A Long Awaited Opening Day Is Here
The Boston Globe via Getty Images.
Today is the day, freshly cut grass, springtime, and the smell of baseball is in the air.
Red Sox fans and players have been waiting for this day to come since the season ended in October. There’s one person though who is really excited to begin his manager debut today: Alex Cora. Cora comes in as a new voice in the clubhouse and a fresh young vibe. This spring he’s already built a good relationship with most of his players, and the whole team went to dinner the other night. It was a night he’ll never forget. He’s even said he wants to bring a World Championship to Boston because nobody cares about division titles.
Today’s Opening Day lineup as follows:
1. Mookie Betts, RF
2. Andrew Benintendi (L), LF
3. Hanley Ramirez, 1B
4. J.D. Martinez, DH
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Rafael Devers (L), 3B, OR Eduardo Nunez, 2B
7. Eduardo Nunez, 2B, OR Rafael Devers, 3B,
8. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L), CF
9. Christian Vazquez, C
Alex Cora Is Ready
Via MassLive.com
Chris Sale will get the ball to begin the 2018 season. Cora told the Boston Herald yesterday, ” I told my daughter the other day, she asked me ‘Are you nervous?’” I said, ‘Not really.’ She’s like, ‘Dad!’ She’s more nervous than me. Obviously, tonight is going to be interesting how much sleep I’m going to get.” I’m sure Cora got very little sleep last night ahead of the opener today. Chris Sale is making his first opening day start for the Red Sox saying yesterday ” It fun, it’s exciting, and I’ve done it a couple times before. This would be obviously my first one here, which is special. Boston, obviously, is a great city for sports, a great city for baseball, and to be named Opening Day starter for this organization is not something I take lightly and I’m actually really excited about.”
So here we go. Game one of 162. It will be an exciting season and should be a great atmosphere at Fenway Park all year. The Red Sox will be in the hunt for a playoff spot, and the rivalry with the Yankees could actually be interesting again. David Price being on board with the manager is great too. Everybody seems to like the manager and seems a lot more relaxed than last season.