Category: Sports News

Last week, I gave you some background on the Rockies’ Cultural Education & Development Program. This week, I’m going to follow up by providing some insight into the curriculum. Specifically, I will detail the program in the Dominican Academy and the Dominican Summer League since those are the most intensive programs. 

The focus is on helping players from Latin America gain skills that will allow them to be successful in the US on and off the field.

Basic Structure

Classes run for 20 weeks, which is a little longer than a traditional high school or college semester (those are 15-16 weeks). It is broken down into six different units that are taught by Angel Amparo, Julio Medina, or a combination of the two:

• Weeks 1 & 2: Orientation, Onboarding, Placement Testing & Rockies Culture
• Weeks 3 & 4: Introduction to Computers, Dawere Accelerated High School Program & Classroom Assignments
• Weeks 5-9: English 101, Intermediate & Advanced ESL
• Weeks 10-14: Cultural Development 101
• Weeks 15-17: Critical Thinking 101
• Weeks 18-20: Math 101 & Off-Season Planning

“We have classes Monday through Friday from 4-7,” Angel Ampardo explained. “We do smaller groups, no more than 15 players, just to have better control. And we have office hours so they can come and see us for one-on-one attention.

“(The syllabus) shows you what we’re going to do, what’s required, a brief description of what we do and the goals and just the basic English structure,” he continued. “But then here, you see things like learning leadership, planning self-discipline skills and some of the resources and websites that we use. We have a classroom and a computer lab area, too. We also grade them.”

Players are graded on the following:

• Journals (10%)
• Completion and Effective Demonstration of Personal Improvement Plan (45%)
  • Based on Rockies Evaluation Matrix
• Quizzes, Tests and Projects (30%)
• Homework (10%)
• Punctual Attendance (5%)

In addition to formal classroom lessons, the players also participate in other educational opportunities.

“I throw in professional development workshops,” Amparo said. “(Last) week, we had a workshop about interview processes and how to handle the press. That (was) on Monday, and the following Wednesday, we have a financial planning workshop. I throw in a lot of personal workshops. I have facilitators that I’ve worked with for years that are good at what they do that I get in contact with and have them come in to do specialized workshops and trainings with the players. We also have several community outreach programs and projects that we do throughout the season.”

And at the end of the season, the Rockies conduct exit interviews with the players. 

“We tell them what their offseason plan is and what we want them to work on during the offseason,” Amparo said. “We get their feedback, too. We do anonymous surveys. What did you like about this season? What classes were good? What didn’t you like? What do you want to add? Because we want this to be interactive. 

“We want to add stuff that they like,” he continued, “hence why chess came into it, then a video game tournament came into it and a domino tournament. So we get their feedback, and then we review it during the offseason, and then we modify the syllabus based on what we think would benefit them.”

No Offseason

During the offseason, the Rockies also keep tabs on the players. 

“In the offseason, players are home, so if I’m not in Arizona or Denver, we do home visits as well for the players,” Amparo said. “We visit them, we talk to their parents and loved ones, just to let them know how they’re progressing. It helps them put a face to a name to tell them what our role is and just to let parents know that there’s a more personal connection.”

Amparo stressed that this comes from the Rockies’ emphasis on getting to know the players as individuals.

“I’ll never forget what I was told by my boss during my interview. He was like, ‘Look, focus on creating genuine and authentic relationships with the players. If you put the players’ needs first, always, you’ll do a good job. I guarantee it,’” he said. “He said it’s a lot of work – ‘I’m not going to lie to you, you’ve got to dive in head first. But it’ll be the most rewarding work that you’ll do.’ And I’ve never forgotten that interview. So I like the fact that players can come to me with their personal problems or something like that. I enjoy that role, if I can provide some sort of guidance or direction.”

A Work in Progress

This program has been in place for 14 years, and has evolved with changing needs. 

“I remember my first day of work,” Amparo said. “I went with a suit and tie with a briefcase, and I had this plan of what I wanted to do because I’ve taught before at a university level and in high schools. But when I got there on my first day, I was like ‘Oh no, this is not going to work.’

“So I did a lot of observing in that first season at all levels,” he continued. “And after all of the observing and the feedback that I received, I said ‘Okay, let’s build a syllabus, a curriculum and lessons based on these pillars here that we feel are important.’ And it’s been going like that for years.”

Every year, the Rockies modify their lessons based on feedback from players as to what was most beneficial to them as well as adjusting the projects and activities to accommodate the world landscape. 

“It’s changed so much now,” Amparo said.

“I was told ‘You probably won’t see the fruits of your success for about six or seven years.’ And since I’ve been here so long, I find players who have made it – who signed with us and couldn’t speak a lick of English – who are now playing at the major-league level. But even the ones who didn’t make the majors, but had this good work ethic and are now working as international crosscheckers or hitting coordinators or scouts or pitching coordinators… Those are success stories to me because these are all the kids who came through our program here. They played baseball for a few years and didn’t make it to the majors, but they’re still involved with the sport that they love.

“And those are the ones I can use with new players,” he continued. “I can show you [Ezequiel] Tovar’s first interview with us here in the DSL and look where he is now. He’s been in the league for eight years now, and now I can show tangible proof that this works if you put in the effort. Obviously, I don’t want to discourage them and say, ‘Even if you don’t make it to the majors…’ I never say that to them, but they know if they don’t make it to the majors, they can still have a career and a life in baseball. So this is tangible proof that I can show them.”

Amparo also likes to call players back who have graduated from the program to talk to the players currently in the program. He’s brought back Tovar, Carlos Estévez, and others to be interviewed and share their stories about how they signed and their career trajectories. He likes to implement tangible interactions to motivate the students, and that’s the biggest way that things have evolved and continue to evolve.

Coming Up Next

Next week, I will share the stories of some players who spent time in the program in various stages. Stay tuned!

Triple-A:Albuquerque Isotopes 8, Sacramento River Cats 6

In a back-and-forth affair, the Isotopes ended up topping the River Cats 8-6. The Topes jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on a homer by Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) in the second, followed by a double from Nic Kent, single from Drew Avans and sac fly from Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) in the third. However, they then gave up three runs in the third and fourth. They gave up another in the sixth on a ground-rule double to tie the game. In the ninth, though, they scored four more runs to put themselves up 8-4. They bent to give up two more runs in the bottom on a two-run shot by Bryce Eldridge, but still came out victorious. Welinton Herrera (No. 17 PuRP) ended up getting the win, as he pitched two scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

The Isotopes return home to face the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) next.

Double-A:Portland Sea Dogs 3, Hartford Yard Goats 2

While the Yard Goats scored two runs, they did not record a single hit against the Red Sox Double-A team. Both runs were scored in the third inning, where Jose Torres led off with a walk. Zach Kokoska and GJ Hill popped and lined out, and then Torres stole second. Dyan Jorge walked, and Torres stole third. Then, Andy Perez reached on a fielding error to score both Torres and Jorge, but Braylen Wimmer struck out on a foul tip to end the inning. In total, the Yard Goats ended up walking five times and striking out 12.

On the pitching side, it was Cade Denton who blew the save by giving up a two-run homer to Nate Baez in the the sixth to tie the game. The third run was scored in the eighth, though, after Carlos Torres recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Max Ferguson and Nate Baez to lead the inning off. But then Brooks Bannon walked and stole second, but then Ronald Rosario singled to score Bannon before Nelly Taylor struck out looking to end the inning.

The Yard Goats return home to play the Reading Fightin’ Phils (Phillies) again. They went 2-4 in their last series in Reading three weeks ago.

High-A:Spokane Indians 7, Everett AquaSox 6

The Indians got the scoring going early and never looked back. Tevin Tucker led off the ballgame with a double and then stole third base, which allowed him to score on a wild pitch. Jocob Hinderleider struck out swinging, but then back-to-back baserunners set up Kelvin Hidalgo for a three-run homer to put the Indians up 4-0 in the first inning.

In the fourth, Roynier Hernandez hit his own solo shot to put them up 5-0. The AquaSox finally struck back in the bottom of the inning, as Luis Suisbel and Axel Sanchez led off with back-to-back hits off Yujanyer Herrera. Anthony Donofrio singled to score Suisbel and make the score 5-1. The AquaSox scored two more runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh to make it a one-run game. But the Indians gave themselves some insurance with a Robert Calaz triple to score Kelvin Hidalgo, who reahced on a fielding error right before him.

The AquaSox scored another run in the eighth and tied it in the ninth on a lead-off Brandon Eike homer, but Tommy Hopfe doubled in the tenth to snatch the victory for the Indians. In total, the Indians walked four times and struck out nine; the AquaSox walked 11 times and struck out 15.

The Indians have two off days, and will head to Eugene to play the Emeralds (Giants) starting on Wednesday. To fit in a full six-game series, they are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday.

Single-A:Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 7, Fresno Grizzlies 2 | Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6, Fresno Grizzlies 0

Like their major league brethren, the Fresno Grizzlies played a doubleheader today. Unfortunately, they were on the losing end of a sweep.

Their first game was a make-up of a suspended game from Saturday, where they ultimately lost 7-2. They got the scoring going early when Cameron Nelson led off with a solo home run. But the Quakes singled, reached on an error and walked to set up a two-RBI single by Marlon Quintero in the second. Two batters later, Hayden Alvarez singled to score two more Quakes and three batters after that, Lucas Ramirez singled to score two more and drive up the score 6-1. That’s when things were suspended on Saturday night. When the game resumed, it was a pretty uneventful game. In the bottom of the fourth, Derek Bernard homered to tack on another Grizzlies’ run. The final run was scored in eighth, when Anyelo Marquez hit a homer of his own.

In the second game, Rancho Cucamongs kicked things off in the first. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, and tacked on three more in the seventh. They completely blanked the Grizzlies, who were held to just three hits — a Clayton Gray double in the first, a Luis Mendez single in the fifth, and an Ethan Holliday (No. 2 PuRP) triple in the sixth.

They will head back on the road to face the Stockton Ports (Athletics) next.

Rockies’ Mickey Moniak channels Ted Williams, thanks to his grandfather | Denver Post ($)

Patrick Saunders wrote a wonderful profile on Mickey Moniak and his grandfather, Bill, who was coached by Ted Williams during his minor league days. Mickey, Bill and Matt (dad) all share stories of how their mutual love of baseball has connected them throughout the years, and how Mickey leaned on them during his early career struggles with the Phillies before having breakout years with the Rockies.

Rockies Making Early Case For Multiple All-Star Selections | Sports Illustrated

The All-Star Game isn’t for another 2.5 months, but folks are already starting to make way-too-early cases for players. In this case, SI makes the potential cases for eight players who might be deserving after the Rockies have only had one representative in each Midsummer Classic since 2021. How many players will the Rockies send to Philadelphia this year?

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Divisional battles highlighted the week in the National League West.

The San Francisco Giants took two of three games against at home the Dodgers, a series in which runs were at a premium, with 10 runs total between the two teams and two shutouts, nobody scoring more than three in any contest.

Dalton Rushing was in the middle of things, running through the old baseball cycle of perceived slight, followed by retribution with a hit batter, then a hard slide. That was mostly background noise in a rivalry that still has some juice to it even when one team is competitive and the other isn’t.

Tuesday’s game was decided on a three-run home run by light-hitting catcher Patrick Bailey on an extremely hittable slider by Jack Dreyer. That spoiled six scoreless innings by Shohei Ohtani, which reminded Brady Klopfer a lot of Matt Cain’s time in San Francisco.

The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks played south of the border, splitting two games in Monterrey, Mexico.

Mason Miller amazingly didn’t strike anybody out in his two appearances this week, lowering his strikeout rate to a still gaudy 61.4 percent. On Saturday he set a Padres record with 34 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, dating back to last August.

Division notes

San Diego has starters Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, and Griffin Canning all on the injured list, so they signed free agent Lucas Giolito last week to a one-year deal worth $3 million plus a mutual option for 2027. He pitched in a tuneup game Saturday in Class-A Lake Elsinore, and left in the third inning after taking a comebacker off his hand, but after the outing Giolito said he was fine, per Marty Caswell.

Arizona lost four games in a row last week before winning Sunday. Over at AZ Snakepit, Ben Siegel wondered how much time Alek Thomas — hitting .213/.253/.400 through Sunday with a career .276 on-base percentage — has before the Diamondbacks pursue other options in center field and/or the roster.

Rockies hanging around

Renee Dechert, who writes for Purple Row and her own Rockies Pitch newsletter, offered some perspective after the Rockies’ Friday win over the New York Mets.

Colorado also won the last two games of that series in New York to complete a weekend sweep, and are now 13-16. Still in last place, but no longer hopeless.

Colorado reached its nadir as a franchise in 2025, losing 119 games, and since then they have revamped the front office for the first time in years — including hiring former Dodgers executives Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes — and have new partial ownership coming as well. Last season, the Rockies lost 50 games before they won their 10th game.

Evan Lang at Purple Row noticed the improvement as well:

The Rockies are still not a great team. The offense has a lot of question marks when it comes to their “swing first and ask questions later” approach to hitting and inconsistent ability to win close games. However, most of the games are still close, the pitching has been shockingly solid—dare I say even good—and they’re keeping fans engaged. Our comments sections are proof positive of that!

NL West standings

Dodgers 19-9, – –
Padres 18-9, 0.5 GB
D-backs 15-12, 3.5 GB
Giants 13-15, 6 GB
Rockies 13-16, 6.5 GB

The week ahead

• Dodgers: vs. Marlins, at Cardinals
• Padres: vs. Cubs, vs. White Sox
• D-backs: at Brewers, at Cubs
• Giants: at Phillies, at Rays
• Rockies: at Reds, vs. Braves

The Phillies are off today and that’s probably best for everyone involved. They won a game Saturday, but they’re still playing pretty badly, so maybe a day off will help them.

That and the schedule, which eases up a bit with the Giants coming into town.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Yes the Phillies were excited to finally win a game Saturday, but they were happiest for Zack Wheeler’s return ($).
• The Phillies return home from a 1-6 road trip and that means jobs are possibly on the line in the coaching staff room ($).
• There is a ton of speculation swirling around Rob Thomson right now, but he’s “not too worried about it” ($).
• Lenny Dysktra has had a rough go of it lately, mostly of his own accord. He’s trying to turn that all around ($).

MLB news:

• The players are certainly not very happy with the firing of Alex Cora ($). Seems like there is some discontent in Boston.
• Jared Jones is going to start a rehab assignment on Wednesday, hopefully beginning his return to the Pirates.
• Francisco Lindor is looking at a three week absence, at a minimum, for his calf strain injury. He’ll need a rehab assignment after that.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

What if I told you that one team at Camden Yards this weekend dropped two out of three games and lost one of them by 16 runs…and it wasn’t the team that fired their manager and half their coaching staff in the middle of the series?

Such is life for the 2026 Orioles. Even when playing against an opponent that’s going through a public self-immolation, the O’s still can’t seem to find a way to win. After briefly getting back to the .500 mark on Friday, the Birds are now two games under .500 heading into their off day, losing back-to-back contests both before and after the Red Sox fired Alex Cora. Tyler Young recapped the Orioles’ 5-3 loss in the rubber game.

The same old problems continue to plague the Orioles. In both of their losses, the defense was sloppy again, committing three errors and turning some possible outs into Red Sox baserunners. Key members of the Orioles lineup continue to struggle, including Pete Alonso — whose 1-for-13 performance in the series dropped him below the Mendoza line to .196 — and Gunnar Henderson, who is hitting for plenty of power but isn’t getting on base (.280 OBP). That duo makes up the heart of the Orioles lineup, so until they get going, the O’s will struggle to score runs consistently.

Also distressing is the underperformance of the Orioles’ starting rotation. Both Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish turned in outings this series that ranged from mediocre (Bradish) to outright disastrous (Rogers). When the front office eschewed acquiring an ace this offseason, much was said about how they already had a pair of #1-type starters on the roster in Rogers and Bradish. That idea is, uh, aging poorly. The two have combined for a 4.48 ERA and each is averaging more than 10 hits per nine innings. Elsewhere in the rotation, Shane Baz hasn’t broken out as the top-flight starter the O’s envisioned, Chris Bassitt is rocking a 6.75 ERA, and Zach Eflin is out for the season after one start. The Orioles’ rotation plan has soured quickly, and it’s not even May.

At times, the Orioles have shown they’re capable of playing quality baseball. The opener of this series, when the O’s bashed six home runs behind a solid Brandon Young start, was evidence of that. But those impressive showings are just too few and far between.

It’s still early, but it’s not that early anymore. It’s time for the Orioles to start playing with a purpose. So far, they just haven’t been able to get any traction.

Links

As tough stretch continues, O’s affirm they’re ‘more than capable of stepping up’ – MLB.com

This would be more encouraging if we hadn’t heard these same sentiments from the Orioles last April. The O’s always think they’re capable of stepping up until they prove they aren’t.

What’s wrong with Henderson, Alonso, Cowser? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com

I’m reasonably confident in two of those three guys being able to turn it around. Sorry, Colton.

Slow-starting offense and traffic against Bradish conspire to leave Orioles with 5-3 loss (updated) – School of Roch

Gunnar Henderson says that Samuel Basallo has “the stupidest juice I’ve ever seen.” And he’s not talking about crab juice.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! The only O’s player in history with an April 27 birthday is 2019 right-hander Aaron Brooks (36). You could also sort of count righty Michael Rucker (32), who pitched in spring training with the Orioles in 2020 as a Rule 5 pick but was sent back to the Cubs near the end of camp.

On this date in 1968, Baltimore-born Orioles righty Tom Phoebus pitched a no-hitter against the Red Sox, the second individual no-no in O’s history. Phoebus walked three and struck out nine in throwing his masterpiece, shutting down a Sox lineup that included Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Phoebus even had two hits at the plate (remember, this was the pre-DH era) to help the Orioles compile six runs of support.

And on this day in 2015, the Orioles canceled their scheduled game against the White Sox at Camden Yards due to civil unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. The O’s would cancel the next day’s game, too, and play the following game with no fans in attendance.

Random Orioles game of the day

On April 27, 1989, the Orioles lost to the Athletics in Oakland, 9-4. The game was tied 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh, when the A’s erupted for a six-run rally. The Athletics pounded out eight hits in the inning, including five singles, a double, a triple, and a Mark McGwire home run, his second of the game. Orioles reliever Mark Williamson took the brunt of the damage, giving up five runs and seven hits while recording just one out. Mickey Tettleton and Phil Bradley homered for the Birds in the losing effort.

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to the Rajah and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history 1997, Ryne Sandberg breaks the major league record for most home runs by a second baseman, and other stories as well.

• 1902 – At Sportsman’s Park, Addie Joss of the Cleveland Bronchos pitches a one-hit shutout in his major league debut, beating the hometown St. Louis Browns, 3-0.
• 1931 – At Griffith Stadium, a walk to Lyn Lary is followed by a Lou Gehrig home run, a smash which clears the fence, but bounces back into the hands of Senators center fielder Harry Rice. The baserunner Lary thinks the ball has been caught on the fly for the third out and returns to the dugout without crossing home plate; Gehrig, running with his head down, is ruled out for passing a runner in front of him, costing the Yankees a possible victory (they lose by two runs), the 1931 home run crown (he ties Babe Ruth with 46) and two RBI to add to his record-setting 184 for the season.
• 1941 – Wrigley Field becomes the first ballpark to install an organ to entertain fans, with Roy Nelson manning the keyboard. But Nelson’s successful pregame serenade doesn’t help the Chicago Cubs as they fall to pitcher Max Lanier and the rival St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2.
• 1957 – Don Bessent‘s quick pitch vs. Roberto Clemente‘s quick wrists? No contest. The Bucs’ 7 – 1 trouncing of Brooklyn knocks the “Bums” out of first place and pulls Pittsburgh out of the cellar while Clemente’s 7th-inning double, which drives the final nail in the coffin, results from Bessent’s ill-advised attempt to quick-pitch the whippet-wristed Roberto, as he will later recall.
• 1961 – At Tiger Stadium, Roger Maris hits his first home run of the season off Paul Foytack, and Mickey Mantle adds home runs from both sides of the plate for the eighth time in his career as New York defeat Detroit, 13-10.
• 1980 – Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies sets a modern day National League record by pitching his sixth career one-hitter. Carlton shuts out his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-0.
• 1982 – Boston Red Sox rookie Wade Boggs collects his first major league hit when he singles against Rich Dotson of the Chicago White Sox. Boston wins, 3-2.
• 1990 – Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller‘s major league record by hurling his 12th career one-hitter. Ryan strikes out 16 batters in shutting down the Chicago White Sox, 1-0.
• 1992 MLB St. Louis Cardinals Ozzie Smith steals his 500th base.
• 1997 – Ryne Sandberg breaks the major league record for most home runs by a second baseman. His 267th career home run surpasses the old mark set by Joe Morgan from 1965 to 1984. The first five home runs came as Sandberg was a third baseman.
• 2006 – Mike Piazza hits his 400th career home run in San Diego’s 3-2 loss to Arizona at PETCO Park. 
• 2009 – In St. Louis, birthday boy Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs homers and drives in five runs in Chicago’s 10-3 win over St. Louis.
• 2009 – The Rangers lose, 8-5, to the Orioles. When Omar Vizquel comes in as a defensive substitute for Texas, he becomes the third player in major league history to play shortstop at age 42, following Luke Appling (1949) and Honus Wagner (1916).
• 2016 – The Chicago Cubs who improve to 15-5 with a 4-3 win over the Brewers. For the Cubs, it’s their best start since 1907, when they had begun the season by going 16-4 on their way to a World Series win.
• 2016 – Andrew McCutchen has the second three-homer game of his career to lead the Pirates to a 9-4 win over the Rockies. He’s only the fourth player in Bucs history with a pair of three-homer games; the others are Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell.
• 2019 – All eyes are turned on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who makes his major league debut with the Blue Jays against the Athletics. With his illustrious father, Vladimir Guerrero, watching from the stands, he starts the winning rally in the 9th by leading off the inning with a double off Yusmeiro Petit for his first major league hit.

Cubs Birthdays:Michael Rucker, Joey Gathright, Rogers Hornsby* HOF. Other notables, Enos Slaughter HOF.

Today in history:

• 1392 – Korean Confucian scholar and statesman Jeong Mong-ju is assassinated on the Sonjuk Bridge in Gaeseong (now North Korea). A brown spot on the bridge is still said to be his blood.
• 1859 – US Congressman Daniel E. Sickles is acquitted in the murder of Philip Barton Key on grounds of “temporary insanity,” the first time this defense is used successfully in the US.
• 1865 – Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders remaining forces to Union General William T. Sherman at Bennett Place in Durham, North Carolina, ending the American Civil War.
• 1905 – Cubs Jack McCarthy becomes only major league player to throw out 3 runners at plate in 1 game, all were ends of a double play.
• 1954  – “Seven Samurai”, Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune, is released
• 1954 – Mass trials of Jonas Salk‘s anti-polio vaccine begin; the first shot is delivered in Fairfax County, Virginia; more than 443,000 children receive shots over three months.
• 1986 – The world’s worst nuclear disaster occurs when the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union explodes, resulting in 31 deaths and radioactive contamination spreading to much of Western Europe.
• 2021 – US Census results shows its population growth second slowest in recorded history, population at 331,449,281 with only 7.4% increase on 2010.

*pictured.

Long time readers of the MMBB know that I like to divy these articles up into three points discussing three things that caught my attention across the previous week. They could be positive trends, concerning developments, or stuff about the Red Sox that I just find amusing and fun. Either way, I like to give the OTM readers a collection of things to discuss.

But, like, what else am I gonna write about this week?

Am I really gonna sit here and try to dive into the plate approach of guys hitting in the bottom half of the order? Do you really need me to drone on about pitch mixes and why Brayan Bello shouldn’t be throwing his cutter as much anymore? I like doing that analysis, and I hope you folks continue to read it because I enjoy outlining it to you. More typical Brushback articles will be published on a consistent basis in the future.

Alex Cora just got fired, though! That’s the only topic worth diving into today! Normally I’d be looking forward to talking about a series victory after an awful mid-week series, but there are bigger fish to fry here. That’s the only thing I have the bandwidth to talk about right now! Regardless of how you feel about the decision, it’s one that’s so massive that I would hope you’d understand the decision to only focus on that this time around. I’d also hope you’d understand that the rest of the site is going to be flooded with the Cora fallout in the coming days; these things happen when a manager with almost a decade’s worth of experience with a team is cut off in late April after a piss poor start.

As for the specific topic of my musings, though, I do want to focus on President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow. This is the not the first time the front office has made a decision at this scale, so I think it makes sense to discuss what it could mean for Breslow’s future.

It’s Monday Morning Brushback time, y’all.

Before We Begin…

I want to give a summary of where I think I stand, as I write this early Sunday afternoon before the finale in Baltimore, regarding the Red Sox’s decision to fire manager Alex Cora along with numerous members of his now-former coaching staff. Apologies if these thoughts are a bit scattered, because I’ve got a lot to say before I get into my main point. I wanted to make this a quick snapshot, but if you’ve ever read the MMBB or listened to Pod On Lansdowne before you’d know that brevity is not really in my toolbox.

I was shocked when I heard the news Saturday, and it’s still very surprising now. I thought Cora was made of teflon. I’ve been more of a Cora apologist in years’ past, but perhaps it was time for a change—as our own Bryan Joiner wrote recently.

The 2026 Red Sox have had an unacceptable start as they’ve simply looked unprepared out of the gates. A bad plate approach, some bone-headed decisions, you know how this shit has gone in the first few weeks. And not for nothing: this is not the first time the Sox have had stretches of playing sloppy and—frankly—dumb baseball.

Errors are a funky stat, yes, but Boston has been in the top three in errors per game (so, I guess overall errors too because everyone plays 162 lmao) in each of the previous three seasons; that ain’t a small sample size. I know you’ve noticed how many outs this team has had a tendency of running into in recent years. Entering play Sunday, the Red Sox only had the 17th best OPS with runners in scoring positions (.737; thought it would be worst frankly, though I’d guess that Saturday’s win boosted those stats a bit). They haven’t ranked within the top 10 in MLB in OPS with RISP since 2021. Does that not speak to some approach with the coaching? Have you not lamented the lack of situational hitting from this club in recent times? The platooning within the lineup at times made sense, but didn’t it annoy you to see Wilyer Abreu consistently get benched against lefties prior to this year? A guy who has 30 home run potential, even if he’s cooled off recently? I know my answer to that.

Yet at the same time, I can’t levy every failure at Cora’s feet. He wasn’t the guy ultimately tasked with buying the groceries, to borrow a platitude from Bill Parcells. Craig Breslow was, and still is, that guy. Those groceries have been pretty shit to start this year. The checks are being signed by the FSG brass, but the decisions he’s made in developing this roster haven’t gone swimmingly in 2026. There’s still a huge question mark regarding the outfield logjam, a conundrum he’s been unable to solve for months at this point. Guys can’t consistently get playing time because of that pickle. The infield defense has improved overall (Contreras has been awesome at first, Durbin has gotten way better at third after a shaky start, while Mayer and IKF have rated out as positive defenders thus far. Just don’t look at Trevor Story’s OAA). But that’s come with big offensive production dips at third base and second base. Breslow made huge decisions to bring on—and also let go—of guys with offensive track records at the hot corner (Devers has been bad to start the year, to be fair, while Bregman is starting to turn things around after his slow start. So, who knows how those deals end up. Whether you liked those decisions or not, the final story on those sagas have yet to be written). The club is currently tied for last place in homers after we (me, you, your friends and family who watch this team regularly, the front office guys themselves!!!!!) identified power as a big thing to address this winter. The pivot in the off-season was to invest in run prevention through sound defense and improved pitching; the Sox’s errors per game has dropped from 0.72 to 0.59 prior to Sunday’s game, sure, but that’s still in the bottom 10 across MLB.

If guys ultimately aren’t performing to the level they should be, I don’t know how much I can blame the manager for that. AC doesn’t go out there and cough up a ton of runs as the starter. AC doesn’t strike out on three pitches with ducks on the pond. How much of those struggles are coaching, and how much of those struggles are stemming from the front office’s philosophies?

Cora’s also seen pretty consistent roster churn over the last few years; the 26-man list has been consistently inconsistent. But on the other other hand, isn’t his job to elevate that roster—regardless of the churn—to be the best that they can be? They’ve under-performed in 2026. They under-performed between 2022 and 2024.

How all of the guys in that clubhouse feel about a clubhouse guy-type of manager being shown the door remains to be seen, though I do know that Trevor Story ain’t happy about it. I also want to make it clear that players learning about this news on social media with the rest of us, per Chris Cotillo of The Mexican Times MassLive, is unacceptable stuff from FSG—especially when you consider that guys like John Henry and Sam Kennedy were physically there in Baltimore when the news broke over the weekend. Jarren Duran didn’t seem to have any thoughts about it (hmm), while Roman Anthony was actually pretty well-spoken for a guy who’s just 21 and was just thrown through an absolute loop along with his teammates.

All of this is to say that there’s a lot of blame to go around for where we stand right now, well below .500 and with legitimate questions about the future. I don’t think Cora is totally innocent, though I do think he will continue to have a solid career in coaching within this sport. I hate to sound like a fence-sitter here, but this is a complicated situation. It’s a clusterfuck, and it often takes a lot of different people to create a clusterfuck. The team did not look prepared to start 2026 (a coaching issue) while there are legitimate question marks regarding the roster construction (a front office issue). I get why FSG and/or Breslow (they can’t even agree about who made this decision; more on that later) would want to pull the plug now if they didn’t want this soap opera to drag on for months, though I can’t say for sure that this is or is not the right decision right here and right now. Sorry to disappoint.

Is there something to be said about a new perspective in the clubhouse? Maybe; the guys playing still seem to like Cora, but I’ve also heard nothing but good things about Chad Tracy—a guy who has already mentored a lot of young Sox players in Worcester. At least there’s some familiarity there, though who knows if Tracy’s interim title turns into a full-time one. I’ll forever be appreciative of the 2018 Red Sox, and he’s going to land on his feet, but how much leeway do you give to the manager of the 2018 club if that same franchise is currently on pace to have its fourth losing season in five years when he’s been the one constant that entire time? Simultaneously, how much do you blame the guy who has already made transactions—and balked at others—that are going to have ramifications that haven’t even come to pass yet? These aren’t only rhetorical questions, folks; I’m genuinely asking these things out loud, because I just don’t know.

Over 1,600 words to say “I don’t know.” Nice job, Fitz, you fuckin’ stiff.

I know it sounds like a cop out, but that’s just how I feel. There are merits to the “Cora should’ve stayed” camp. There are merits to the “Cora had to go” camp. These are the realities, at least in my book, when you have a complicated clusterfuck like the one that the Red Sox have found themselves in. It’s complicated. There are nuances here. I can’t look at this as a black-and-white thing. I don’t know what else to tell ya…other than the entire novel I just wrote.

Either way, I suppose I’m happy that AC is happy.

With All That Said…

Regardless of how you feel about the Cora decision itself, it seems pretty obvious to me that this is the end of a power struggle between manager and CBO. Mr. Breslow himself doesn’t think it’s fair to call the relationship he had with Alex Cora as a power struggle, but come on dude: when your guy Andrew Bailey is the only major coach not given a pink slip this weekend, what do you expect this to look like?

I do find it funny that FSG’s failure to communicate doesn’t even stop at their communications with their players and their fans; no, it leaks into their own understanding of franchise-altering decisions. Breslow and Kennedy couldn’t even seem to find…………….alignment……….on where the onus of this decision fell.

Regardless of who actually pulled the lever here, this is now Craig Breslow’s show whether you like it or not (again: not sure if I’m all the way in on that myself, but this is the nature of the situation we’re living in). This team is primed to be shaped in his vision.

The question then becomes: how much time did Craig Breslow just buy himself with this decision?

If he’s being given the keys to the car, does FSG ride this out until at least the end of 2026? Barring a 2027 lockout (oh God I don’t even want to think about that in this equation, just assume we’ve got a season next year), does he also get the lion’s share of that year to see out another season of the contracts he provided and traded for? Does he get to go through his own managerial search in the coming months? If he’s canned within the next year and a new full-time manager had already been appointed, does that hinder the team from finding the best CBO candidate considering that they won’t have their choice of a manager—just like the hand that Breslow was dealt following Chaim Bloom’s departure? Does Breslow even make it to the end of 2026? Does he even make it to fumble one last trade deadline this summer, for ol’ times sake?

Are we talking years here? Months? Weeks?! Say this team has really and truly taken a nosedive and the season is dead by Memorial Day; how does the guy who took enormous swings such as the Devers trade last year, the Bregman balk this winter, and the firing of Alex Cora survive a nightmare opening third of the 2026 campaign? His DNA would be all over the body of a dead team. If John Henry and the rest of Fortress Fenway really wanted to turn the page, that would have to be final straw, no?

Point is: Breslow better be reeeeeeeeeeally fuckin’ sure, for our sake as fans and for his own sake as a professional within the sport, that this gambit pays off. He showed the door to a respectable manager within the baseball world (look at just about any national writer’s take within the last 48 hours; regardless of how you feel about Cora, that’s the perception he has nationally); he better be certain that this is the right call for the team we all love.

Maybe Breslow thinks he bought himself at least another year or so of time in charge here. Hell, maybe he’s right. He could also be dead wrong and he could be sent packing sooner than he expects. Mr. Henry’s been present at games more often. For all of his faults (I don’t have another 2,000+ words in me this weekend; perhaps another time) and for all the criticism he’s been hit with for seemingly being tuned out of the baseball team he owns, Henry’s now currently watching. The excuses for Breslow are gone, right, wrong, or indifferent.

Jake T. O’Donnell (great Twitter follow, by the way) had a great point while referencing the greatest TV show ever, ironically while the team was playing in Baltimore.

Jake’s right: Craig is in the game. Let’s see what happens.

Song of the Week: “Whatever” by Oasis

Yeah. 🙂

Same time and same place—with what I would imagine would be a regular format, barring Breslow being fired—next week! Go Sox.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (13-13)

WORCESTER 6, SYRACUSE 2 (BOX)

Jonah Tong’s maddening start to 2025 continues. The right-hander continues getting plenty of strikeouts (38 in 25.1 innings), but has been allowing too many free passes (15 in 25.1 innings) and has been far too hittable, leading to afternoons like this one, where he allowed three runs in four-plus innings. Jonathan Pintaro, he wasn’t great in relief, and the offense on the whole kind of stunk.

·  RF Nick Morabito: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K

·  SS Vidal Bruján: 0-4, 2 K

·  LF Ryan Clifford: 1-4, 3 K

·  2B Christian Arroyo: 1-4, 2 K

·  CF Cristian Pache: 0-4, 3 K

·  3B Yonny Hernández: 2-4, R

·  C Hayden Senger: 0-3, K, PB (5)

·  DH Ben Rortvedt: 1-3, R, K

·  1B Trace Willhoite: 1-3, 2B, RBI, K

·  RHP Jonah Tong: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, HBP, L (1-2)

·  RHP Jonathan Pintaro: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, WP

·  RHP Mike Baumann: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

·  LHP Anderson Severino: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (8-12)

GAME ONE

ERIE 5, BINGHAMTON 1 / 7 (BOX)

The SeaWolves plated three runs off of Jonathan Santucci before the southpaw could even record a single out. He settled down, allowing one more in the top of the sixth, his last inning of work, but the Rumble Pony offense wasn’t able to do much against starter Joe Miller or the Erie bullpen despite plenty of batters getting on base.

·  CF A.J. Ewing: 0-2, R, 2 BB, K, SB (11)

·  SS Marco Vargas: 0-3, BB, K

·  DH Jacob Reimer: 1-3, RBI, HBP

·  C Chris Suero: 0-2, BB, K

·  RF Jose Ramos: 0-2, HBP

·  1B JT Schwartz: 0-2, BB, K

·  3B Nick Lorusso: 0-2, K, HBP

·  LF Matt Rudick: 0-3, 2 K

·  2B Wyatt Young: 1-3

·  LHP Jonathan Santucci: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, L (0-3)

·  LHP Matt Turner: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, WP

·  LHP Felipe De La Cruz: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

GAME TWO

BINGHAMTON 5, ERIE 2 / 7 (BOX)

In Game Two of the afternoon, Binghamton struck first, with AJ Ewing and Marco Vargas hitting back-to-back triples. Vargas did the heavy lifting for the Rumble Ponies in this one, going 3-3 with 3 of their 5 runs. Binghamton used seven pitchers in total, with only Jordan Geber and Zach Peek allowing runs.

·  DH A.J. Ewing: 2-3, 2 R, 3B, BB, K, SB (12)

·  2B Marco Vargas: 3-3, 2 R, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, BB, SB (9)

·  3B Jacob Reimer: 0-2, 2 BB, K, CS (1)

·  CF Eli Serrano III: 1-3, 2B

·  LF Jose Ramos: 0-3, 2 K

·  C Kevin Parada: 1-3, RBI, K, SB (3)

·  RF Matt Rudick: 0-3

·  1B Vincent Perozo: 1-3, R

·  SS Wyatt Young: 1-3, 2 K

·  RHP Jordan Geber: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

·  RHP Douglas Orellana: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, W (1)

·  LHP Jefry Yan: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, H (2)

·  RHP Zach Peek: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HBP, H (1)

·  RHP Saul Garcia: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, H (1)

·  RHP Kevin Gowdy: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, BLK, H (2)

·  RHP Brian Metoyer: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, S (2)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (5-15)

GAME ONE

BROOKLYN 6, HUDSON VALLEY 2 / 7 (BOX)

Brooklyn’s own Channing Austin continued his excellent week with another four-plus innings of scoreless ball, giving him 9.1 innings against the Renegades this week. The Cyclones took the lead in the top of the second on an RBI single by Kevin Villavicencio and a two-run homer off the bat of Mitch Voit and never looked back. A Kaeden Kent two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh broke up the shutout, but this one was all Brooklyn.

·  SS Mitch Voit: 1-3, R, HR (3), 2 RBI, HBP, SB (6)

·  3B Antonio Jimenez: 0-3, R, BB, K

·  1B Corey Collins: 1-4, 3 K

·  DH Ronald Hernandez: 2-4, 2B, RBI, SB (2)

·  C Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-4, 2 K

·  CF John Bay: 1-2, R, BB, HBP, SB (5)

·  2B Colin Houck: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, K, SB (2), E (3)

·  RF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-4, 4 K

·  LF Kevin Villavicencio: 2-3, R, 3 RBI, SB (3)

·  RHP Channing Austin: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

·  RHP Hoss Brewer: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HBP, W (1-1)

·  RHP Danis Correa: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Juan Arnaud: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

GAME TWO

HUDSON VALLEY 7, BROOKLYN 2 / 7 (BOX)

The Cyclones were a bit less fortunate in Game Two, with Jonathan Jimenez allowing a five-spot in the fourth to put Brooklyn well behind the eight ball. Corey Collins put the Cyclones in the driver’s seat in the top of the first with a solo homer, but Jonathan Jimenez sunk any chance of Brooklyn sweeping the doubleheader, allowing seven runs- six earned- in total.

·  SS Mitch Voit: 1-3, R, BB, 2 SB (7, 8)

·  2B Antonio Jimenez: 0-4, 2 K

·  1B Corey Collins: 1-2, R, HR (2), RBI, BB, E (1)

·  DH John Bay: 0-1, 2 BB, CS (1)

·  C Ronald Hernandez: 1-3, K, E (5)

·  RF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-3

·  3B Kevin Villavicencio: 0-2, 2 K

·  LF Diego Mosquera: 0-3, K

·  CF Heriberto Rincon: 0-2, BB, K, E (1)

·  REHAB ALERT RHP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Jonathan Jimenez: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, WP, 2 BLK, HBP, L (0-2)

·  RHP Bryce Jenkins: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, WP

·  RHP Cristofer Gomez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (10-11)

ST. LUCIE 11, PALM BEACH 2 (BOX)

The St. Lucie offense found their stroke, with Randy Guzman having another explosive day. Getting a start at the hot corner, a position he only has a handful of professional games at, Guzman went 3-4 with two doubles and a homer, his fourth of the season. Branny De Oleo also had a three-hit afternoon; in fact, every St. Lucie batter notched at least one hit, with five of the nine getting on base multiple times. Nicolas Carreno threw five scoreless, and while the bullpen after him allowed a pair of runs, St. Lucie won convincingly.

·  RF Sam Biller: 1-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, HBP, 2 SB (6, 7)

·  2B Sam Robertson: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB, K, HBP, SB (12), E (2)

·  LF JT Benson: 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 K

·  3B Randy Guzman: 3-4, 3 R, 2 2B, HR (4), 2 RBI, BB, K

·  DH AJ Salgado: 1-5, R, 2 K

·  CF Simon Juan: 1-5, R, HR (1), 3 RBI

·  1B Chase Meggers: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K

·  C Francisco Toledo: 1-5, R, HR (1), 3 RBI, K, E (2), PB (2)

·  SS Branny De Oleo: 3-4, R, BB, 2 SB (1, 2)

·  LHP Nicolas Carreno: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

·  RHP Luke Jackson: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

·  RHP Emilio Obispo: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, WP, W (1-0)

Rookie: FCL Mets (0-0)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Randy Guzman

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Jonathan Jimenez