Yankees: Smug Alex Cora embarrassingly now ‘favorite’ for Red Sox job

Yankees fans should be furious that MLB is going to forgive Alex Cora and let him walk to the Red Sox ONE YEAR LATER.

From the City That Never Sleeps to the City That Should Be Kept Up At Night By This Decision But Won’t Be, Yankees fans wish Alex Cora nothing but the worst of luck as the once-and-future Red Sox manager.

We saw this all coming just about eight minutes after the Sox pulled the trigger on Cora’s charade firing, of course, especially when they hired the most obvious stopgap in baseball history to man the position in Ron Roenicke. They might as well have signed a wine cork to a one-year deal.

The easily-removed Roenicke was jettisoned a few weeks back, as Cora sat in the weeds ready to reclaim the throne he believed was “rightfully” his, firing off a million “cryptic tweets” on his birthday that weren’t all that cryptic, really.

Cora, once thought of as the ring leader of the Astros’ cheating scheme (but he’d never cheat to 108 wins the very next year, no way, uh uh), was expected to field a three-year, or perhaps lifetime, ban when punishment was being doled out. But once Rob Manfred decided he’d only get a single season, this moment was written in the stars, and Cora now ranks as the “favorite” for the Sox job. His infuriating return is just around the corner.

Interesting that Jon Heyman mentions the support of “owners, players and fans” but not Chaim Bloom, the team’s chief decision-maker who seems to be the only thing potentially standing in the way here.

Also interesting that nothing matters.

But hey, what should we expect from a country that’s given George W. Bush a second life as a Never Trumper who’s now mainly known for dog paintings? Exiled figures usually see a rebirth in popularity if they simply wait on the sidelines giggling for a few years until our five-second attention span has moved on to absorbing more devastation elsewhere.

For Cora to return to his post just one year after being pushed out as a proven cheater is a special form of embarrassment, though. Does he deserve a second chance in this game? If you ask me, honestly: No! Neither does AJ Hinch! But many industry figures, fans and casual observers will say that, after some penance is paid, these people should be cleared to seek employment.

Fine. Sure. But Hinch isn’t returning to the Astros; his next chapter will be in Detroit or Chicago. To let the disgraced figure return immediately to the scene of the crime (and yes, there were crimes in Boston that were swept under the rug)? It’s like Joe Biden winning and hiring Donald Trump to be his Secretary of State.

And, don’t forget: Cora may very well be guiltier than Hinch! Hinch was extremely forthcoming about his role in the Astros’ scandal; insiders believe his was mostly a case of failed leadership and pathetic semi-refusals to participate in the scheme while ultimately benefitting quite a bit. He had to go…but…Cora was THE GUY! The man on the bench who used his special relationship with the players to streamline a scheme unlike any other. All he’s said in the aftermath was that Houston’s plan wasn’t a one-man operation; he’s never denied being among the leadership group.

The Red Sox should be loudly booed in every road stadium, Astros-style, when Cora returns to his pedestal. But they won’t be. Inexplicably, that type of reaction is saved for the one-title-in-20-years Yankees, the team the nation’s mongrels still hate as a non-thinking badge of honor.

I’ve had months to grapple with this very obvious decision, so ultimately, I’ll get over it. As long as the Red Sox also re-hire the mastermind of their cheating scandal: Scapegoat assistant video staffer JT Watkins. Fair is fair. Justice for JT!

Luckily, this time around is a little different. We now have two years of evidence of Cora’s work, not one. 2018 was magical. 2019 was moribund. In 2018, he pressed every button correctly. In 2019, his shameful whining grew extremely stale. Remember when he pointed the finger at Carlos Beltran in the Yankees’ front office as the reason his team was getting stomped in London?

Yes, Cora will be reunited with Rafael Devers, his star pupil. But he won’t be reunited with Mookie Betts, and he’ll be battling 24 months of Bostonian baggage and a potential budding curse, ushered in by a newly-skittish ownership group, bathing in Liverpool cash and giving Bloom the spare change. Perhaps Cora will revitalize everything. More likely, though, he’ll be a shiny distraction on top of an under-budget roster.

After 2018? I’d be terrified. After 2019? Bring it on, and accept the karmic complications. Things began to unravel under Cora in ’19. Let’s finish the job, however unacceptable and transparent the reunion may be on the surface.

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