Left-right out of order
Cora won’t worry about lineup style
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
FORT MYERS — The names will look much different on Opening Day, but there might have been something telling about the way Red Sox manager Alex Cora stacked his hitters for yesterday’s exhibition opener.
The lineup started with four left-handed hitters in a row. It might not be that extreme in the regular season, but Cora said splitting lefties and righties won’t be a priority.
“It doesn’t matter,” Cora said. “You put the best lineup out there. I hate to bring up last year because I want to turn the page, but you saw what happened (with the Astros lineup) at the end. We had five righties. It didn’t matter. If you can hit, you can hit.”
Cora was the Astros bench coach last season when they started their lineup with five right-handed hitters for Game 7 of the World Series. And that was against a right-handed starter.
“Throughout the minor leagues you face lefties and righties,” Cora said. “And all of a sudden, your first month in the big leagues, and (left-handed hitters) can’t hit lefties. I never got that. Probably have to make that decision later on, but it doesn’t matter.”
Cora expects to go right, left, right at the top of his regular lineup, but beyond
Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Ramirez — and eventually, J.D. Martinez -— Cora will have a mix of righties and lefties to choose from.
Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Nunez, Dustin Pedroia and Christian Vazquez hit right-handed. Rafael Devers, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mitch Moreland hit lefthanded.
Cora could stack Devers and Moreland for power in the middle, or he could stack Bogaerts and Nunez for batting average and speed. The day-to-day order, Cora said, will be the product of advance metrics that go beyond left-right matchups and past success. And it might vary from game to game.
“It doesn’t have to be about platoon,” Cora said. “It has to be about the stuff and the swing you have. Also, it doesn’t have to be about history. Tito (Terry Francona) used to play me against Padilla — you remember Vicente Padilla? — he would play me, and I was never comfortable in the batter’s box. I thought he was an awful at-bat. But because I was 5-for-7, he’ll play me.
“But it was a bleeder here, a bleeder there, but that doesn’t mean it was a productive advantage for the hitter. So, there’s more to lineup configuration.”
Twinbill sweep
After one day of exhibition games, we know this much about the Red Sox: They’re good enough to beat a college team.
Opening spring training with a doubleheader against Northeastern and Boston College, the Sox didn’t use too many big leaguers and didn’t need them either. They pounded the Huskies, 15-2, in the opener, then finished off the Eagles, 4-2.
Brock Holt was one of the few familiar names to have more than one at-bat, and he went 2-for-2 in the first game. Sam Travis was one of the biggest names in the second game, and he had an RBI double. What stood out to Cora, though, was Bradley running over from center field to backup Benintendi on a fly ball to left.
“The way (Bradley) plays, the way he goes about his business,” Cora said. “I heard about it, I saw it today in batting practice, and then you see that from him. If that’s the effort around here I’m going to get from them, I know I’m in a great spot, but this is awesome.”
Injury updates
Joe Kelly was fine after being hit by a comebacker on Wednesday. He took yesterday off, but Cora said Kelly remains on schedule for a normal spring. He’s set to pitch Sunday along with fellow big league relievers Matt Barnes, Carson
Smith and Robby Scott.
Nunez is going through fielding drills and batting practice, but he might not play in games until March. The Sox are bringing him along slowly after last year’s knee injury.
Eduardo Rodriguez is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Monday. It would be his first bullpen since offseason knee surgery.
What’s next?
The Red Sox open the Grapefruit League schedule against the Twins today. Hector Velazquez, who made spot starts last year and could do the same this season, will start.
Cora expects to use defensive shifts in today’s game. The Sox are expected to shift more often under Cora than they did under John Farrell ....
The team is still waiting to make its signing of Martinez official. That press conference could happen as early as this morning.