FORT MYERS, Fla. -- As the Red Sox had a ceremonial start of sorts to their World Series title defense with Monday's first full-squad workout, there were no doors closing or pages turned.
The way manager Alex Cora looks at it, why would you want to separate yourself from something that was so special?
The Red Sox hope 2019 can be a continuation of last year's glory. It helps that nearly the entire cast returns from a team that won 108 games in the regular season and went 11-3 in the postseason.
:: Spring Training coverage presented by Camping World ::
"We're not closing the door," Cora said. "We're continuing. The whole turning-the-page thing, you look at it, you turn the page because something negative happened. There's nothing negative from 2018. I do believe that in my case, my life is like a book and you have different chapters. Family and friends and kids and baseball and school.
"We're going to continue to do what we did last year as far as our principles. We believe if we keep doing that, we're going to be in a good spot, and it's a continuation of what we did last year."
To that end, Cora loved what he saw Monday.
"As a group, I was impressed," Cora said. "Everybody was ready to roll. It seems like they're locked in. No excuses, no talk of anything else but baseball, which is the cool part. Everybody is here, we're ready to work and we did an outstanding job on a hot day working on our thing."

Prior to the workout, the Red Sox had their traditional meeting which included ownership, front office, support staff and all uniformed personnel.
"It was great," Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said. "I love the fact that Alex said in some ways we're not turning the page, that he's had a really enjoyable offseason, and we're obviously going to build upon it, but it's a new chapter. It was extremely inspirational."
As for 2018, those memories will live on, as they should.
"How much did I think about [winning the World Series]? I mean, I don't think it's something I'll ever forget," first baseman Mitch Moreland said. "It was definitely a special season and a special run for us and a dream come true. That was last October, so time to kind of build on this."

"I'm extremely excited to see everyone here and it's nice to be back together with the whole ballclub," Red Sox righty Rick Porcello said. "Looking forward to another challenge in 2019 and hopefully make another run."