Did Alex Cora take low blow shot at Chris Sale before facing former Red Sox ace?

Whenever Chris Sale initially arrived with the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2017 season, he looked like he might be the next great pitcher in Beantown. He finished Top 5 in AL Cy Young voting in each of his first two seasons with a 2.56 ERA over 59 starts across those first two seasons. But then things fell off the tracks for the southpaw.

Injuries were the unfortunate theme for Sale thereafter as he didn't pitch in 2020 and played only 11 combined games in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He pitched 20 times in 2023 but was in and out of the rotation with a variety of ailments. There were flashes of the previous greatness but never the consistent availability or dominance that we saw at the beginning of his Boston tenure.

That all led to the 2024 offseason when Sale was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for second baseman Vaughn Grissom. And thus far, that has worked wonders for the reigning NL East champs as Sale had posted a 3.44 ERA and 0.955 WHIP over his first six starts. That also led to his first meeting with his former team on Wednesday night.

Prior to that matchup, though, Red Sox manager Alex Cora had some eyebrow-raising comments about his ace that had some fans wondering if he was taking a shot at Boston's former ace.

Was Alex Cora taking a shot at Chris Sale with comments about facing former Red Sox ace?

When asked about how the Red Sox would approach facing Sale for the first time, Cora said: "Let's take a look at the Orioles last year and hopefully, we can copy them."

To Cora's point, Baltimore absolutely demolished Sale across four starts in the 2023 season when the lefty was still with the Red Sox. He lasted only 17 combined innings across those starts while the Orioles posted a 1.130 OPS and scored 20 runs (19 earned) against him. Sale's pitching numbers, predictably, were the farthest thing from pretty against the O's with a 10.06 ERA and 1.824 WHIP. So yeah, it makes sense for Cora to want Boston to hit like that against the southpaw.

But is that sour grapes that Cora is holding tightly to in regards to Sale after the trade? While it's entirely understandable why it could be read that way, it's likely entirely removed from the truth. The truth is most likely that Sale's former manager was simply ribbing a player who he has immense respect and appreciation for because they have such a good relationship.

If you need evidence of that, look just earlier in the week when Cora was asked about Sale on Monday before the two-game set against the Braves. The Red Sox manager spoke glowingly about Sale, per Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe:

"He was there for me when I was down," Cora said. "The guy is special. I know people make jokes about him — the injuries and (falling off the) bike and all that stuff — which I think is f***ing b*****it. Because this guy did everything possible to be on the field."

I think that settles whether or not Cora had any animosity behind his Orioles-related comments toward Sale, frankly. As always, context is important, and the context here is that Cora and Sale hold mutual respect for one another in the highest order. But even then, a little good-natured jab between friends never hurt anyone.