Red Sox firing Alex Cora makes Astros strategy with Joe Espada stand out

For everything that has gone wrong for the Houston Astros this season, at least they're not the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox sent shockwaves across baseball on Saturday when they announced that manager Alex Cora and five assistant coaches had been fired. The ripple effect from Cora's firing is still being felt, and have pointed in the direction of the Astros.

There's been increased speculation that the Astros could move on from manager Joe Espada if the season doesn't turn around soon. Espada is out of a contract at the end of the season, and with Houston losing seven of their last 10 games, he could be sent packing before the Astros' season truly goes off the rails.

A case can certainly be made that Espada should be the first domino to fall, but less than a month into the season is entirely too early. Along those lines, Dana Brown, who is on the hot seat as well, issued a vote of confidence to his manager over the weekend.

Brown pointed to the number of injuries the Astros have on their pitching staff as one of the primary reasons for their slow start to the season. Interestingly enough, he also highlighted the command issues of Houston's pitchers as another reason why Espada shouldn't take the blame for how things have spiraled out of control.

Firing Joe Espada isn't a logical solution for the Astros

Espada is in a similar position to Cora. Most of the problems with Boston this season can be tied to decisions that were made by the man who fired him, Craig Breslow. Over the past year, Breslow traded away Rafael Devers, got played by Scott Boras in negotiations for Alex Bregman, doubled down on run prevention, and ignored the glaring need the Red Sox had for a right-handed impact bat. Breslow certainly wasn't going to fire himself, and as long as he had the opportunity, he was going to make Cora and his coaching staff the scapegoats.

With the Astros, Espada can't exactly be held accountable for Brown's plan. It's why there was irony in the general manager highlighting the struggles of the pitching staff, considering he was the one who didn't take a larger swing during the offseason.

Firing Espada now wouldn't solve anything for the Astros. Houston has their problems, but firing their manager before the end of the first month of the regular season is pulling a lever for the mere purpose of doing so. There's no logic behind that call.

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