Boston Red Sox: Alex Cora’s great expectations for 2018

The Boston Red Sox need to embrace the Patriot way.

In a city that has Bill Belichick and the “Patriot way,” and Brad Stevens and Bruce Cassidy leading incredibly successful youth movements, Cora and the Red Sox must find a spot in there somewhere. Henry knows this and wonders what they will be recognized for.

“Secondly, we need a definitive culture,” Henry tells Cora. “You were a strong character guy in your day. You influenced and mentored countless young players. Hell, you did it here. Do it again. It may seem obvious but build the culture around winning and mental toughness. This team has won in the past two years but only in the regular season. I want regular season wins that lead to postseason success”.

Even Dombrowski raises an eyebrow at how in-depth his boss goes about culture.

“We can’t win based solely on talent,” Henry says to Cora. “Find a theme among all the guys that incorporates their talent and build the culture off of that.”

Cora listens intently. As Henry talks to him, he thinks of the cultures inside the two World Series-winning locker rooms he was in with the 2007 Boston Red Sox and most recently the 2017 Houston Astros. The 2017 Astros were struck with tragedy in Hurricane Harvey and were playing for something bigger than themselves. The 2007 Boston Red Sox were just flat-out better than everyone else. Cora knows he can’t (and doesn’t want to) duplicate those two.

He thinks of the 2004 Boston Red Sox: the lovable idiots who were never to be counted out. Cora realizes that the team he inherited is full of bright, young baseball minds, not idiots.

Cross that one off the list of possible cultures.