A reasonably upset Alex Cora addressed the media following the Red Sox' loss to the Athletics on Thursday.
Boston fell to 2-6 on the season after dropping their second straight series to begin the new campaign. Thursday's loss was highlighted by Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts miscommunicating on a ball hit to right-center field which turned into a two-run ground-rule double that helped the A's pull away.
Cora took responsibility for the Sox' uncharacteristic miscues and slow start to 2019.
“I pay attention to details," Cora told reporters. "I love paying attention to details and that’s something I took pride [in] last year. And right now, we’re not paying attention to details. So that’s on me. That’s on the staff.
"Today I was watching and there were a few things that we were great at last year and we're not doing right now. It's early enough that we can clean it up, but that's on us. That's on me."
The icing on top of the Red Sox' lackluster effort was Mookie Betts getting thrown out at third base by A's center fielder Ramon Laureano in the ninth inning. It was the third time Laureano threw a Red Sox runner out in the series, meaning one would think they'd have learned that running on his arm isn't the brightest idea.
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"It's a bad decision, and [Mookie] knows it," Cora said. "He owned it. He came right up to me and was like 'that's my fault.'"
Boston wraps up its 11-game trip out west with a three-game set against the Diamondbacks. Though it's still far too early in the season to hit the panic button, Cora knows his club has to turn things around before they return home.
"Last year was last year," he said. "We didn't play well in Seattle, we didn't play well here, now we go to Arizona it's a three-game series. We have to play better, that's the bottom line."
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