The Boston Red Sox just ripped off 15 straight wins. That kind of run doesn’t happen by accident, especially for a team that looked dead in the water two months ago. And according to former closer Jonathan Papelbon, the turnaround might have less to do with pitching adjustments or lineup shuffling and more to do with who’s actually allowed in the clubhouse.
Papelbon went on Foul Territory and laid out a theory that’s been floating around Boston circles for weeks. He pointed back to a comment Isiah Kiner-Falefa made about a month ago, when the infielder basically said there were too many front office types hanging around the team — the khaki pants and zip-up polo crowd, as he put it.
“That kind of hit home,” Papelbon said. “If you got too many front office guys around trying to over-manage or step over their boundaries, guys are getting bombarded with too much information. I have a sneaky suspicion that that has come to an end.”
The implication is pretty clear. Somewhere along the line, the decision-makers backed off. Whether that was a conscious choice or just the natural result of a team finding its footing, nobody’s saying. But the timing lines up with Boston’s surge.
The leader in the room
Papelbon didn’t stop at the front office theory. He also gave credit to a specific guy in the clubhouse for steering the ship. That guy is catcher Willson Contreras.
“The guys have said, ‘You know what? F the world, everybody go to hell. We’re gonna play our own style of baseball,’” Papelbon said. “And they have completely done a 180. They have switched the way they play, they have switched their mentality, and they are playing like balls out, night in and night out for themselves. And the leader of the pack is Willson Contreras.”
That fits with what we’ve seen on the field. The Red Sox look looser, more aggressive, less like they’re playing scared. Contreras has been a steady presence behind the plate and at the dish, and the pitching staff seems to have bought in.
The streak finally ended Wednesday with a 5-1 loss to Baltimore. But Boston sits at 52-49, still third in the AL East, and they open a series against Toronto on Friday. Nobody’s booking October tickets yet, but the vibe has clearly shifted. If Papelbon’s right and the front office really has backed off, that might be the single biggest adjustment the team made all year.
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