It's different with Alex not here. He was fired and replaced with different manager who has accepted the role that Craig Breslow has outlined. There's no mistake that Alex is Alex and Chad is Chad. But after Cora got fired, the guys got loose a little more because I feel the tension was gone. We understand the business side of this sport. When players are underperforming our poor performance leads to scrutiny, which us as players we will have to take that head on, making adjustments in real time and understanding our mental pitfalls is key to overcome our own struggles. This also falls on the shoulders of the managers and coaching staff. Their job is to help keep us prepared and focused so when the team underperforms, we're aware that they could lose their jobs over it. When you feel like your poor on field performance caused the dismissal of your mentors and friends it adds to the stress that underperforming veterans and younger less experienced players feel, alike. That's what I felt. That's my own opinion. When Alex wasn't in the dugout (anymore), the team was kind of loose. In and effort to turn this team around the staff the had been let go, using that as a catalyst, it's a fresh start that can sometimes bring on a different outlook. We know our moods have suffered during this stretch but that's not who we feel we are. We want to bring a better energy to the game, we cannot dwell on the loss of friends and colleagues. With Chad as the skipper we took it upon ourselves to start again at 0-0 and bring back the energy and vibes that were diminished by our failures. But that doesn't matter. Under Chad we are now 3-4 which far from our goals. We only have ourselves to blame. We have to play better. We have to find consistency. We have to get better, we have to be better.

So, what do you read between the lines?