Who is most to blame for the 4-game series disaster? Is manager Alex Cora at all to blame for Devers' struggles? #MLB
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00:00We did if we did a rankings in order who is most to blame for the one the four game disaster the
00:06worst weekend by any hitter with that amount of amount of strikeouts to start a season
00:11I would go Devers number one yeah then I would have like five miles of nothing
00:16and Alex Cora Alex Cora yeah I don't blame Alex Cora there have been a lot of people
00:21who have who have been blaming Alex Cora for this this morning I don't blame him for it at all
00:25no I I don't I blame him probably prior to the season like I don't put the weekend on the weekend
00:33or this series on just the plate of Devers because other than Campbell and let's not talk about what's
00:40on Devers's plate there's a lot of fat shitting going on other than Campbell and Abreu it almost
00:44seems like you know who else was really hitting the ball you know what I mean Casas Casas didn't
00:50do anything and you know but nobody else went oh for 60 nobody else in the history of baseball
00:56no I know nobody's ever done it no I I understand that I understand that you keep bringing up other
01:01players because the other because in baseball other plays Bregman had an opportunity in yesterday's
01:08game with with runners in scoring position and he did so I'm not gonna just drop it all on
01:14Devers plate did he have he also had a leadoff single stole second base and was on second with
01:19nobody out and didn't get driven in that was I think was that his first hit no that was his second
01:24hit maybe of the series all I'm saying is Devers had a bad series and yes you're part to blame of
01:31it but there guess what there's eight other batters in that lineup okay but I the the issue is not
01:37at least for me I didn't walk here and walk in here going oh boy Red Sox lost the first series
01:44of the Major League Baseball season they're done that's not what I know I didn't even but it's
01:50okay so the takeaway is Devers the takeaway is that you got a guy as your DH who you are paying
01:5830 million dollars a year for god knows how long another eight years or whatever it is
02:05who is miserable yep didn't participate in spring training from my perspective and now you got to
02:12spend the rest of the season trying to find some way to make him happy or figuring out what you're
02:18gonna do with them like it's it's it's not good when it's placing blame though I just wonder if
02:24we'd be seeing maybe a little bit of a different Devers if from jump Alex Cora said this Alex
02:31Bregman is our third baseman and Raphael Devers is gonna DH from jump when when they got Bregman
02:37like that's not what happened he they got Bregman and then every time the question presented itself
02:42Alex Cora said we're gonna see what happens we're gonna see what happens and you have Raphael
02:45Devers saying that he's the third baseman you have uh Alex Bregman saying that he'll do he'll
02:51play wherever Alex Cora tells him to you have Tristan Casas saying that it should be Devers
02:56at third base like but maybe but Courtney maybe they said that and then Devers refused to play
03:01the field and he made the answer very simple if Alex Cora said before spring started that
03:07Bregman was the third baseman you and others would say he didn't even get a chance to compete
03:12for his job yeah but we know it was me but it was all a dog a pony show right I mean there was no
03:17real so why didn't he play third if it's so important to the point that he takes rounders
03:21before the big leagues I think that we all know and he knows himself that he was never gonna play
03:28third base that it was Bregman's position as soon as they signed him Cora can say all he wants and
03:34it's an open competition and it's this and it's that I bet that he knew just like we all knew
03:40that well I mean Courtney you and I were the only ones were like oh he's still gonna play but
03:45everybody knew except us from day one this is Bregman's position right because he's better at
03:51third base but again if Devers really and truly believed that he could win the job or that he was
03:57best suited to play the field and hit then he should have been in the field you don't have any
04:02leg to stand on whatsoever when you choose not to compete and they get mad that you lost right
04:08the choose not to compete thing like I think that we are we are assuming that he was choosing that
04:14like I would like the afternoon or midday show or afternoon show Alex Cora to ask like whose
04:19decision was it for him not to go to Mexico whose decision was it for him not to get all of these
04:25live bats like well Alex Cora kept saying that it kept suggesting that he was going to be in the
04:30lineup and then he wasn't in the lineup right but I just I want that but don't you think that's on
04:35Raphael Devers I don't know no I don't think so why were they keeping him out of games then
04:40I all I know is shoulder injury when it was Mexico okay well if it's the shoulder injury
04:44then he shouldn't be de-aging now then well I'm able to show so what you're saying is Cora has
04:50basically no truck nuts where if he if Devers is ready to go Cora doesn't have enough juice
04:59in that clubhouse to say uh uh Devers you're going you're playing in spring training that's
05:06what you're saying yeah because he was miserable from the moment he arrived as soon as they said
05:12well I think let's just go back to March 4th ESPN.com story Red Sox slugger Raphael Devers
05:18pushes back spring training debut from the story Boston Red Sox slugger Raphael Devers who was
05:23expected to make his debut Tuesday has pushed it back after telling manager Alex Cora he did not
05:30feel ready okay so he didn't so that's not a decision by Alex Cora well he didn't feel ready
05:35because of the injury okay that was March 4th obviously Courtney in her lead was showing
05:42him taking BP and looking and you said he looked great yeah but that's why it doesn't make any
05:47sense to me where the disconnect happens like I I'm with Wiggy here where if you're Alex Cora
05:51you're the manager of this team if you're you have the you have the authority to say to Raphael
05:58Devers no training staff says you're ready to go get out there well and all we've heard hold on all
06:03we heard all through spring training when we were down there was that everybody was handling it like
06:07adults there was no bad blood Alex Bregman and Raphael Devers were getting along famously they
06:12were they were they were bouncing things off of each other we saw Raphael Devers out there
06:17practicing their base okay and we saw him taking so all right perfectly healthy to play well we
06:23don't know it's all I'm saying I don't want to argue with you all I'm saying is I would like
06:26the question asked to Alex Cora whose decision was it for him not to go to Mexico because Trevor
06:31Story and Raphael Devers did not make the trip so whose decision was it was it Raphael Devers
06:36saying I don't want to go or was it Alex Cora and the training staff saying he he should not go I'm
06:41all for that question being asked but I'm saying on March 4th okay the manager said that Devers
06:48said he wasn't ready to play this is a decision that Devers made to not play there's no way that
06:56the training staff would pass him and then have him not be able to take the field so and what
07:01when did he actually make his debut wasn't it like March 20th yeah like three weeks later and
07:06it kept getting pushed back this is all by Devers so I'm sorry Cora doesn't have enough juice to say
07:12no you're playing today right because it's a delicate situation that he didn't want to further
07:17exacerbate by forcing him into a spring training game you don't you don't look at the the way he
07:22conducted himself and see a temper tantrum oh yeah yeah I blame listen I'm blaming Devers for
07:28his kid-like behavior I mean I'm not saying that he didn't have a kid-like behavior but it's your
07:33job as the manager and it's your job as Alex Cora the guy that everybody tells me is like okay has
07:39his hand wrapped around the pulse of that clubhouse he's a player's manager well-respected
07:46it's your job if you know that the training staff is saying to you hey coach he can play today
07:54and if you go to Devers and say Devers all right we're playing your day in spring training and he
07:58goes well I'm not ready to go well you're playing we want you getting at bats like that's your job
08:04as the as the as the manager of this baseball team well I would think that the expectation
08:10is on a guy who's been around here for his entire career and that you're paying you've invested 30
08:18million bucks a year in him he was going to be the face of your franchise that he's going to
08:24be ready to hit the ball when it comes to opening day like I but we keep putting out these
08:29hypotheticals when we know every week there was a story in the month of March about Devers pushing
08:36back his return and we saw him with our own eyes we have the video that Courtney cited from the
08:42end of February where he looks ready and willing to do it and it's not like he's going out there
08:47playing nine innings you get one or two at bats you get done in the fourth inning and you go play
08:51golf like this Alex Cora did the very best he could walking a tightrope and Devers refused to
08:59play because he felt hurt by the team's decision to bring in a replacement and there are story
09:05after story about the timetable being pushed back at the behest of Devers then that's on you as a
09:11manager if you're a manager or a coach of a team and your player is telling you I don't want to
09:17play then you need to be criticized for the way that you manage that player because if that player
09:23is healthy and ready to go and he can help your ball club or he can help your team it's your job
09:28to say you're playing today you think Bill Belichick if somebody went to Bill and they
09:33were having a dispute over contract or whatever and they said you know what I don't feel ready
09:38to play in this preseason game Bill and even if it was a superstar to that level Bill's going to be
09:44like all right well I want to walk on eggshells I don't want to hurt nobody's feelings Bill's
09:48gonna say no you're gonna play today get your ass out there and that's the same respect that I would
09:52give Cora because I think he has that same type of juice in that clubhouse and I get that and Mike
09:58Vrabel told us this I get that Devers is that football no no I'm saying Vrabel told us I get
10:05Devers is acting like a baby or a clown or whatever adjective you want to use for him but Vrabel said
10:11you have to coach everybody differently so if you know Devers is being a baby you as a manager
10:18got to say to him behind the scenes hey you got to stop crying here and go out there and play
10:24right and I think that Alex Cora thought incorrectly that if he pushed him further
10:30to get on the field it would make the situation worse then that's wrong on Cora because clearly
10:35wrong is on Devers we're not we're not saying the wrong is on Devers but if Devers just goes
10:41to work this is a non-story if he if he doesn't complain about no he says I can play in the spring
10:49you keep saying this is why Devers that we don't know you don't know we don't know
10:55if Devers went to Cora and said I'm not ready to play Devers pushes back timetable for Curtis
11:01what you're doing is we don't know why Devers said that was it because of his shoulder bad
11:06chicken oh it could be because of his shoulder it was like allergies he showed up pissed off
11:12and made a big dramatic statement about how third base was his position right we would have you
11:17believe this was a big coincidence no no that's how we started spring training right after he was
11:23the guy last year who was when he decided to speak he was like get us help we need additional players
11:29right get us guys right and they go and get him Alex Bregman and he's pissed off about it right
11:35why are you excusing it I'm not excusing it what part we're having a back and forth you do not hear
11:42me excusing it what you hear me saying to you is that Devers is in the wrong but Cora could
11:48have handled this situation a lot differently and maybe we'd be in a different position and yes it's
11:54about the player but there's no way if Alex Cora publicly scolded Devers it would have landed us
11:58in a better spot you'll give me a headache talking to you because nobody's excusing it
12:04all I know but who I'm saying we're not excuse we agree on it we agree listen no if Alex Cora
12:09publicly scolded Devers and said this guy needs to get off get on the field do you think we would
12:14be in a better place today maybe no how do you know because I just I don't know how do you know
12:20to be that because I would not reply well because why because the guy showed up and immediately
12:26found microphones and started whining about how third base was his position asked one time we we
12:32should have said that his answer should have been I'll do whatever is best for the baseball team he
12:35didn't oh great but that was I'm not I'm not getting past it because it shows me exactly what
12:40he is okay so the point then it's you as a manager you have to step in when you got a malcontent or
12:48you got a crybaby as a player it's your job to step in and either say you're playing today
12:54and we're not dealing with this now here's a texter who agrees with you wiggy who says if
12:59Cora had a spine as wiggy is alluding to Devers would have been out there on March 4th bingo
13:07the same way if the same way and I put dollars to donuts on this one you don't have to yell
13:16I will I'm passionate about you it's the same way that if Tatum didn't like the situation that
13:24he was in and he said to Missoula I'm not ready to go you would sit here and say Missoula got
13:32no backbone because it's your job as the coach to make sure that the guy if he's healthy he's
13:37out there playing same way we would do a Bill Belichick the same way we do Bruce Cassidy
13:43Joe Monk uh it's a completely you're suggesting a completely different it's not a scenario
13:49Jason Tatum hasn't been no I'm not saying he has great it was better when you did the Jaylen Brown
13:58it's not a bizarre analogy it's just saying that we have to hold people accountable I'm holding
14:03Devers accountable he shouldn't be crying about it it's your job as a player to suck it up and
14:08go out there and play if then it's your job as a manager let me finish your job as a manager
14:14or a coach to make sure if your guy's healthy he's out there playing if Jason Tatum didn't play
14:21and refused to go on the floor there would be zero people blaming Missoula and everyone would
14:27be blaming Curtis and Greg would be saying Missoula got no backbone
14:34talking about March 4th that article whatever but if you go and you look at when the decision
14:39was made for Devers and Trevor Story not to go to Mexico it was that one decision the Red Sox have
14:44made is that Devers and Trevor Story will sit those games out with the two staying at the team's
14:50complexes then they go into Devers rehabbing his shoulder and Trevor Story uh the tweak in his back
14:55and that's why they didn't go to Mexico so that was a Red Sox decision not a Raphael Devers decision
14:59well you know Curtis Curtis ain't about the facts well the fact is on March 4th he was ready to play
15:03and he said no that's the fact the fact was he arrived he arrived miserable because he was
15:09we know he arrived miserable if he was in a different state of mind he's playing
15:12then it's your job as a manager isn't it the manager's job to make sure how much does Cora
15:16make and how much does Devers it doesn't matter is it of course it does you don't it's not Alex
15:21Cora's job to hold everybody's hand and to tell them you know what you're honestly you're a great
15:28third baseman uh we're gonna get you out there at some point you're still the face of this franchise
15:33like that's not his job but that's the job of a coach and Vrabel talked about it every coach
15:38talks about how everybody you have to handle differently so if you got to handle one guy
15:43with kid gloves then that's how you do it some other guys you can put your foot on their neck
15:49and you get the best out of them but it's your job as a manager to know your player's personality
15:54and handle them that way well then why are we blaming Devers for anything he was treated poorly
15:59but he was injured so he couldn't even play he still has to be he starts to man up and go out
16:04there and perform if his shoulder was an issue it come time to travel to Mexico then he should not
16:12be de-aging he should start the season on the IL and was his shoulder injured between March 4th and
16:18the Mexico trip I don't think so that would have been a big story I think well wasn't his shoulder
16:22an issue all spring training long