I believe Dombrowski said there had to be prior coaching experience, not necessarily managerial. Cora has managed in Puerto Rico in addition to obviously coaching on a major league staff.
So DeMarlo Hale is still at least a distant possibility.
I still think he'll make a good manager. He's a veteran bench coach and one of the best 3B coaches we ever had.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
http://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-...ir-new-manager
Industry sources continue to expect Astros bench coach Alex Cora will be the Sox’ pick. No offer had been officially made as of midday Wednesday, one source close to the situation said. But the belief is such an offer waits out of respect to the Astros-Yankees ALCS that can end no later than Saturday if the series goes a full seven games.
“Not a doubt it is him,” the source said.
Sunday and Monday would both be off days ahead of the Tuesday night start of the World Series. That leads to the potential for at least a Red Sox announcement of Cora, if not a press conference, before the Fall Classic begins. (If the Astros advance to the World Series, it may be harder to have Cora in Boston for any length of time.)