Some quick thoughts on baseball, Alex Cora and the Patriots

Rays vs. Astros: Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for not becoming the first team since the 2004 New York Yankees to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven championship series after beating the Houston Astros 4-2 in Game 7. The Rays advanced to the World Series for the first time since beating the Red Sox in seven games in 2008. (The Yankees, of course, blew their lead to the curse-busting Red Sox.)
Red Sox and most baseball fans should be glad that the Houston Astros didn’t complete their comeback because the Astros, except for manager Dusty Baker, aren’t likeable and have never regretted their 2017 sign-stealing cheating scandal that got their manager and general manager fired and suspended for a year from baseball. The scandal also resulted in the suspension for a year of the Astros' bench coach, Alex Cora, who, of course, became the Red Sox manager in 2018, and who was let go by the Sox in January. In addition, the Astros would have been the first team to ever go to the World Series despite having a losing record (they were 29-31 in the COVID-19 60-game shortened season). 
The Rays’ win also means that the World Series champion will be either a first-time club (the Rays), or a club that hasn’t won it in a long while: the Dodgers last won it in 1988 and the Braves last won the title in 1995. (The Dodgers and Braves will decide the Rays’ opponent when they meet in Game 7 of the NLCS later tonight.) 

Alex Cora: In a previous blog post, I advised Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom not to bring back Cora as manager, and now, with much speculation surfacing that the Sox will in fact do that, I’d reiterate my opposition to the move for two main reasons. Hiring Cora:
* Would bring constant questions about his role in the Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal, as well as questions about the true extent of the Red Sox’ 2018 video transgressions, which led to Major League Baseball penalizing the Red Sox.
* Would unrealistically raise expectations about the 2021 season despite the fact that the pitching rotation remains in serious doubt since their top two starters --- Chris Sale (Tommy John surgery) and Eduardo Rodriguez (serious heart ailment after his bout with COVID-19) may not be ready until well into the next season. Sale won’t be back at least before June given the recovery time from his surgery and Rodriguez has to take his rehabilitation very slowly.
 Patriots: The Patriots’ 18-12 loss to the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium today (Oct. 18) shows how much COVID-19 has adversely affected the NFL season – despite the league’s insistence on cross-country travel and keeping the schedule at a full 16-game season. More positive COVID tests by the Patriots kept practice at a minimum over the last week, and the lack of practice showed, especially in the lack of the offense’s execution.
Quarterback Cam Newton, who was the first Patriot to test positive, seemed to lack energy, and was obviously hindered by the lack of practice and his time off. Patriots’ fans should lower their expectations for the season, especially given how tenuous this 2020 season has become due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.