Red Sox Hit Piece Week rolls on, everyone! Today it’s Alex Speier, arguably the current dean of the Red Sox beat, who has a big piece diving into the ways that the relationship between Craig Breslow and Alex Cora slowly fractured over the past few years. The juiciest nugget in this one? “Breslow contemplated significant changes to the coaching staff and especially the hitting group (including Fatse ― beloved by players: ‘Top, top hitting mind and work ethic in the hitting world,’ said one) both during and after the 2025 season… [W]hen Breslow raised the idea of staff change to Cora, the manager made his feelings clear: If Breslow wanted to do so, he’d have to fire Cora.“ (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

And it’s clear that Breslow’s desire to fire the coaching staff last season wasn’t merely a case of a CBO wanting to bring in his own guys — there were meaningful conflicts about how best to do the job: “At one point last year… Breslow asked the Red Sox coaching staff to begin documenting every pregame hitting and defensive drill done by each player, which some coaches found excessive and time consuming, further fueling a perceived lack of trust between the staff and the front office.” Moreover, one unnamed player credits Alex Bregman with, at one point, stepping in to defend the hitting coaches and protect their jobs. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Following his dismissal, Cora was given a chance to pen a farewell email to the Red Sox staff. Here it is. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

Many of the players appear to still be taking the dismissals hard. And that doesn’t just apply to Alex Cora. Connor Wong spoke out about losing Jason Varitek, who he says was “like a dad” to the whole team. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Given the age discrepancy, it would be pretty weird if Terry Francona said Varitek or Cora were like dads to him, but he did say that Alex Cora is “one of my favorite people in the world.” (Connor Ryan, Boston.com)

We have no idea how John Henry feels about Alex Cora, because John Henry continues to refuse to acknowledge the general public that funds his baseball team. But Sam Kennedy defended his boss’s silence: “John Henry is deeply engaged with this organization… he doesn’t always do it in the most public-facing way. He’s very selective in terms of how he engages with the media, but that should not ever be confused with a lack of involvement or care.” (Scott McLaughlin, WEEI)

With all of the former Red Sox players speaking out (though anonymously in many cases), you may have thought that Mookie Betts would get involved. But, naturally, Mookie is too smart for that:

Meanwhile, there is still baseball to be played and the Red Sox didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory up in Toronto this week. That certainly applies to Brayan Bello, who was demonstrably upset about being removed from the game by Chad Tracy yesterday. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Besides Tracy, here’s a look at some of the other new faces in the Red Sox dugout (Amin Touri, Boston Globe)