Krause: Middlebrooks reflects on staying calm amid hoopla of home opener

BOSTON – The question arises after every special occasion game. How — Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks was asked — do you go from the euphoria of a decibel-level-rising, banner-raising civic celebration … to the playing of a mere one game out of 162??No problem,” replied Middlebrooks. “We don?t have a problem keeping our focus on the game.”Perhaps Middlebrooks did it better than most of his teammates. At least he hit a home run — his first of the season — in the team?s 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers that was preceded by an organizational celebration worthy of Hollywood.Other than that — not much good news here. The Red Sox were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, left five runners on, and saw one of the relief pitchers they signed in the offseason — Edward Mujica — have a horrendous outing. It was the ultimate letdown after a superbly choreographed pre-game festival.There may have been a couple of reasons, says Middlebrooks, and one reason is Milwaukee starter Marco Estrada and the other is the team itself.?We may have been amped up a little,” admits Middlebrooks. “You have all that stuff going on and you might be a little too anxious.?You have people who have played their whole careers and have never won one of these things (a World Series ring) so yeah, it?s special.”And Estrada was the wrong kind of pitcher to be facing in a game like this because he isn?t an especially hard thrower. He mixes his pitches well and keeps hitters guessing.?He (Estrada) kept us off balance,” the third baseman said. “You get into a fastball count and he throws you a changeup. He might have taken advantage of (our over-anxiousness) a little.”Middlebrooks seems to be one of those players who finds the bizarre in a game without really looking for it. We all know he was involved last year when the Red Sox lost Game 3 of the World Series on umpire Jim Joyce?s obstruction call.He was central in a little bit of an unusual play Friday, even though it wasn?t really his fault. After the Red Sox had blown several opportunities to take the lead in a 2-2 game, Khris Davis of the Brewers opened the ninth with a double to right field. Scooter Gennett bunted back to Mujica, who threw to third in an attempt to nail Davis.However, Davis got a good jump, and while the play was close, he appeared to have slid in under Middlebrooks? tag.But … Davis also came off the bag, and it appeared Middlebrooks still had his glove on the runner?s back as he slid past third.?I don?t know,” said Middlebrooks. “It happened fast. After I saw the replay a couple of times, it looked as if I may have gotten him. I don?t know.”From there, the wheels fell completely off the wagon as the Brewers scored four runs and added a little extra rain (it had already started to drizzle at that point) on the Red Sox? parade.The thing that separates baseball from the rest of the major sports is that you play 162 of these things. There?s much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth with football, where every game is dissected, re-dissected, and hashed over to death. But in baseball, you shrug and go get ?em tomorrow.?That?s what we?re going to do,” said Middlebrooks. “Think about tomorrow. It isn?t going to do a whole lot of good now worrying about it.”