Handing out MLB's early awards: Best and worst of wacky opening month

Updated May 3, 2026, 1:06 p.m. ETIt’s the Year of the Rookie, the Year of the Underdog, and the Year of the Underperforming.Who could have envisioned that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson would be unemployed before May?Who could have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that that the Colorado Rockies would have a better record than the Mets, Phillies and San Francisco Giants?How in the world of economics can four of the six highest-payroll teams have losing records: the Mets, Phillies, Blue Jays and Red Sox?It’s been a strange but certainly entertaining start to the season, so why not hand out awards to some of the best, worst and funkiest events of April.BEST REACTION TO A FIRINGFormer Boston Red Sox starter Josh BeckettBeckett, upon hearing that Alex Cora was fired as Red Sox manager while retaining GM Craig Breslow, sent a text message to Boston reporter Rob Bradford.“It’s like (expletive) your pants and changing your shirt.”A few days later, there was a plane hovering above Fenway with a banner that read: “Fire Craig! Sell the team!”No idea whether Beckett was the pilot.BEST SPEECH AFTER A BLOWN SAVENew York Mets reliever Luke Weaver“This pursuit of