Alex Cora Delivers Urgent 5-Word Bulletin On Red Sox's Fading Playoff Hopes
If September collapses aren't already the Boston Red Sox's signature, it's getting dangerously close.
For the last three years, the Red Sox were dreadful in September. They weren't particularly good in 2021, either, but at least they buckled down and secured a playoff spot on the season's last day. This season, they might be headed for the same nervous ending -- or for something far worse.
After back-to-back series losses at Fenway Park, the Red Sox have just a 1 1/2-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians. Per Fangraphs, the Red Sox's odds of making the playoffs have fallen to 83.0% -- down from 98.2% when Roman Anthony got hurt against the Guardians on Sept. 2.
Manager Alex Cora's message on playoff 'destiny'
Manager Alex Cora knows his team is in trouble of blowing what should have been a near-guaranteed trip to October. Boston has lost eight of its last 13, and the Guardians have won 12 of 13 to make up seven lightning-fast games in the standings.
However, Cora also feels as though as long as the team's fortunes are in its own hands, they can't complain.
“We control our own destiny,” said Cora, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “That’s the way I see it.”
Boston will send ace Garrett Crochet to the mound for the penultimate time this season on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays. It's a crucial game to win, and Cora laid out the blueprint for how he wants to see his team finish.
“We’ve got to play better baseball. That’s it,” said Cora. “Offensively, there were some signs today but we’re not there offensively. We’ve just got to make sure we understand who we are as an offense. We’ve got to keep the line moving.
“When we’re good, we don’t strike out, we hit the ball all over the place, we run the bases and the starter doesn’t go six.”
Time and time again, Crochet has been there to keep Boston on course when everything was going haywire around them. On Friday night, they call upon him again, needing him to bail them out of the ultiamte pickle.
Steelers Could Get Major Boost for Patriots Game
The Pittsburgh Steelers have released their final injury report ahead of a Week 3 game at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots, which featured some promising news regarding the status of their first-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft.
Defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, who practiced for the first time during the regular season earlier this week, was officially listed with a "questionable" game designation.
The 22-year-old suffered an MCL sprain during the first quarter of the team's preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers on August 21. There was some fear that he'd require a stint on the reserve/injured list to begin the year, which would've kept him out for at least the first four games, but he ultimately avoided that fate.
Though Harmon still went on to miss the Steelers' Week 1 and 2 contests against the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks, respectively, the organization's decision to leave him off IR could pay off in spades should he be active vs. New England and the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland during Week 4.
Before going down with his injury, Pro Football Focus credited Harmon with recording four pressures and a sack across 70 total defensive snaps in the preseason.
He's been listed as a starter on each one of Pittsburgh's depth charts, and it's safe to assume that he'll take on a sizable role up front immediately upon returning.
With that being said, however, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin stated earlier in the week that the team will likely limit Harmon's snaps as he works his way back into the swing of things.
"We'll see where he ends up at the end of the week, but I think, if it does come to it, we'll be pretty judicious with his snaps and try to work him back," Austin said. "More importantly, he's probably going to be lacking some football conditioning, football shape. So, you don't want to throw a guy in there that's really not quite ready in those regards.
"I like the progress he's making, and we'll just kind of see where we end up at the end of the week."
Though no official decision has been made on Harmon's availability against the Patriots, it's a good sign that he simply wasn't ruled out.
It does appear as though he is tracking to debut vs. New England, and he should provide a major boost for a Steelers defense that desperately needs one if he does in fact suit up.
