With all that's been going on in the Boston Red Sox universe, it's becoming more and more clear that the decision to fire Alex Cora was an effort at deflection from Craig Breslow. Sam Kennedy made it clear that it was Breslow who was behind the decision to scapegoat Cora, even if Breslow had misrepresented it as more of a joint decision.
At the same time, Breslow's put a target on his own back. He admitted that he put together a flawed roster that was "challenging to manage." Given that it's Breslow, not Cora, who was the architect of this deficient group, it would seem logical that he would be forced out rather than the manager.
With no one else to throw under the bus, one has to wonder at which point Breslow ends up in the crosshairs and John Henry steps in to relieve him of his duties as well.
When John Henry and the Red Sox finally dismiss Craig Breslow?
Firing Cora has bought Breslow some time, but soon his malfeasance will stack up and force Henry to make a move. This is a guy who knew he needed a power bat in the offseason, but all he did was make a ridiculous, low-ball offer to Pete Alonso and then give the lamest excuse possible when he came up short. That led to a roster where the projected home run leader was pegged for just 18 dingers by preseason projection systems.
Breslow's cardinal sin has been his mismanagement of the Rafael Devers-Alex Bregman situation from start to finish. It was bad enough that his failure to communicate caused the rift that led to the Devers trade. It was unforgivable that he let Bregman slip through his fingers just one year after bringing him to Boston.
But what was really damning was giving up James Tibbs III, part of the Devers return package, for two miserable months of Dustin May, and now the Sox have had to watch Tibbs III light the world on fire in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system. The entire thread unraveling has made Henry and his celebratory cigar photo look immensely foolish.
At this point, conventional wisdom says that the move will allow for a reset. Everyone will be given some runway to perform, which likely brings us to the trade deadline. At that point, Breslow will likely execute a couple of underwhelming trades and shortly thereafter will be let go.
The one factor that could accelerate that timeline is if Cora's trolling campaign continues to make the organization look ridiculous, and the players give up completely. That would throw Boston even further into the abyss, and given Trevor Story's recent comments, a mutiny seems inevitable.
The more of a distraction this stuff becomes, the more the timeline shrinks. Henry is a pretty hands-off owner, but the more embarrassment he and his team suffer, the more motivated he'll be to pull the trigger on Breslow's ticket out of town.
Unfortunately, the likely scenario is that Breslow has a few more months, including a draft and a very important trade deadline, before he'll be gone and we'll all mercifully be free of Breslow's ineptitude. By that point, the damage will already be done.
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