>> WITH PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORTING TO SPRING TRAINING IN
A MONTH, THE BOSTON RED SOX ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW MANAGER.
ALEX CORA AND THE RED SOX PARTED WAYS EARLIER THIS WEEK AFTER
CORA ADMITTED HIS GUILT IN A SIGN-STEALING SCHEME WITH THE
HOUSTON ASTROS IN 2017, WHEN HE WAS THE ASTROS BENCH COACH.
HE IS ALSO UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR SIMILAR ACCUSATIONS WITH THE
RED SOX WHEN THE SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES IN 2018.
"CONNECTING POINT'S" RAY HERSHEL SAT DOWN WITH TWO VETERAN LOCAL
SPORTS REPORTERS -- RON CHIMELIS FROM "THE REPUBLICAN" NEWSPAPER
AND WESTERN MASS SPORTS PERSONALITY SCOTT COEN -- TO
TALK ABOUT THE SCANDAL AND THE FALLOUT.
>> I THINK A LITTLE QUICKER THAN WHAT I MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED.
DIDN'T WAIT FOR THE INVESTIGATION TO FINISH, THEY
KNOW THE HAMMER IS GOING TO COME DOWN.
KNOW HE WAS GOING TO GO SUSPEND FOR A LONG TIME.
SO THERE'S NO POINT, PARTING WAYS, THAT'S A NICE WAY OF SAY
WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.
IT WAS INEVITABLE WE FIGURED MOVE ON.
>> SCOTT, WERE YOU SURPRISED AT ALL OR NOT?
>> NO I WASN'T. WHEN YOU REALLY LOOK AT THE FACT
THAT CORA WAS THE RING LEADER IN HOUSTON WHEN THEY ONE THE WORLD
SERIES THEN NEXT YEAR HE WAS THE BENCH COACH THERE.
THAN HE CAME TO THE RED SOX AND HE CONTINUED THE SAME ILLEGAL
PRACTICES WITH BOSTON.
SO HE'S THE CENTRAL FIGURE IN ALL THIS.
AND I DON'T THINK THE -- I THINK THE RED SOX GOT OUT IN FRONT OF
THE STORY TO THEIR CREDIT AND THEY DID WHAT WAS INEVITABLY
GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAY.
>> PAST FEW DAYS WE'VE SEEN AJHINCH GONE, CORA GONE WITH THE
RED SOX. AND CARLOS BELTRAN IS GONE WITH
THE METS, NEW MANAGER DIDN'T GET CHANCE TO MANAGE ONE GAME.
DID BELTRAN PARTING OF WAYS SURPRISE YOU.
>> I DIDN'T WAKE UP EXPECT CAN IT.
I WOULD SAY YES TO THAT I'M NOT UP TO SPEED AS MUCH ON THE STORY
AS I WILL BE IN A FEW HOURS MAYBE.
ONE THING I'LL SAY ABOUT THE CORA DEPARTURE THAT SPRING
TRAINING STARTS IN A MONTH.
RED SOX HAD 20 DO SOMETHING, THIS IS NOT EASY TO MAKE A
SWITCH NOW.
NOT GOING TO BE EASY IN THE BELL TRAN CASE.
I DID I THAT DID SURPRISE ME OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH HIM.
>> IN SOME WAYS, RAY, IT WAS MORE OF -- WITH THE RED SOX I
THINK THEY HAD TO DO THAT WITH CORA, A, HE WAS GUILTY OF WHAT
THEY DID.
THE WHOLE -- FOR DECADES FOR GENERATIONS.
AND I THINK ESPECIALLY IN NEW YORK, I THINK THEY GOT RID
OF B,LTRAN BECAUSE IT WAS GUILT BY ASSOCIATION, METS DID NOT
WANT THAT TO BE THE CENTRAL STORY OF THEIR TEAM FOR THE NEXT
SIX MONTHS.
AND IN NEW YORK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN.
>> MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STILL INVESTIGATING THE CORA SITUATION
WITH THE RED SOX.
AJ HINCH SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR FROM BASEBALL.
DO YOU FEEL THAT ALEX CORA'S PUNISHMENT WILL BE MORE SEVERE
GIVEN THE FACT THAT HE WAS INVOLVED IN HOUSTON AND NOW
ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED WITH THE RED SOX, WHAT DO YOU THINK HIS
PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE OR WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE?
WILL IT BE LOT MORE HARSH THAN AJ'S?
>> I WOULD HAVE TO ASSUME SO.
IF YOU GO MATHEMATIC THREE HE DID IT WITH TWO TEAMS I CAN SEE
TWO YEARS, THEY'RE GOING TO BE MORE SEVERE WITH CORA I DON'T
THINK THEY'RE GOING TO HOLD BACK JUST BECAUSE RED SOX MADE THE
MOVE WHEN THEY DID.
SO I THINK YOU HAVE TO ESTABLISH WHAT CORA DID -- WHAT HINCH DID
TO THE SECOND DEGREE.
AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE LONGER THAN A YEAR.
THE GENERAL MANAGER OF HOUSTON WAS SUSPENDED AS WELL.
YEAH, I EXPECT CORA WILL BE LONGER I'LL BE SURPRISE
UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT.
>> OF THE FOUR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS, MAJOR ONCE, FOOTBALL,
BASKETBALL, HOCKEY AND BASEBALL.
BASEBALL IS THE MOST OLD FASHIONED.
I WAS HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A BIG SPORTS
FAN THE OTHER DAY I TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO THEM ABOUT THE
UNWRITTEN RULES IN BASEBALL.
THEY ARE LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AREN'T THE RULES ON PAPER,
IT'S LIKE, WELL, THEY ARE, BUT THERE'S UNWRITTEN RULES.
IF YOU DO THIS YOU HAVE TO SUFFER THIS CONSEQUENCE.
YOU DON'T DO THIS BECAUSE OF THIS REASON.
BASEBALL -- PEOPLE HAVE BEEN STEALING SIGNS AND GOING TO
GREAT LENGTHS TO DO IT FOR THE LAST 60 YEARS PLUS.
AND TECHNOLOGY HAS NOW COME IN TO BASEBALL RECENTLY.
THEY'RE DOING INSTANT REPLAY, THEY'RE EXPERIMENTING WITH
ELECTRONIC UMPIRES TO RULE OUT BALLS AND STRIKES.
THAT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE IN BASEBALL EVENTUALLY.
IT'S ALREADY IN OTHER SPORTS.
SO, THE FACT THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY NOW WITH THE WAYS --
WITH THE COUPLE RANG ELSE AND THE VIDEO REPLAY AND EVERYTHING
ELSE, THE BASEBALL PLAYERS HAVE FIGURED OUT AND COACHES A WAY TO
USE THIS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.
THE OVERALL SPORT HAS NOT CAUGHT UP WITH IT YET.
>> WE SHOULD CLARIFY THAT SIGN STEALING IN ITSELF IS NOT
ILLEGAL, IF YOU DO IT VISUALLY.
>> IT'S ENCOURAGED.
IT'S A PART OF THE GLAM BUT THE ILLEGAL PART USING ELECTRONICS
AND TECHNOLOGY TO STEAL SIGNS.
>> CHANCE FIRST OF ALL YOU CAN'T DO IT IF YOU'RE THE VISITING
TEAM.
THERE'S THAT.
IT IS JUST A NEW ELEMENT TO IT.
SCOTT'S RIGHT.
SIGN STEALING, I NEVER THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL BECAUSE YOU
HAVE TO GUARD YOUR SIGNS, YOU HAVE TO PROTECT -- BUT
ELECTRONIC PART OF IT THE MANIPULATION OF TECHNOLOGY THAT
BRINGS IT INTO A DIFFERENT AREA.
>> ONE OF THE OTHER AREAS IRRELEVANT THINK THAT CORA IS
GOING TO BE PUNISHED FOR, REMEMBER WHEN -- WITH THE
PATRIOTS, WITH WHATEVER GATE IT WAS CALLED.
THEY WERE USING -- THEY WERE USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO,
TO STEAL SIGNS, FOOTBALL SIGNS.
THEY WERE TOLD NOT TO DO IT SO THEY WERE CAUGHT AND EVEN THOUGH
BILL BELICHICK AND HIS STAFF WERE CAUGHT AND TOLD NOT TO,
THEY CONTINUED TO DO IT.
BACK IN 2017, ALEX CORA GOT PINCHED FOR USING iPHONE
WATCHES TO COMMUNICATE BETWEEN EVERYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THE
SCHEME.
THEY SLAPPED HIS HAND AND YET HERE HE IS IN 2018 DOING THE
SAME THING WITH THE RED SOX.
HE BROKE THE RULES OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, WHATEVER HE GETS COMING
TO HIM HE'S GOING TO DESERVE IT.
>> I'M CURIOUS ABUT YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE FUTURE NOW OF
ALEX CORA, DOES HE HAVE A FUTURE IN BASEBALL OR IS HE JUST
RADIOACTIVE NOW THAT SOMEBODY WILL TOUCH FOR YEARS TO COME?
>> NOBODY EXCEPT PETE ROSE IS RADIOACTIVE.
HE'LL BE BACK IN BASEBALL.
PREDICT HE WILL NOT BE A MANAGER MAYBE NOT A COACH.
MARK MAGUIRE, BURY BONDS, THEY FOUND GUYS, I'LL BE SURPRISED
IF CORA IS OUT FOREVER BUT IN TERMS OF INFLUENCE I THINK IT'S
OUT.
ONE THING I DO WANT TO SAY I GIVE ROD CREDIT FOR THIS, FROM
THE STEROID, BUD SELIG SAID HE WAS RIGHT ON THIS WENT ON FOR
YEARS AND YEARS HE WAS A SO NO EVIL COMMISSIONER.
HE'S IN THE HALL OF FAME.
RODMANFORD, KNOCK IT 06, NO MORE.
PEOPLE STILL DID IT HE'S SHOWING THAT HE MEANS BUSINESS.
I THINK THAT IS GOOD FOR BASEBALL.
>> YOU KNOW, RAY, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS WE LOOK MY FIRST
THOUGHT, WHAT ABOUT THE PLAYERS.
THEY WERE ALL INVOLVED IN THIS AS WELL.
THEY CHEATED AS MUCH AS ALEX CORA AND THE COACHES DID.
BASEBALL'S PLAYERS UNION IS VERY, VERY STRONG AND THERE'S
REALLY NO WAY THAT THEY CAN GO AFTER PLAYERS INDIVIDUALLY RIGHT
NOW.
BUT BASEBALL KNOWS IT HAS THIS ISSUE, KNOWS IT'S A PROBLEM AND
THE NEXT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TALKS THAT ARE COMING UP AND
THEY'RE VERY SOON, BASEBALL IS GOING TO TALK TO THE PLAYERS
ABOUT THIS AND THEY ARE GOING TO TRY TO SET STRINGENT RULES AND
REGULATIONS.
AND IN THE FUTURE IF PLAYERS ARE INVOLVED, THEY ARE GOING TO FACE
CONSEQUENCES.
>> THAT BRINGS US TO THE RED SOX 2020 SPRING TRAINING IS A MONTH
AWAY WITH PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORTING.
RED SOX NEED A MANAGER, I'VE SEEN A LIST OF POTENTIAL
CANDIDATES, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS IN TERMS OF WHO IS AT
THE TOP OF THIS LIST?
>> PEOPLE'S CHOICE IS JASON VERITEK, I WOULDN'T RULE IT OUT.
INTRIGUING CHOICE IS JUSTIN PEDROIA BUT HE HASN'T RETIRED
YET.
THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE QUALIFIED.
I HAVE A FEELING VERITEK HAS A REAL SHOT, PEOPLE LIKE HIM, THAT
COULD HELP PUT THIS BEHIND THEM.
THE RED SOX ARE SO IMAGE CONSCIOUS HAVE TO THINK OF THAT.
>> ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN THEY HAVE BRAND NEW GENERAL
MANAGER WHO CAME FROM A DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD, WHO MAY
WANT TO PUT HIS OWN STAMP ON THIS BALL CLUB AND WE'LL HAVE TO
SEE WHETHER THE FRONT OFFICE IS GOING TO ALLOW BLOOM TO BRING
SOMEONE IN THAT MAYBE -- NAME WE DON'T RECOGNIZE.
>> GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A MINUTE LEFT.
EACH OF YOUR THOUGHTS QUICKLY, THAT IS, THIS WHOLE SIGN
STEALING SCHEME WHERE DOES THIS STAND IN TERMS OF TARNISHING
BASEBALL'S REPUTATION?
HOW BIG A DEAL IS THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF MAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL?
>> IT IS A BIG DEAL.
AGAIN, I THINK THE FACT THAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH IT HAS TO
BE PART OF THE NARRATIVE.
AND I ALSO THINK THE CRITICISM.
HOUSTON SITUATION WAS THE OWNERSHIP GOT OFF SCOT-FREE.
MAYBE THE RED SOX OWNERSHIP AS WELL.
BUT I THINK IT'S BAD.
BUT I THINK IT CAN BE DEALT WITH AND I THINK THEY'RE TRYING.
>> SCOTT, LAST WORD, QUICK.
>> ASTROS WON THE WORLD SERIES IN 2017.
CHEATING.
THE RED SOX ONE WORLD SERIES IN 2018, CHEATING.
THE ASTROS NEARLY WON THE WORLD SERIES AGAIN THIS PAST YEAR.
LAST THREE WORLD SERIES WERE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY USING
TECHNOLOGY TO STEAL SIGNS, TO CHEAT.
I THINK THEY NEED TO ADDRESS IT IMMEDIATELY.
I THINK THEY'RE DOING THAT.
AND GOOD FOR BASEBALL.