Coming off their 8th World Series (including the one in 1903 when they were the Americans) the Red Sox are expecting a repeat of their success. They lost Jacoby Ellsbury to their rival, the New York Yankees but then they signed Grady Sizemore who was a great outfielder for the Indians before constantly getting injured the past 3 years. The big question for the Sox this year is whether or not young short stop Xander Bogaerts can step up to the plate and fulfill the loss of Stephen Drew. Many scouts think he will be able to have much success in the MLB. Jarrod Saltalamacchia signed with the Miami Marlins this offseason so the Red Sox went and signed a veteran catcher AJ Pierzynski. Jackie Bradley Jr was supposed to learn from Ellsbury and progress to start in the outfield next to Jacoby in years to come but now that Ellsbury left and they signed Sizemore he will have to impress more than he did last year to get a spot in the lineup. Ace pitcher Jon Lester is looking for another impressive season. Then there is Clay Buchholz and Jake Peavy. Last year Clay went 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA in the Regular season in the Postseason he went 0-0 with a 4.35 ERA. Jake went 12-5 with a 4.17 ERA.

Will Middlebrooks was a shining prospect in his debut season for the Red Sox in 2012. During that season he came onto the scene hitting a .288 batting average, hit 15 home runs and 54 RBIs in only 75 games, after which his season ended due to a wrist injury.

Since then, he came back to play in the 2013 season, where he did not exactly take the team by storm. He hit a lower average, of .227 and struck out 98 times in 94 regular season games. Due to these unsatisfying statistics, he was demoted to the Triple-A Pawtucket team in June of the 2013 season. He did come back to Sox in late August, but Xander Bogarts, another young prospect, took his place as the starting third basemen.

Middlebrooks stated, to NESN’s Ricky Doyle, “‘Looking at the team, of course, we won the World Series…but I’ve said it a million times, last year sucked for me.’”

Not being satisfied with his performance last season, he is looking forward to having a bigger impact on the field in order to help his team continue their success.

He therefore is working on a new playing approach, better work outs and drills, and mentally preparing for the new 2014 season. He is hoping to once again, burst into the 2014 season, playing well, uninjured, and most importantly helping to maintain the Red Sox winning streak.

Info Found at: OfficalRedSox.com and ESPN..com