenike (sp) gets the job……

    • Chaim Bloom has done nothing to help this ball club. He’s been completely ineffective when he could have easily made a splash to nullify some of the spanking we have been given. He’s taking us to 4th Place next year.

      • What would you have had Bloom do by now? Disperse all overpaid talent to get under the lux tax line? Hire overpaid FAs willy-nilly to go for it in Betts’s last year? Mo’st CEOs in baseball get a chance to get used to their team and its assets. Alex Antopolous did NOTHING in Atlanta for the first year after he ahd taken over. Bloom, on the other hand, has to solve the immense problems of salaries that amount to something over ownership’s (sudden) goal and the even more sudden loss of the team’s manager. So you’re not knocked out by Peraza and Perez. You might really like Brice and Hildenberger. Let Bloom work.

        • Desperate times call for desperate measures. He was brought in to fix our problem. Either rebuild or go all in, not keep the team the same.

  94. Imo, the cheating isn’t nearly as reprehensible as the whitewashing of the situation and the use of the gm and coach as fall guys (for the players who actually did the cheating and an ownership who is ultimately responsible for the GM and coach).

    3

    • It’s insane that the organisation hasn’t had their title vacated…. at the very least. Like stunningly so.

      2

  95. This ball club is in shambles right now. First Dombrowski, then not trading Betts, now Cora. 2020 is going to be dismal. We are better off rebuilding from scratch.

  96. Man how can you call ur self a word series champion after this BS Yankees 2017 word series champions