Cora diplomatic with pick
‘Loves’ both Betts, Martinez
CLEVELAND — Alex Cora knows the right answer but he also knows he can’t win if he answers honestly when asked, like he was yesterday, about who should be the American League MVP if it’s between Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez.
With the wisdom of King Solomon, Cora punted.
“I don’t have a vote — I’ve got twins, and I love them both, I love my twins, I love them both,” he said. But c’mon, just pretend you had a vote.
“In the NFL, they have the offensive player of the year and the MVP — that’s a pretty good way to do it,” said Cora. “I think we should do it in the big leagues.”
Right there is Cora’s answer. Martinez is the superior offensive player, a true, professional slugger who has a shot at the Triple Crown if he can up his 41-homer total heading into last night and overtake Khris Davis (45) plus catch Betts (.339-.330). He had a decent lead in RBI, 124-111, over Davis. If he makes it, some voters might be swayed by the sexiness the Triple Crown still enjoys in some quarters and cast a vote for him.
But for a player who started only 56 of his 144 games in the outfield and the other 88 as the DH, Martinez comes up short against Betts and the superlative defense he provides in right field.
That’s why Betts’ WAR on both FanGraphs (9.4) and Baseball-reference. com (10.2) led everybody else in the major leagues through Friday.
Take away defense and Martinez’ output is a littler better than Betts’ in some counting and rate categories.
But defense certainly does add value to the Most Valuable Player equation. Just don’t ask Cora to confirm that.
Mookie tonight?
Betts, who’s been dealing with left side soreness, could be back in the lineup in the outfield tonight. He was the DH in New York for two games.
“He’s doing OK — I was the one who decided not to play him (last night),” said Cora. “I think in two days, he’ll play catch and we’ll see if he plays the outfield (tonight) and then will probably play three in a row from (tonight) on and we’ll see what we do the rest of the way.” …
Eduardo Nunez (left hamstring) will be sidelined for the rest of this series.
“Nunez is feeling better,” said Cora. “As you know, we’re going to stay away from him this weekend. But I just saw him, he was doing a few tests, jumping, moving around, the goal is for him to play in the next series.” …
Because Hector Velazquez pitched Friday night, that threw in doubt who will start tonight’s game. It was supposed to be Velazquez, but Cora wanted to see first how last night’s starter Rick Porcello pitched before announcing plans. Brian Johnson threw innings 6-9 in relief of Porcello and Robby Scott, taking him out of the mix, with
Drew Pomeranz needed in the 11th. That leaves William Cuevas in what could end up a nationally televised bullpen game.
Wright situations
The Sox remain keen on exposing Steven Wright to as many relief situations as possible. He’s been starting innings but Cora would like to see him come in with runners on base.
“When we get home, if there’s a situation that we feel we can use him with traffic, we’ll get him going and see how he looks,” said Cora.
The manager did not want to give the impression that roles and roster spots are up for grabs.
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s like we’re trying to test people now,” said Cora. “Like I said (Friday), I have a pretty good idea of how we’re going to do it in October. It’s always good to put them in different spots. (Ryan) Brasier, probably (Matt) Barnes once during the week before the playoffs. I think, it’s not that we’re just trying stuff out of the blue. But yeah, the Steven Wright one, I want to do that one before October.”
When it comes to catching Wright’s erratic knuckleball, Cora does not have a preference among Sandy Leon, Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart.
“All three are really good,” said Cora. “I think Christian has more experience throughout the years. But you saw it the other day. We pinch run for Christian and we put Sandy there and he was framing pitches and that’s impressive. Blake caught him early in the season and that was the first time Blake caught this season. We’re comfortable with them. They’re all good.”
Kimbrel heats up
Closer Craig Kimbrel has not blown a save since late July, has not allowed a run in 12 of his last 13 appearances and with 42 saves entering last night, he still had a shot at catching Tom Gordon’s franchise mark of 46 saves set in 1998.
After a midseason stint in which his appearances were getting shaky, he’s righted his own ship.
“Mechanics-wise they found something that was off, it started in Baltimore (in late July), he wasn’t able to land the breaking ball and obviously when you become a one-pitch pitcher at this level it’s tough,” said Cora. “He struggled with command, too. They fixed it and I agree with you. He’s throwing his best.”