We are witnessing a growing trend in MLB this season – heated disputes over umpires’ calls resulting in frequent ejections. While the umpires always get the final say, managers aren’t backing down this time. Here, one name that’s becoming a familiar presence is Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Known for standing his ground, Cora recently found himself on the receiving end once again, with his second ejection of the season. And just like last time, he had his reasons.

It all began when Romy Gonzalez was at the plate against Tampa Bay Rays. With runners on first and second and one out in a game where the Red Sox trailed by two, Gonzalez battled Ian Seymour to a full count, then took a 3-2 fastball that was clearly low and outside.

Expecting the next ball, Gonzalez stayed back. However, home plate umpire Junior Valentine rang him up, calling it strike three. The 28-year-old protested right away, and a furious Cora stormed out of the dugout. He was ejected almost immediately.

The skipper had a blunt four-word response when asked about the call later. “It was a ball,” Cora said. “That pitch was a ball. It was down. He was really good, actually, during the day… it was down,” he further added.

The replays showed Gonzalez hadn’t swung his bat. But he was about to swing and just stopped at the last moment. That might have been enough for the umpire to call it a strike.

The game against the Rays witnessed a few more dramas apart from the ejection. In the seventh inning, the reliever Brennan Bernardino threw his glove in frustration as he was not happy with his performance.

Well, it’s understandable. The Red Sox are 32-36 at the moment and are stuck in fourth place in the AL East. What’s more concerning is that they have dropped four of their last five extra-inning contests.

With the team struggling and injuries to key names like Alex Bregman, Boston’s defense has made all the wrong moves recently. It wouldn’t be wrong to blame the Sox’s recent slump on their sloppy defense.

Alex Cora got a sloppy defense to deal with 

The Red Sox are converting just 68% of batted balls into outs. That’s the fourth-worst mark in the majors. They are also leading the league in errors, which reflects their defensive woes further. Apart from Garrett Crochet, the remaining starting pitchers are underperforming. Erratic throws and slow double-play turns have only magnified the challenges faced by an already stretched pitching lineup.

In recent times, Red Sox’s most encouraging win came against the Yankees. Yes, that 11-7 win on Sunday. It sealed their most promising series win of the year so far. But the series also exposed the Red Sox’s vulnerabilities.

The pitchers surrendered 23 runs across three games and the defense wasn’t much better. While the Red Sox have got serious talent, their recent form hasn’t been promising at all.

While Boston’s season is definitely not done yet, Alex Cora will have to work really hard to turn it around.