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Boston Red Sox: Grading the team after their fast 2021 start

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MA - MAY 12: A general view of the stadium facade during a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics on May 12, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 12: A general view of the stadium facade during a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics on May 12, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – MARCH 01: Pitching coach Dave Bush #58 of the Boston Red Sox looks on prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves during a Grapefruit League spring training game at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on March 01, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – MARCH 01: Pitching coach Dave Bush #58 of the Boston Red Sox looks on prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves during a Grapefruit League spring training game at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on March 01, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Red Sox management has done the job on and off the field

To me manager Alex Cora will always be ethically challenged, but that does not take away from the job he has done so far in 2021. This is not a great team but is a very good one.  Cora has masterfully managed a roster that certainly has many moveable parts. The improvement in pitching is a plus and Cora does mix and match well with both position players and pitchers.

Pitching coach Dave Bush is certainly having some quite respectable results with his pitchers. Jason Varitek is now a game coordinator and undoubtedly has a positive impact since he works with both Bush and hitting instructor Tim Hyers. Third base coach Carlos Febles has done a decent job with stop signs. No “this guys gotta go” on social media. Tom Goodwin at first has mastered the art of an MLB arse pat when a player reaches first.

Chaim Bloom is having a far more productive 2021 than 2020. In the previous season, everything turned to muck as the Red Sox had a turnstile approach to their roster. Seems as soon as a player – invariably a pitcher – was released elsewhere Boston signed him, tossed him into the fire, and got burned.

Cora shakes up his lineup to end losing streak. dark. Next

This year Bloom is getting his share of attaboys – and rightfully so – for the early success. The farm system is also rising out of the swamp with a few names of promise surfacing.  And some of those names are the result of sharp deals.

GRADE A

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