The Hot Seat
News came out from Boston yesterday evening that the Boston Red Sox had fired manager Alex Cora, along with their bench coach, hitting coach, and even their game-planning coach, franchise legend Jason Varitek. The decision came after a disappointing season start where the Red Sox found themselves 10-17 and last in the division.
10-17 and last in the division is also where the Houston Astros were at the same exact time, and a few hours later after an 8-3 loss to the Yankees, the Astros dropped to 10-18.
Today the Yankees attempt to complete the sweep of the Astros in Daikin Park. But having seen what the Red Sox felt was necessary to do, should the Astros also be getting out their brooms to clean house?
Joe Espada has been with the organization since 2018. After serving as third base coach for the Yankees, Joe joined the Astros to serve as bench coach for A.J. Hinch after Alex Cora left to become manager in Boston. When Hinch was let go in 2020 after the sign stealing scandal broke, the organization hired Dusty Baker as manager who kept Espada on as bench coach. When Baker decided to hang it up after the 2023 season, the organization promoted Espada to manager.
In his first season in 2024, despite getting off to a 12-24 start, the Astros managed to win yet another division title, but for the first time in 8 years did not advance to the ALCS, or win a playoff series. In 2025, the Astros missed the playoffs altogether. In 2026, after 28 games, they are dead last in the American League.
Is it time for Houston to follow Boston’s example and fire Espada? Is it fair to blame the manager? Even though it’s the players who are playing and not delivering, the manager is always the easier scapegoat for fans to second guess. A fan sitting at home watching TV can say to themselves, “If I were the manager, I would have pulled the pitcher there instead of leaving him in” or “I would have called for a squeeze instead of letting the batter swing away.” They cannot as easily say, “If I were the batter, I would have hit a home run instead of striking out.”
Sometimes the easier target can be the correct one. Espada’s decision making has been questionable. Moves that seem desperate when it’s not yet time to be desperate. Other times passive, when the situation calls for a more aggressive hand. In-game decisions are not the only facet of a manager’s role though. The manager dictates clubhouse dynamics and atmosphere, and that hasn’t been without its hiccups as well. Last year, players almost came to blows with Framber Valdez after he seemingly purposely crossed up his catcher Cesar Salazar so he could hit him in the chest with a fastball.
Espada though, 2026 Espada in particular, has not been dealt the same hands that Hinch and Baker have. 2020 Baker, where he navigated the shortened season with a a pitching staff of Ryan Pressly, Lance McCullers and a slew of rookies and second years is probably the closest comparison, and it was still to a losing record.
If the roster construction is more to blame, then should general manager Dana Brown’s seat be hotter than Espada’s? It’s also hard to know what threshold owner Jim Crane would have to fire his general manager and/or manager. Prior to Brown, Crane has had two general managers: Jeff Luhnow and James Click. Both were dismissed after winning their second pennants. He has had a few more managers. Brad Mills he inherited and was let go. Bo Porter was let go after conflicts with Jeff Luhnow (and to my knowledge there’s been no public disagreements between Espada and Brown). Hinch was let go after the sign stealing scandal’s commissioner’s report. Dusty retired.
The natural replacement for Espada, if he were to be let go, would be bench coach Omar Lopez. Considering that Lopez just managed Team Venezuela to a World Baseball Classic Championship, this may make it easier to let Espada go midseason.
But would it fix the Astros’ problems? Does it matter if it would?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Yankees @ Astros Game Information and Gamethread Details
The Yankees look to complete a sweep of the Astros this afternoon as Spencer Arrighetti squares off against Luis Gil. This will be Arrighetti’s third start. He was stellar in the first one, and escaped with good results despite bad pitching (particuarly against lefties) in his second start.
Later tonight, the Los Angeles Lakers will try to complete a sweep of the Houston Rockets, also in Houston. And if the Dallas Cowboys were to play the Houston Texans, they could complete a trifecta.
The game will be broadcast at 1:10 p.m. CT on SCHN with radio coverage on KBME 790 AM.
This post will be updated with starting lineups as they are made available.
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There’s without a doubt a problem, and somebody needs to be held accountable.
Espada would be the obvious candidate at this point, but it appears we’re looking at organizational failure, so he can’t be the only one.
I prefer Crane to also look in the mirror and make an executive decision to really spend the time to find a POBO with an exciting vision, hire that person, and then step away, handing them a true budget and the authority to remake the organization.
It might be impossible to do mid season, and this is going to be a multi year project, so perhaps he should take his time.
In that case, perhaps fire Espada now, let Omar run it for the rest of the season, see if the team picks it up (they probably won’t), see what rabbits DB thinks he can pull out of his hat, and then dump them all at the end of the season while putting the finishing touches on the hire of a new POBO?
My greatest fear is that Omar manages a team that plays 500 baseball and he stays. Fire them all!
That would be great if it were 2011 Crane hiring Luhnow, but I suspect that 2026 would be hiring someone like Bagwell as the POBO.
I share this fear, and all I can hope is he wakes up and contemplates the decisions that got the org to where it was and the decisions after that got the org to where it is.
Espada deserved a chance to manage. He got his chance, and didn’t show much. He didn’t show any particular strategy. He didn’t know how to get the team out of a slump. Hitters were hacking like maniacs and he didn’t get the house in order. He didn’t advance the runners, he let them play. “Sleepy Joe” was a well deserved nickname (politics aside). He let the coaches coach. He didn’t infuse the team with his style. He has no style other than “laissez-faire.”
Espada is an All-Star game manager.
Never thought this dude had any reason to be a manager, and he proved that he shouldn’t have been. He’s never managed anything except the astros, which he has done poorly. hes dog shit. move on
Just reviewing some of the news media reaction to the Cora firing, it seems like people are blaming GM Breslow and owner John Henry. Their point is that the GM gave Cora a flawed product to work with. The Bregman disaster is layed at the GM’s feet, and the failure to acquire a replacement third baseman when they had too many OFers gets a lot of the blame. Supposedly Breslow and Cora disagreed on baseball. One commentator said it’s like Breslow has never stepped foot in a clubhouse and doesn’t realize that you give Bregman whatever he wants to keep him. The only reason I bring this up is because Crane sees it and may also see that the owner can get blamed too, Bowden says that Cora will likely be hired by Philly next year because he is loved by Dombrowski who was his GM when the Red Sox won a WS.
Breslow was at the center of the Devers 3B-DH-1B mess too, when Devers criticized him for suggesting change positions and said that he’s a former player, he should know it’s not just that easy to start playing another position. So it’s interesting that he’s the target of another criticism in “never been in a clubhouse” that you think wouldn’t apply to a former player.
But Breslow is still kicking around there. Despite having Devers, and then both Devers and Bregman, and now neither.
The article (or video, can’t remember which) later noted that he was a relief pitcher and obviously has seen a clubhouse, but that’s interesting that players are saying that about him.
Imagine truly believing that Alex Cora was the problem…..
Well, he’s not the solution.
The thing that’ll stick with me for a while is that the Astros are wasting what appears to be an all-time season from Yordan and a lineup that is generally hitting pretty well for the most part.
Excellent usage of my photo I took at the Caravan here in ATX. I knew it would come handy at some point, sooner that later. Po’ Joe-E. . . . gets “no respect, I tell ya what !”
You had a few Espada shots but I chose this one because it looked like he was getting news over the phone. “I’m fired?? Really?”
Exactly : )
Red Sox exec Craig Breslow says he wants ‘stabilizing’ voice after Alex Cora firing, but players aren’t happy
https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/red-sox-exec-craig-breslow-says-he-wants-stabilizing-voice-after-alex-cora-firing-but-players-arent-happy-155612891.html
This quote from a Red Sox ex-player is at least creative:
“It’s like s***ting your pants and changing your shirt,” the former player told WEEI’s Rob Bradford regarding the changes made.