Perfect playbook
Cora should bring Astro lessons here
LOS ANGELES — Alex Cora looked all around Dodger Stadium and saw the faces he couldn’t bring with him to Boston.
Usually stoic Carlos Beltran, overwhelmed with emotion. Young Carlos Correa, having just become engaged on national television. Undersized Jose Altuve, a giant among his peers.
The Astros took turns with the World Series trophy, and their bench coach just kept smiling.
“I mean, this is an unbelievable team,” Cora said. “A lot of talent. They can beat any opponent in different ways. I know we’re going to talk about (the Red Sox) in the next few days, but I mean, I learned a lot this year from dealing with players, dealing with (the) front office, dealing with the media, dealing with fans, and winning. That’s a good learning process.”
When the euphoria fades, the next job begins. And the new Red Sox manager will begin trying to get his new team into that dizzying scrum the Astros experienced on Wednesday. He can’t bring all of Houston’s young talent, but he can bring a few lessons about the way that talent was amassed, deployed and treated on its way to a championship.
Go beyond the numbers While the Astros have a welldocumented tendency toward advanced metrics and statistical analysis, they also filled some gaps by acquiring players who broke that mold.
Numbers will show that Beltran played well below replacement level, and that Brian McCann had one of his worst seasons. Offseason analysis will show that signing Josh Reddick for four years and Charlie Morton for two were not universally praised decisions.
But the Astros credit those four with bringing much needed experience, wisdom and bravado to a clubhouse that already had most of its raw talent in place. You can’t build a team solely on intangibles, but there’s something to be said for those background players who help the headliners thrive.
Push for the missing piece
If at some point during his Red Sox tenure Cora feels confident his team is one piece away from being championship-caliber, he’ll surely remember Justin Verlander and push Dave Dombrowski to make the move.
The Astros acquired Verlander just seconds before the Aug. 31 cutoff for playoff eligibility, and he ended up making 11 starts in September and October. The Astros won 10 of them.
Sure, he lost Game 6 of the World Series, but Verlander pitched well, and his presence alone showed the Astros clubhouse that ownership believed they could win it all.
Show patience with youth
George Springer was a slamdunk choice for World Series MVP, but let’s not overlook the big hits throughout this postseason by 23-year-old third baseman Alex Bregman. And let’s also not forget that Bregman had a .650 OPS in April and hit just .215 with limited power in June.
Prospects are suspects, and even when they have some big league time, there’s still a natural inclination to wonder whether they’ll live up to the hype. Cora’s going to face that kind of uncertainty with Rafael Devers and perhaps even with Andrew Benintendi, but he can look back on Bregman as a reminder that patience is a virtue.
Bregman came into this season with big league experience similar to Devers, and after an uneven first half, his slugging percentage jumped more than 100 points after the All-Star break. Devers may be similarly uneven, and similarly capable.
Embrace the unexpected Even with all that offensive talent, the Astros’ RBI leader was Marwin Gonzalez, a former Rule 5 pick. Their All-Star set-up man was Chris Devenski, a 25thround draft pick. Their rotation savior turned versatile postseason reliever was Brad Peacock, a 29-year-old who never before had much big league staying power.
Did we mention that their MVP candidate was Altuve, who was always the smallest guy on the field?
Whether it’s sorting through his middle-inning relief candidates, finding a short-term replacement at second base, or considering the possibility of a Triple-A standout like Bryce Brentz in a platoon role, Cora will have plenty of choices to make. The Astros surely taught him to keep his mind open to all possibilities.
Show trust, build confidence
The last manager Cora saw in action was A.J. Hinch, who had an engaging personality with fans and media, while building a strong bond with his players and coaching staff.
“He’s a guy that lets you go out there and do your thing,” Altuve said. “But he also says something when he thinks he needs to do it. … Like, OK, he trusts me, but if I do something that is wrong or something, he’s going to get out there and let me know. But he let us know what we have to do in the best way he could do it. Never lies. He never disrespects his players.”
That’s a worthy model for Cora to follow his first time running the show.