Red Sox media discussing Alex Cora-Chaim Bloom power struggle helps Yankees fans cope

Unless you're a generational manager, there's no world, especially in this day and age, in which the man in the dugout has the upper hand over the guy calling the shots in the front office. Imagine that, New York Yankees fans? For as much as you might dislike Brian Cashman, it'd be outright laughable to think Aaron Boone had any sort of influence over his job status.

But that's seemingly what could eventually go down in Boston. This week, Red Sox reporters talked about a hypothetical "power struggle" between manager Alex Cora and president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.

Sox fans, in a recent mailbag episode of the Fenway Rundown podcast, wondered what might happen at the end of this season with the way the team is trending. One listener asked if this could be the final season fans see Cora and Bloom working together.

It's worth asking because ... couldn't either guy get fired? Outside of 2018 and 2021, Cora's proven to be nothing more than a run-of-the-mill manager. His 2019 and 2022 seasons were downright terrible. We have no choice but to give him credit for 2021, but that had "devil magic" written all over it.

Hell, he's going to go down in the record books for 2018, but there are even question marks surrounding the integrity of that season given his prominent role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal the year prior. MLB unearthed some illegal practices from the Sox en route to their World Series title.

Yankees Rumors: Could Red Sox endure power struggle at end of 2023?

Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo thinks Cora's influence in Boston is so strong that the most likely way for him to leave the organization would be under his own terms. Cotillo's the insider here, so we'll take his word for it, but doesn't that sound patently insane?

Cora's toxicity has been well-documented, dating back to his days in Houston when he drunkenly berated the team on a bus and had to be kicked off after an incident with manager AJ Hinch. This man has unequivocal support from Red Sox brass? He is 402-326 as a manager! How does that make you bullet proof?

This isn't to say Bloom is without his faults. His personnel decisions have been among the worst in the league for a big market team ever since he took over in Boston. One would just think that if one of these guys goes at the end of the year, then the other does, too. What's the sense in keeping one or the other?

Once this season concludes, that marks three years of Cora and Bloom working together. It'll be one magical ALCS run, one dumpster fire 2022, and one very bizarre 2023 (if this continues). It's hard to pin the blame on one party, especially since the ownership group put the organization in this position. But even still, neither Cora nor Bloom have made the most of it.

Cora rode sign-stealing practices and Dave Dombrowski's aggression to a World Series ring. Then he choked away an ALCS in 2021, his only other playoff appearance. If the Red Sox are going to die by his side, then hey, Yankees fans are certainly on board with that.

Best of luck to the next guy taking over Boston's front office, if this is the reality.