Red Sox Fire Cora & 5 Coaches; Name Triple-AAA Worcester Skipper Tracy as Interim Manager

During the intermission of the Roger McGuinn concert on Saturday night in Arlington, I learned that the Boston Red Sox had fired Alex Cora as their new manager while also dismissing five of his coaches.

Although the Red Sox had their biggest win of the season with a 17-1 thrashing of the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon (including a 10-run 9th inning), it was not enough to save Cora's job nor that of five of his coaches who were shown the door. Bench coach Ramon Vazquez, hitting coach Peter Fatse, third base coach Kyle Hudson, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin were dismissed along with Cora. Jason Varitek, who served as the game planning and run prevention coach, will be reassigned to another position within the organization where he has spent the past 30 years with two World Series rings in 2004 and 2007.

Prior to Saturday's win against the O's, the Bosox had lost 6 of their last 7 games including getting swept by the New York Yankees at Fenway Park earlier in the week. They are 10-17 and 8 games back of the Yankees in the AL East. That record is tied for second worst in the AL along with the Kansas City Royals with the Houston Astros sitting at 10-18.

Cora was first hired to manage the Red Sox prior to the 2018 season. In that inaugural season, Cora guided the team to a franchise best 108-54 resulting in a World Series title. The team would dismiss him prior to the 2020 season after his role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal had been revealed. After a single season with Ron Roenicke at the helm. the Red Sox brought Cora back in 2021 and guided them to another post-season appearance reaching the ALCS where they were eliminated by the Astros. The Red Sox returned to the post-season last year with an AL Wild Card berth but would be dispensed with by the Yankees.

Alas, Cora might not be unemployed for very long as speculation abounds that he is waiting in the wings to be the new manager of the Philadelphia Phillies who tonight snapped their 10-game losing streak. Despite the win, the Phillies 9-18 record is currently the worst in MLB. While Phillies President Dave Dombrowski has said that Phillies skipper Rob Thomson is not on the hot seat, Cora's availability might change that equation. After all, it was Dombrowski who hired Cora to manage the Red Sox when he was President of that organization.

Replacing Cora in the dugout is Chad Tracy who has been the manager of the Triple-AAA Worcester Red Sox since 2022. This is not the Chad Tracy who played third base for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins and the Washington Nationals for 10 seasons. This Chad Tracy was a minor league journeyman outfielder in the Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles organizations between 2006 and 2014. Between 2015 and 2021, Tracy was in the Los Angeles Angels organization as a minor league manager and later a minor league field coordinator.

Of note, Tracy's father Jim was a big-league manager for 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. The elder Tracy led the Dodgers to an NL West title in 2004 and the Rockies to a NL Wild Card berth in 2009 after the team started 18-28 under Clint Hurdle. Can the younger Tracy do with the 2026 Red Sox what his father did with the 2009 Rockies? Or can no one turn around this year's edition of the Red Sox?

Roger McGuinn is a Byrd Still in Flight

 

(Roger McGuinn performing on stage at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA on April 25, 2026)

This evening, I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Roger McGuinn in concert at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, just north of Cambridge.

I have been the Regent Theatre previously most recently in May 2025 when I attended a screening of the Jackson C. Frank documentary Blues Run the Game. Tonight, however, was the first time I would attend a concert at this venue.

McGuinn, of course, is best known for his association with The Byrds and his jingly-jangly folk rock guitar riffs on his 12-string Rickenbacker. Prior to this evening, I had seen and heard McGuinn perform live although not as the main act. The first time I saw and heard McGuinn perform live was at the 2000 Boston Folk Festival at UMass Boston where I would also see and hear acts like Richie Havens, Steeleye Spam and The Paperboys (featuring Tom Landa with whom I had attended high school in Thunder Bay). 

Another 19 years would pass before I would be in McGuinn's presence again. This time it would be at New York City's famed Radio City Music Hall where he was part of a 50th anniversary screening of Easy Rider. 

McGuinn, 83, has been touring along the East Coast for the past month or so with one more date scheduled next weekend at Monmouth University before stepping away from the road until he embarks upon a West Coast tour in the fall.

As soon as he hit the stage playing "My Back Pages", it was immediately apparent to me that McGuinn's voice was noticeably weaker than it was when I saw and heard him at Radio City Music Hall nearly 7 years ago. Of course, this is inevitable with the passage of time. No one can realistically expect McGuinn to sing like he sang when he was 23. For his part, McGuinn frequently asked the audience to sing along with him. 

I think the audience was just happy to be in McGuinn's presence and hearing his stories. Interestingly, most of those stories centered around his life before he joined The Byrds. McGuinn told the audience he fell in love with rock 'n roll when he heard "Heartbreak Hotel" on WJJD as a wee lad growing up in Chicago before becoming interested in folk music and learning it at the Old Town School of Folk Music where he would learn songs such as "Well, Well, Well" by Bob Gibson (the folk singer, not the Hall of Fame pitcher), Lead Belly's "Rock Island Line" and Pete Seeger's adaptation of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" from the Book of Ecclesiastes. Eventually McGuinn started writing his own material such as the "Gate of Horn", inspired by a folk club he frequented in Chicago.

McGuinn regaled the audience with stories of his time with the Limeliters and The Chad Mitchell Trio. While with the latter group, he would tour South America at the behest of the Kennedy White House. During this tour, McGuinn was alone near a cliff overlooking the ocean and began writing the chords of what would become "Chestnut Mare", a latter day hit for The Byrds. 

Before joining The Byrds, McGuinn would have a working relationship with Bobby Darin both in L.A, Vegas and later at the Brill Building in New York. It was through Darin that he met Peter Fonda and would later contribute "The Ballad of Easy Rider" to the film of the same name. While working for Darin in NYC, McGuinn would be part of the short-lived band The City Surfers and presented his attempt at surf music called "Beach Ball". The Bee Gees would record a version of this song in Australia. McGuinn quipped he will occasionally get a royalty check for $6. 

McGuinn reminisced about his times with Bob Dylan. As it turned out, Dylan liked basketball and McGuinn had a basketball hoop but didn't own a basketball. This would soon change. Dylan bequeathed McGuinn the first verse of "The Ballad of Easy Rider" and would join him on the Rolling Thunder Revue. It was here that McGuinn got to know Joni Mitchell and asked her if she could spare any songs. Mitchell gave him "Dreamland" which would appear on McGuinn's 1976 solo album Cardiff Rose. 

McGuinn would later reunite with Dylan in the late 1980's via Tom Petty. McGuinn and his wife attended a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert in Tampa where his wife would be struck by a frisbee. While seeking medical attention, Petty appeared on the scene and recognized McGuinn and invited him on stage for a couple of songs. Shortly thereafter, Petty arranged to have McGuinn be Dylan's opening act during a U.K. and European tour. During this time, McGuinn and Petty would co-write "King of the Hill" which would become an expected hit for McGuinn in 1990 after the release of his album Back from Rio. The album would be his first release in more than a decade.

Of course, when people of my age group would hear "King of the Hill" they would say that Roger McGuinn sounds a lot like Tom Petty. I would have to interject and tell them that Tom Petty sounded a lot like Roger McGuinn. For his part, McGuinn said that when he plays "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n Roll Star" many fans tell him they're glad he's playing a Tom Petty song.

McGuinn played a couple of traditional folk songs on the banjo - "This Little Light of Mine" and "The Preacher and The Bear". He saved the bulk of his Byrds material for the end of the show - "You Showed Me" (which became a hit for The Turtles), "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Eight Miles High" which McGuinn did in the style of Andres Segovia with a touch of the Theme to James Bond. Whatever the limitations of his voice, McGuinn has not lost a step with his guitar playing. For the encore, McGuinn played "Chimes of Freedom" and then closed with "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better."

I was pleased to have got the opportunity to see and hear Roger McGuinn perform a full-length concert. He is a Byrd still in flight.

Phillies Extend Losing Streak to 10 Games While Cubs Win 10 in a Row

There are two NL teams going in dramatically different directions - the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs.

On Friday night, the Phillies extended their losing streak to 10 games following a 5-3 loss to the NL East leading Atlanta Braves. The Phillies are in the NL East cellar exactly 10½ games back of the Braves. With the New York Mets having snapped a 12-game losing streak earlier this week and winning 2 of their last 3 games, the spotlight has fallen on the Phillies who entered this season with back-to-back NL East titles and four consecutive post-season appearances including the NL pennant in 2022. 

Have Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner all aged a century in the past few months? Or can the Phils return to Phighting form soon?

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Chicago Cubs have won 10 consecutive games following a 6-4 victory over the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on the strength of a 4 RBI night by shortstop Dansby Swanson. 

During the course of this 10-game winning streak, the Cubs have gone from last place to being tied for first place in the NL Central with the Cincinnati Reds. Indeed, much of the Cubs success has come at the expense of the Phillies beating them six times. The Cubs also had three wins against the Mets during their 12-game losing streak.

The Cubs' last loss took place on April 13th when they fell 13-7 to the Phillies.

In case you're interested, this was also the last time the Phillies won a game.

Ellie Rodriguez Was a 2-Time AL All-Star

 

Former MLB catcher Ellie Rodriguez has passed away at the age of 79.

I remember Rodriguez as the guy who seemingly had a blood feud with Bill "Spaceman" Lee with the pair getting into altercations in Winter Ball and in the big leagues which was detailed in Lee's 1984 autobiography The Wrong Stuff. 

Of course, there was more to Rodriguez's life than those altercations.

Born in Puerto Rico, he moved to New York City with his family as a child and grew up in the Bronx only blocks away from Yankee Stadium. Rodriguez dreamed of being a Yankee and idolized Yogi Berra. He played high school baseball at James Monroe High School. On a personal note, my Dad also attended this same institution. 

Rodriguez was signed by the Kansas City A's prior to the 1964 season. After a single year in the A's organization, the Yankees would select him in the player draft. Rodriguez would earn a cup of coffee with the Bronx Bombers playing 9 games with them in 1968.

In 1969, Rodriguez would find himself back in Kansas City although this time with the Royals who picked him in the expansion draft. While a light hitter, his defensive prowess particularly his ability to throw out runners was enough to earn him a selection as the team's lone representative to the All-Star Game which was held in Washington, D.C. that season though he did not play in the game.

After one more season with the Royals, Kansas City would trade him to the Milwaukee Brewers for fellow catcher Carl Taylor. Rodriguez would hit a career best .285 in 1972 and earn his second AL All-Star Team selection as the Brewers' lone representative to the mid-summer classic that season in Atlanta. But once again, Rodriguez did not get to play.

By 1973, Rodriguez's lack of offensive production and injuries cost him to lose playing time to the up-and-coming Darrell Porter. Following the season, Rodriguez was sent to the California Angels in a 9-player deal which included pitcher Skip Lockwood, outfielder Joe Lahoud joining him in going west in exchange for pitchers Steve Barber and Clyde Wright. 

Rodriguez would play in a career high 140 games in 1974 with career bests in HR (7) and RBI (36). However, during the season the Angels would fire manager Bobby Winkles and replace him with Dick Williams who had led the Oakland A's to back-to-back World Series title until he had a falling out with Charlie Finley. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, Williams took a disliking to him and played him sparingly. Rodriguez attributed this to racial bias on the part of Williams.

Despite a terse relationship with Williams, Rodriguez did have one feather in his cap. On July 1, 1975, Rodriguez was behind the plate when he caught Nolan Ryan's fourth career no-hitter as the Angels bested the Baltimore Orioles 1-0.

Prior to the 1976 season, the Angels dealt Rodriguez to the crosstown Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for his fellow countryman, outfielder Orlando Alvarez. Unfortunately, injuries limited Rodriguez to 36 games. As it turned out, those would be his final games in the big leagues. In 775 career games over 9 seasons, Rodriguez collected 533 hits for a lifetime batting average of .245 with 16 HR and 203 RBI.

Rodriguez would play in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 1977 before joining the Mexican League where he played between 1978 and 1982. He would later work as a scout and manager in the semi-independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball while also coaching youth baseball in Puerto Rico. R.I.P.

$1,000 Isn't What It Used To Be But I'll Take It

 

Like many people, I like to gamble. 

I strive to do so in moderation and with minimal risk.

Smoky casinos don't do it for me. I've only been to a casino twice in my life. The first time was in the late 1990s when I was invited to go to the Casino de Hull in Hull, Quebec (across the river from Ottawa). Not having an abundance of money, I didn't play anything and was soon bored out of my mind. I also saw some very desperate people there.

The second time was nearly a decade ago when my friend Christopher Kain and I went to the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island to see Don Rickles perform. It was a depressing and dreary place. As I wrote at the time, "Never have I seen so many walkers, oxygen tanks, wheelchairs and canes assembled in one place."

Sadly, Don Rickles was not much longer for this world passing away 7 months later.

I prefer to do my gambling with scratch tickets.

Perhaps once a week (give or take) I like to buy a scratch ticket.

A single scratch ticket usually. I've seen too many people buy dozens of scratch tickets. Naturally, that is their business. But for me that seems too much. For me, less is more.

My favorite is the $2,500 a Week for Life game. Sometimes, I'll buy the $250 a Week for Life or the $1,000 a Week for Life game if the $2,500 a Week for Life is game is unavailable.

The idea I could win those amounts seems a more realistic proposition than playing Mega Millions or Powerball although I do play those games once in a blue moon.

Mind you, the $2,500 a Week for Life isn't actually for life. It is paid out over a 20-year period. Of course, one can take the prize in a single lumpsum. Should I ever get that ticket, I will have to do some thinking as to I would receive such a prize given the tax implications. But I'll cross that bridge should it come.

In the meantime, I do win a fair bit on this game. Usually $15, $20, $50 - a little walking around money. 

As some of you might recall, I won $100 during my most recent visit Walden Pond visit but the store wouldn't give me the money. After alerting the Massachusetts Lottery Commission about the situation, they told me I could redeem my money at any one of their outlets and recommended I go to a grocery store which would be all but guaranteed to have the cash on hand. As such, I was able to redeem my winnings from a nearby grocery store. 

Last month, on a Saturday, I sojourned to Southie to play candlepin bowling. On my way to Southie Bowl, I stopped into the J&J Discount Mini-Mart on West Broadway and bought the $2,500 a Week for Life ticket. There are six winning numbers on the ticket, and one can win up to 15 times.

I began by scratching the right-hand side of the ticket. My excitement was aroused when one of my numbers matched a prize of $400. The next column saw another number with a prize of $100. I was now at $500. The next column saw two more $100 prizes. I was now at $700. 

At this point, I was both disappointed and exhilarated. Given that lottery outlets could not redeem more than $600, I could not collect the money then and there. At the same time, I had not completed scratching the ticket.

The next column saw two more $100 prizes. I was now at $900. The last column gave me one more $100 prize to put me at a grand total of $1,000. Needless to say, I walked out of J&J Mini-Mart considerably happier than I did when I exited Cumberland Farms last November after winning $100.

And then I kept the excitement to myself. Because there was now the logistical detail of collecting the money. Until I collected the money I didn't want to tell anyone. Prior to writing this dispatch, I told Dad about my good fortune.

Those who win between $601 and $103,000 can collect their prize by mail, mobile app or visiting a local lottery office in person. I opted for the latter. However, this meant taking an afternoon off of work which meant I waited more than a month to claim my prize. All winnings must be claimed within one year.

That afternoon came today. I went to the Massachusetts Lottery Commission's headquarters in Dorchester. In very short order, I signed the back of my lottery ticket, filled out a yellow form, produced my state ID and Social Security number and received a check for $950 as 5% state tax is withheld.

Now $1,000 isn't what it used to be nor is $950. It doesn't cover the rent anymore. Of course, I'll have to pay federal tax on it next year. But for the moment I have money I would not otherwise have.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Massachusetts Lottery Commission sells lottery tickets including the $2,500 a Week for Life ticket. Since I was in the neighborhood, I bought a ticket. No dice this time. But there will be other days. Besides, I was still able to quit while I was ahead.

UCLA Student Gov't Calls Appearance by a Surviving Israeli Hostage Omer Shem Tov a "One-Sided Narrative"

Omer Shem Tov was kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023 and held hostage for 505 days. 

Since his release over a year ago, Shem Tov has been telling his story and making public appearances. Last May, he even got to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park.

Earlier this month, Shem Tov spoke at UCLA. 

Following the event, UCLA's student government condemned his visit to campus. The Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) issued a statement which read:

Universities must not be complicit in the production or amplification of one-sided narratives that erase systems of oppression and occupation, USAC has, and continues to stand in unwavering solidarity with Palestinian students and all those impacted by state violence and displacement.

Perhaps the USAC would have preferred that UCLA had invited Shem Tov's Hamas captors to speak on campus and regale them with tales of kidnapping, rape and murder.

Now that one would have been a one-sided narrative.

For his part, Shem Tov has issued a statement of his own:

If you are willing to silence a survivor of 505 days in captivity to protect a preconceived narrative, it’s worth pausing.

When a worldview requires you to override your own values, something is misaligned. The hope is that it’s the worldview that changes — because the values are worth keeping.

Alas, when a group of people see fit to condemn a man who was the victim of unspeakable violence it is a demonstration that they have no value system other than hatred and contempt of Jews. In their eyes, Jews are subhuman and thus Shem Tov is unworthy of any compassion and sympathy.

You are either with the hostages, or you are with Hamas. UCLA's student government has chosen Hamas.

Mets Snap 12-Game Losing Streak as Phillies Extend Their Skid to 8 Games

The New York Mets finally got into the win the column for the first time in more than 2 weeks besting the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on a Mark Vientos' single in the 8th inning. Tonight's triumph snapped a 12-game losing streak.

Perhaps the Mets got a lift from the returning Juan Soto. Unfortunately, Francisco Lindor left the game with a calf injury.

But they'll take the W.

Because the Philadelphia Phillies haven't been a winning a lot of games either. The Phillies extended their losing skid to 8 games falling to the Chicago Cubs 7-2. Conversely, the Cubs are enjoying an 8-game winning streak.

The Phillies aren't hitting, pitching or catching the ball. The sorts of things a team needs to do to win ballgames. What jumps out at me is Trea Turner batting .235. That's nearly 70 points below what he hit a year ago to win the NL batting title.

Well, perhaps misery loves company. Both the Mets and Phillies have identical records of 8-16 and are both 8½ games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Not to mention both are looking up at the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins.

There is still time to dig out of the hole. But if things don't start changing soon, Mets and Phillies fans will be more interested in watching a wrestling match between Mr. Met and the Phillie Phanatic.