Alex Cora's Red Sox downfall puts fresh spin on Mariners' management harmony

No MLB organization's management is above criticism. In the case of the Seattle Mariners, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto isn't the best at messaging, while manager Dan Wilson often makes fans sweat with his bullpen management. See? That was easy.

But hey, at least they're not the Boston Red Sox.

Unless one wants to a do "six degrees of separation" thing with Joey Cora, the Mariners don't have a connection to the earth-shaking stuff going on with the Red Sox. Alex Cora is out as manager, with the boot also hitting several members of his coaching staff. It would seem excessive even after a 10-17 start, but this feels like the explosion of a long-volatile powder keg.

Cora was the guy who led Boston to a 108-win season and a World Series title in 2018. He was also the guy who signed a three-year, $21.75 million contract in 2024. Yet even though many of Boston's current problems can be traced back to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, let's be real that the shine had worn of Cora's golden boy credentials.

Even Cora's ostensibly solid communication skills couldn't get Rafael Devers to chill the heck out prior to last year's trade to the San Francisco Giants. Before and since then, too many of Boston's talented young players hit walls of various sorts under Cora's watch. Heck, even his tactics with respected players were getting weirdly draconian.

Good luck to Chad Tracy, who now has the unenviable task of getting a rabid Red Sox fanbase to buy back into a product it increasingly doesn't seem to want. Even setting aside how cold the team is on the field, Breslow hasn't inspired literally any confidence with his roster construction. And for his part, owner John Henry probably won't stop hearing "Sell the team!" chants any time soon.

Mariners fans should appreciate model management for as long as it lasts

Meanwhile in Seattle, the Mariners organization and its fanbase obviously wishes they could claim the same bragging rights that the Red Sox retain even now. Four World Series championships in the 21st century is a nice feather for the ol' cap, especially when compared to Seattle's 0-fer in its first 49 efforts to even make it to the Fall Classic.

And yet, Dipoto is the reigning MLB Executive of the Year and Wilson has the highest winning percentage of anyone who has ever managed the Mariners.

Fair criticisms notwithstanding, the working relationship between Dipoto and Wilson — with Edgar Martinez also standing out as a hugely influential third party — has been a well-oiled machine since it formed in August of 2024. Between player development, trades and signings, Dipoto is cooking in the roster construction kitchen. And for all the real issues he has with Xs and Os, Wilson's players like playing for him.

The latter always matters, and it feels more valuable whenever something like the latest Boston massacre happens. One just gets the sense that the rot ran deep under Cora, as basically a whole coaching staff doesn't get obliterated in one fell swoop like that unless things are really bad.

Even when the Mariners hit nadirs at five games under .500 on April 17 and 21, neither the manager nor the shape of the roster was to blame. The team just plain needed to play better, and that is beginning to happen with five wins in seven games. After last year's trip to ALCS Game 7, the path to the World Series is straightening again.

Until the Commissioner's Trophy is delivered, Mariners fans have every right to want more. But for now, at least, it's nice to know that there's no reason for everything to be blown up.

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