Valuable Cora continues to be put to good use

Cora's best is always pretty good, but lately his best has been superb. This was the third time he's had a direct hand in winning a game in a 10-day stretch that began with the game-winning triple in Toronto April 19, continued with the game-winning base hit off Mariano Rivera the following night, and then rolled merrily along with yesterday's scintillating performance in Yankee Stadium.

Perhaps playing Cora every day would overexpose him, but if Pedroia doesn't start hitting soon, manager Terry Francona will be left with no choice. Right now there is a Grand Canyon gulf between the play of the 31-year-old 10-year vet and the 23-year-old rookie, who is hitting .188 in his first 144 major league at-bats.

Understand that Cora isn't saying he doesn't want to play. Of course, he wants to play. "You have to feel that way," he explained. "You feel you're a starter who isn't playing. We've got four of them: Doug [Mirabelli], Eric [Hinske], Wily Mo [Peña], and me. You come to the park thinking you're going to play. You've got to keep that edge."

But he knows the deal. He signed a two-year contract with the Red Sox to be a utilityman. He gives Francona insurance at second, short, and third base defensively, and he gives the skipper great comfort as a lefthanded bat in any situation. And not just Francona.

"Smart guy," declared designated hitter David Ortiz. "He knows what he's doing all the time. I'm tellin' ya, that's what it takes to have a good team. When you have someone who doesn't play every day come out and play like this. I don't know how they do it. Alex is the smartest player I've seen in a long time -- with the glove and with the bat."

"He's a baseball player," said catcher Jason Varitek. "We've always known that. His wits on the field are phenomenal. Even if he doesn't hit, there isn't a situation that doesn't go by that he's not aware of."

So it was that when Cora came up in the third with Coco Crisp on via a leadoff triple to the gap in right-center, his teammates already had put the run up in their minds. No way Cora isn't going to get the job done, they figured. After nearly finding the gap between third baseman Alex Rodriguez and the third base bag with one Chien-Mien Wang offering, he chose another on the inside half of the plate and delivered the RBI grounder to short. Piece o' cake, you know.