Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks is a recurring content series on NESN.com. Middlebrooks, a former Red Sox player and current NESN analyst, gives his insight and opinion on pertinent Red Sox storylines throughout the season. You can read the latest stories from the series here.
The Boston Red Sox just finished a pivotal road trip in the middle of a playoff race with two series wins over the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals.
That has vibes up for those inside the Red Sox clubhouse.
Will Middlebrooks got an up-close view of that. The 2013 Red Sox World Series champion was around the team over the recent six-game road trip as he was on the call for NESN for each of those contests.
Middlebrooks didn't just see a happy-go-lucky bunch enjoying where they are at this point in the season. Instead, he saw the Red Sox as a determined and focused group, ready to seize the moment in front of them even with their schedule not getting any easier.
"I think they accept the challenge, though," Middlebrooks told NESN.com. "This is a team that just grind and they come to the field looking for a fight and a way to get better every day."
Middlebrooks believes that mindset starts with manager Alex Cora, who has ratcheted up his urgency with the Red Sox battling for a playoff spot.
Cora's approach has changed with the magnitude of each game building for Boston. Starting pitchers are getting shorter leases while Cora isn't afraid to mix and match with the lineup, too, and call upon a pinch hitter in the middle to later innings.
That's all in an effort to get the Red Sox into the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and they aren't far off from doing so with 49 games remaining in the regular season. The Red Sox enter a three-game series with the Houston Astros, which starts Friday at Fenway Park, just 1 1/2 games behind the Royals for the third and final American League wild-card spot. The division isn't out of the question, either, with the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles 5 1/2 games up on Boston.
"They're a hot streak and a cold streak away from being closer to the top of the division," Middlebrooks said. "You're going to see these games be managed like they matter much more. And I think that feel in the clubhouse, and them believing they can compete with the best in baseball and get to the postseason, is what's the driving force for this team."
