Alex Cora Breaks Silence On Red Sox Poor Usage Of ABS System So Far originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Red Sox have not gotten off to a strong start to the season, and they have not been great with the ABS challenge system.

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On Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds, the Red Sox ran out of challenges in the third inning and were unable to challenge multiple bad calls by CB Bucknor later in the game. On Tuesday, Ceddanne Rafaela challenged a pitch in the third inning and lost the challenge. The Red Sox have used their challenges in non-leverage spots, and it has hurt them so far.

The challenge system is still new, so teams are still trying to figure out the best way to use it. However, the Red Sox have acknowledged that they need to be better. Alex Cora spoke on the team’s strategy and how players need to improve in that department.

“We have our system, we know the rules, but at the end, what happens in between the lines, sometimes emotions take over,” Cora said, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “And we have to take the emotional part of it out of the equation. Like the other day with Narvi (Narváez). He wanted that strikeout. He knows that Ranger (Suárez) is kinda finding it but struggling. And that’s, ‘Let me get this one.’ And that’s why he did it.”

The Red Sox have not found much success with the new system so far. They are below league average right now in getting calls overturned. Cora noted how emotions of the game play a role in players deciding to challenge.

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“It’s a process. It’s a new system,“ Cora said. ”Some of them have been part of it in the minor leagues. Others have been detached from the system for three years or two years. They haven’t seen it, and there’s emotions involved. That’s the reality of it. So we have to kind of like slow it down. Sometimes it’s even like, play it without thinking that there’s a system until later in the game. Just play it straightforward.

“But at the same time, as a hitter, you know there’s a system there, and you believe that pitch is a ball,” Cora added. “It’s your at-bat. You’re like, ‘forget that. This is a ball.’ Sometimes you’re gonna be right. Sometimes you’re gonna be wrong.”

The Red Sox need to find a balance between taking advantage of the system and making sure that they have challenges available late in the game. Most of the time, the calls being challenged are very close, so there’s always a chance the Red Sox will be wrong. However, knowing the situation and keeping a challenge in the back pocket may outweigh the risk of losing one early.