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The Boston Red Sox aren’t just suffering from a disappointing season; their future looks just as dark. The firing of manager Alex Cora failed to spark the turnaround the front office hoped for, and the club has since been stuck at 15-17 under interim manager Chad Tracy.
While Boston falters, the American League East remains in a tight race between the Tampa Bay Rays (36-23) and the New York Yankees (37-25). FOX Sports analyst Alex Rodriguez looks at the division and sees a larger problem, flatly stating that the entire AL “stinks.”
Appearing on FOX Sports’ First Things First, Rodriguez didn’t hold back with co-hosts Nick Wright, Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes. When discussing the Red Sox, he criticized what he sees as a major competitive imbalance between the American and National Leagues.
“I don’t think anyone is left out,” Rodriguez said. “The American League stinks. It really does, actually. The National League is the opposite, right? If you look out West, I think if the playoffs started today, the Mariners (33-30) would be there.”
In comparison, the NL West is the opposite of the top-heavy AL East. Instead of a two-team race, the NL West features three highly competitive clubs, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres all sitting well above .500.
Rodriguez has lacked confidence in the Red Sox since they fired Cora and game planning coach Jason Varitek in early April. He said Cora was the best manager in baseball, adding that deep down the franchise knew it wasn’t their year.
“I would use another measuring tool,” Rodriguez said. “I think the minute you got rid of Alex Cora, [Red Sox] manager, who I think is the best manager in the game and Jason Varitek, they decided this wasn’t going to be their year. »
For a team that seems to have already thrown in the towel, Rodriguez believes the rest of Boston’s season is just a countdown to October.
