Bill Koch

Thursday

Sep 13, 2018 at 9:14 PM


BOSTON — Federal response to devastating storms is a topic back in the headlines this week with Hurricane Florence set to barrel into the coastline of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.


 


It’s a topic that hits home for Red Sox manager Alex Cora. It’s been nearly a year since Hurricane Maria delivered the second of what was a two-fisted blow to his native island of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Irma had struck the island two weeks [...]

BOSTON — Federal response to devastating storms is a topic back in the headlines this week with Hurricane Florence set to barrel into the coastline of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

 

It’s a topic that hits home for Red Sox manager Alex Cora. It’s been nearly a year since Hurricane Maria delivered the second of what was a two-fisted blow to his native island of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Irma had struck the island two weeks prior before Maria inflicted heavier damage, knocking out power and running water to all of the commonwealth’s 3.4 million residents and leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

 

The work done in the following days and weeks by the U.S. government has increasingly been called into question. President Donald Trump addressed the issue in a series of tweets Thursday morning, inflaming the feelings of people such as Cora who still count family members and friends among the affected.

 

“It’s a little bit frustrating that the topic keeps coming and coming and coming,” Cora said. “What’s the point, honestly? I respect him. He’s the president of the United States. But I don’t agree with a lot of the stuff he says about us.”

 

Trump took issue with the official death toll from Maria. He tweeted that Puerto Rico had suffered “anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths” and that over time the total “did not go up by much.” Trump, a Republican, blamed Democrats for what he claimed was an attempt “to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars [sic] to help rebuild Puerto Rico.”

 

“We will never know how many we lost,” Cora said. “I hate that people make it a political issue. This is about human beings. The people that went through this, they know what happened.”

 

Total damage on the island was estimated at $95 billion. Cora said residents of Puerto Rico’s mountain regions still lack running water and other essentials. Almost 19.5 percent of the population was age 65 or older as of July 2017, creating additional need for medical services following Maria’s landfall.

 

“To be tweeting about 3,000 people and being efficient, it’s actually disrespectful for my country,” Cora said. “We see it that way. I know, probably, he doesn’t see it that way.

 

“Like I said, thank you for helping us. He went down there. He did what he did. I hate talking about politics, but I think this is more than politics. It’s about a country that really suffered.”

 

 

 

Back to the bench

 

Rafael Devers scored the lone run in Wednesday night’s 1-0 victory over the Blue Jays, but he was out of the lineup again for Thursday’s series finale.

 

The third baseman has appeared in just 18 games since July 10, spending three different stints on the disabled list. Devers looks to have been surpassed by Eduardo Nunez in terms of an inside track on postseason playing time, slashing .217/.309/.350 and producing just four extra-base hits in limited action.

 

“We’ve had conversations,” Cora said. “We talked a few days ago, and he understands. We’re here to help him out.”

 

Devers hasn’t cracked a .750 OPS since early May. He totaled 23 of his 55 RBI before that date and has struggled defensively, committing a league-high 22 errors and checking in at minus-11 in defensive runs saved.

 

“He’s talented,” Cora said. “We know that. He can do some damage. We want him to get there. We want that guy – I really do.”

 

 

 

Rehab update

 

Chris Sale is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Friday and will make his next start as scheduled on Sunday against the Mets. He’ll be stretched to three innings or 50 pitches ... Matt Barnes could also be on the bullpen mound this weekend as he returns from left hip inflammation. “He was going to play catch – probably more aggressive today,” Cora said. “He was going to let it eat, he told me. Hopefully everything goes fine.” ... Mookie Betts (rest) received the day off.

-- bkoch@providencejournal.com

 

On Twitter: @BillKoch25