The Baltimore Orioles lost to Boston by 16 runs yesterday, as we know. So the timing certainly seems odd for Boston to fire manager Alex Cora and a handful of other coaches. What, had they won by 20 would they still have jobs?!
Probably not. I suspect that owner John Henry mad the decision to let go of Cora (and others) after the Orioles beat Boston on Friday night. But when yesterday’s game time was moved up due to impending weather, they had to let him manage yesterday’s game because of the quick turnaround.
They also had to give new interim manager Chad Tracy time to join his new team. Tracy was formerly the manager at triple-A Worcester. At 40, Tracy isn’t even the youngest manager in the major leagues.
Keep in mind that at least on paper, this is the second time Cora’s parted ways with Boston. After he was suspended for a year in 2020 due to his roll in the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal, the organization announced a “mutual parting of ways.” Yet when his suspension ended he was “rehired.”
If you’re a Boston fan, you can’t be thrilled with the start to the season. However firing a manager this early is a draconian move, and it reaks of desperation. Never mind the message that firing most of the coaching staff sends.
The Orioles fired Brandon Hyde last year on May 17th. I thought that was draconian also, however needless to say it was a few weeks further into the season. Furthermore Hyde was an employee that the current ownership inherited. Alex Cora’s been involved with John Henry for a long time. He won a World Series as the manager of the Boston Red Sox.
So I would submit that in the absence of evidence that Cora behaved inappropriately or anything along those lines, this is a black mark on ownership. Not only is it overly-draconian for this point in one season, but it’s a manager with a long history with the franchise. Simply put, you don’t treat someone like that.
That aside, the Orioles now face off against an opponent very much in flux this afternoon. It’s entirely possible that some of the players may be meeting their new coaches for the first time when they get to Camden Yards this morning. (Many of them may already be familiar with him, of course.) One would think that sort of confusion would bode well for the O’s today.
One would think. Those can often be famous last words. I suspect that it goes without saying that the bludgeoning the Orioles took yesterday was an anomaly for this year. That sort of game happens to every team at least once. I use the term anomaly because keep in mind that the final ten runs of the game came in the ninth inning against a reliever just back from injury (Keegan Akin, who probably shouldn’t have been back for the ninth inning as it stood), and a position player.
But teams have a way of rallying. The Orioles need to make sure Boston isn’t able to do that today. Obviously they got a shot in the arm with yesterday’s game. It took the 2025 Orioles a few games to win for the first time under Tony Mansolino. Different situation, obviously. But the last thing the Orioles want to do is put their Boston opponents in a position to say we’re so happy to have been able to win for Alex today.
Again, I see this as a black mark on Boston ownership. You have to stay the course in life, and in sports. Firing the manager and virtually the entire coaching staff in April is a failure on an organizational level. Hopefully the Orioles can take full advantage today. Especially seeing that they’re playing against an inexperienced young man who’s managing a new team in a big league dugout for the first time.
Birdland Crush 