Cora plans to connect
Skipper emphasizes player relationships
FORT MYERS — There’s a new sheriff in town, but he doesn’t act like much of a sheriff at all.
More like a community organizer.
Alex Cora is quite different than John Farrell, which was crystal clear yesterday morning when the new Red Sox manager sat on the long green bench that the old Red Sox manager occupied for the past five years and answered reporters’ questions for the first time this spring.
Cora spoke for 20-plus minutes and showed stark contrast to his predecessor, offering few analytical assessments of players while instead spending the majority of the time emphasizing a desire to connect with them on a personal level. The Sox roster is almost identical to last year’s, but this is all brand new to Cora, who has already spent off-field time with a handful of players ahead of his first year as a manager at any level.
“It keeps you young, man,” Cora said. “You spend time with them on a daily basis, let’s say from 2 p.m. to 10 or 10:30 p.m., hopefully, but there’s more. There’s more that goes on in their lives and in my life.”
The story of the day was David Price, who chose to make himself available to the media for the spring’s first press conference as the pitcher attempts to overhaul his image while making peace with fans and reporters after a contentious first two years in Boston.
Price said he regretted the drama he was involved in last year and hopes to be more of a leader.
Cora had little to say about that. Rather than inject himself into the fray, Cora took more of a subdued approach, avoiding opinionated takes and instead stressing the relationship between manager and player.
“I know David, in his case, he has a baby that’s eight or nine months old,” Cora said. “I’ve got mine (twins), they’re six (months). We can talk about that and how you go about that. All kidding aside, I’ve been saying, you’re human beings, and if you only concentrate on baseball, it becomes a grind. It becomes a long season.
“You have to connect with them and learn about their families and learn about them off the field and that makes it a more fulfilling experience.”
Price went out of his way to mention how he appreciated his conversations with Cora.
“It’s casual conversation,” Cora said. “It’s not always about baseball, and I think that’s good. We have a good relationship already, and that’s talking more than just baseball.”
Price isn’t the first to appreciate Cora’s efforts.
“Better communication will help a lot for us,” catcher Christian Vazquez said. “He likes to have fun, man. He’s been there before. I think that’s going to help us to win more games.”
Did the players think a leadership change was necessary?
“Honestly, I didn’t care,” Price said. “I didn’t have a problem with Manager John. I didn’t have a problem with it.”
Cora’s ability to connect with people on a personal level is undoubtedly something that separated him from other candidates and made him a priority hire shortly after Farrell was fired, despite having just a year of major league coaching experience. But he made it clear he’s not just here to make friends.
“We’ll make adjustments,” Cora said. “For me personally, this is a unique group. I’ve been making adjustments since Nov. 2 (the day after winning the World Series as bench coach of the Houston Astros) or before that. Talk to players, talk to coaches, front office, everybody. Everybody’s in the same boat. Honestly, I feel very comfortable with the group. It seems like the coaching staff helps me out in that sense. We have guys that have been part of this organization before, veteran guys like (bench coach) Ron (Roenicke). That’s going to help me. But I don’t expect them to, quote-unquote, like me right away. Obviously as a player, I know I went through that process and it’s always like, ‘Let’s see how he acts. Let’s see what he brings to the table.’ I’m comfortable. I’m comfortable with the situation and comfortable with the group and this is going to work.”
Cora hopes to address the team at some point soon, but isn’t sure if he’ll wait for the full roster to arrive.
“I’ve been thinking about it,” he said. “I’ve been here for a week, and I’m going back and forth how to address the team. Do I wait for everybody to be here? Do I talk to pitchers and catchers (today)? ... Like I said, my style is yet to be determined, but one thing for sure, enjoy the process. Relax through it. That’s very important because the more you enjoy it and more relaxing the environment, the better it’s going to be for you. That’s going to be part of it.”