The Boston Red Sox were sent back to a losing record after falling to the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Despite opening the season with a vastly improved roster and high expectations for a playoff return, the Red Sox seem unable to live up to their potential so far. New additions like Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman have been as good as hoped, while some roster staples like Jarren Duran and Trevor Story have struggled.
The team also seems to have a hard time moving past its clubhouse drama. Most notably, star slugger Rafael Devers took issue with being moved out of his long-time third base position and then publicly criticized the front office when he was asked to try first base.
And now another veteran player has publicly criticized the team’s decisions, as veteran reliever Liam Hendriks sounded off on manager Alex Cora in a recent interview with The Boston Globe.
“It’s actually a source of contention that I’ve had with (the team) and I’ve had multiple conversations about,” Hendriks said. “The more I pitch, the better I get. If the theory is you want the best of me, throw me.”
Before Wednesday’s game and before Hendricks’ comments were reported, Cora responded to the decision with three words: “That’s on me”
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“We have to use him,” Cora added, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “We’ve got to trust him. There’s a reason he’s here… You want to take it easy with him, but at the same time, if we don’t use him, we’re doing a disservice not only to him but to the whole bullpen. He needs to be a big part of this.”
Following that message, Cora gave Hendriks the nod to relieve Garrett Crochet against the Mets. Hendriks proceeded to give up three earned runs and record just two outs before he was removed.
“I got in there today and it didn’t quite work out,” Hendriks said after the game, according to Cotillo.
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