If you thought that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora wasn't serious when he said that he was done talking about Rafael Devers, it's never been clearer now. Of course, when Devers made his career debut at first base on Tuesday night for his new team, the San Francisco Giants, after infamously refusing to move to the position following the Triston Casas injury, Red Sox fans were quick to notice and feel slighted. Cora, however, wasn't even going to give his former star that satisfaction. Instead, he sent a blunt message by ostensibly giving Devers the cold shoulder.
After Boston's 4-1 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday, Cora was asked about Devers suiting up at first base for San Francisco when speaking with the media. Rather than comment on the situation or offer some sort of heated take, he did something perhaps even more biting. He refused to hardly even acknowledge Devers or the situation at all.
"I don't want to talk about the Giants," Cora said, via Chris Cotillo of Mass Live.
If ever there was a baseball equivalent of Don Draper in Mad Men looking at Michael Ginsberg and saying, "I don't think about you at all" after being told, "I feel bad for you," it's definitely Cora handling the aftermath of the Devers trade and his former third baseman and DH's handling of the situation.
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Alex Cora is officially giving Rafael Devers the cold shoulder
Now, of course, part of the context here is that Cora just watched his Red Sox team have Christopher Sanchez shove a complete game against them in which Boston managed just one run and struck out 12 times. It's possible that the manager didn't want to talk about the Giants or anything at that point. At the same time, though, it more seems like Cora is ready to talk about the 26 guys in Boston right now, not the one guy who used to be there.
It's obvious that the Red Sox, even with their 10-game winning streak going into the All-Star break, would benefit from still having Devers' bat in the lineup, even if he's largely struggled since arriving in San Francisco. At the same time, there aren't take-backs when it comes to MLB trades. The deal is done, the Red Sox's future no longer includes Devers, and it's now about moving forward in Boston.
Cora is clearly trying to send that message. And in doing so, he's sending an exceptionally blunt message to Devers. While the now-Giants first baseman/DH seems to be handling things as petty as possible, including following his first-base debut by saying that he feels better when playing in the field despite spitefully turning his nose up at the notion when with the Red Sox, Cora isn't going to stoop to that level. He's taking the high road but also icing out Devers by not giving him the time of day.
Red Sox fans need to follow Cora's lead and move on
Frankly, it's difficult for Red Sox fans to not see Devers at first base for the Giants and not think less of the perennial All-Star. It's petty, unnecessary, and reeks of desperately wanting attention for sticking it to his former team. But if that's the case, then might it not be more beneficial for fans to follow Cora's example and not even give him the time of day?
Again, the fact that Boston's lineup is still missing the consistency and power of Devers makes that difficult, without a doubt. Unlike Cora, it's also not any fan's job to try and make what you have in the clubhouse into a winning ball club. However, that doesn't mean that it does any good for the fan base to consistently exhaust any type of emotional, verbal or social media energy on a player who no longer has anything to do with the Red Sox.
It's time to move on. That's never easy, in an instance like this or many others. But lingering on the Devers trade and pining over his every move accomplishes nothing. That's especially true when the Red Sox are in the thick of a playoff race and leading up to a big trade deadline. Devers can play wherever he wants now, but it absolutely has nothing to do with Boston anymore.