Mastrodonato: Alex Cora cheated, apologized and paid the price, so what more do Red Sox fans want?

The diehard Red Sox fans have been on board since the day the club rehired Alex Cora to take over a last-place team after an embarrassing performance in 2020.

But some of the cynical ones — no judgment here, but there are still plenty out there — refuse.

Usually the comments sections, responses on social media or casual remarks at the corner of the bar are the same: Cora is a cheater.

Indeed he is. That is indisputable.

But like the old saying goes, the ball will find you. And the ball has found Cora and the Red Sox back in Minute Maid Park to face his old friends in Houston this weekend.

The Astros and Sox begin their battle for the American League pennant tonight at 8:07 p.m. ET, when Kiké Hernandez leads off against Houston lefty Framber Valdez.

In Houston, expect a mix of boos and cheers — more boos, probably — when Cora is announced before the game.

In Boston, who are you cheering for?

It’s not that every Red Sox fan needs to agree, nor that groupthink must be universal. Surely, there will be Sox fans who never root for a team led by Cora. There will be those who have their moral high ground and refuse to come down from it. It’s more than fair. Some might call it commendable.

But in the battle between an Astros team full of players who were on the ’17 squad that created the trash-can banging sign-stealing scandal that rocked the baseball world and led to Cora’s temporary dismissal in Boston, and a Red Sox team led by the “mastermind” of the whole thing, there is no moral high ground.

It’d be hard to ask any more from Cora than what he’s done since losing his job last January.

He told the Red Sox right away that he was at fault. Chairman Tom Werner said as much when the Sox and Cora parted ways, noting, “Alex by his own admission, and we agreed, played a central role to what went on in Houston.”

If anyone was a hypocrite here, it’s the Red Sox.

President Sam Kennedy said it was an “easy decision” to let go of Cora in January and principal owner John Henry said, “We’ve held this wonderful baseball club to a very high standard. Today, this week, is not any different. We must ensure everybody in the organization represents the club in a manner that deserves the support and respect of our fans.”

The team stunk without Cora in 2020 and seemed to know all along they’d bring him back, given the way they handed the job to his bench coach, Ron Roenicke, then fired Roenicke after he did the best he could with an uninspiring roster that was not built to win.

Dusty Baker, perhaps the best candidate on the market last January after the Mets, Astros and Red Sox all lost their managers in the fallout from the cheating scandal, landed in Houston for a job interview last January and told reporters the Red Sox never contacted him.

A source with knowledge of the situation told the Herald this week that the Red Sox never interviewed Baker for the opening.

Nothing is for certain, but it seemed pretty clear that the Sox knew the plan was to bring Cora back after his suspension was over.

Cora stayed quiet for nearly the entire year in 2020 until he got his job back in November. And when he did, he owned it.

He said he was sorry. He said he was embarrassed. He said he lost a lot of friendships and it was the most difficult year of his life. And he fessed up to playing a central role, just as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in the damning report he released.

“Witnesses consistently describe this new scheme as player-driven, and with the exception of Cora, non-player staff, including individuals in the video replay review room, had no involvement in the banging scheme,” Manfred wrote.

And yet, some are quick to forget that every single player on the Astros was privy to the benefits of the scheme.

“Witnesses made clear that everyone proximate to the Astros’ dugout presumptively heard or saw the banging,” Manfred wrote.

So what will it be, Red Sox fans? Root for an Astros team that was equally as involved as Cora, though the players never received punishment? Or forgive Cora for his sins and get back on board?

There’s the third option of not watching or caring at all, which many are certain to take, but not as many as you’d think. NESN ratings released last week told us New Englanders are showing up in big numbers to watch this team on television every night.

Cora owned his mistake. He said he’s aware if he ever cheats again, his career in baseball will be over.

Now, either the Red Sox or the Astros will represent the A.L. in this year’s World Series.

Draw the line or walk around it.