Red Sox Strut: Once again, Mookie Betts and Steven Wright

The weekly article series where we examine the two players who deserve to strut their stuff for the Boston Red Sox. This week – Mookie Betts and Steven Wright.

Now to fully understand what the Red Sox Strut is, it means to have reason to walk with a confident, proud air around you. Some people mistake it for vanity, arrogance, or being pompous. This incorrect assumption is not what we mean. The Strut is about knowing that your deeds showed off your amazing skills to the baseball-loving public.

Everyone knew the west coast swing at this point in the season wasn’t going to be easy for the Red Sox, but they managed to stay afloat as they make their way back to Fenway after an eleven game stretch along the Pacific. The Red Sox went 2-4 over the course of the last week since the previous Red Sox Strut, and went 5-6 overall on the trip. The offense has certainly come back down to Earth since that magnificent run in June/July where scoring seemed so easy. Their pitching this last week wasn’t much better either. This led to a predictable and recurring Red Sox Strut this week.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER: Mookie Betts

It wasn’t a great week for Boston’s offense. They only managed 22 runs scored which comes out to just over 3.5 runs per game. And that’s with a game in LA against the Dodgers in which they scored nine runs. Take that game away, and the struggles really become more apparent.

The negatives: The dog days of summer seemed to have slowed down Xander Bogaerts. He doesn’t have the same spark he had earlier in the season, isn’t as consistent at the plate and may be a bit tired from a lack of days off. Also, aches, pains and old age are catching up with David Ortiz. Ortiz played at first base for a game in Los Angeles and had to leave due to soreness. The Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman thinks it was a mistake to play Ortiz in the field. Hopefully, Big Papi can get some rest and get back to normal for the stretch run.

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The positives: Andrew Benintendi has already made an impact in his short time with the club. Benintendi had a nice first week getting some big hits, a couple RBI and his first three-hit game on Sunday night. Plus, Sandy Leon continues to contribute and hit his fourth home run of the season. He didn’t make enough of an impact to take the Strut honors, but he’s been a huge contributor in a short amount of time for Boston.

When in doubt about who should Strut, take a look at “old faithful” – Mookie Betts continues to impress in 2016. He is arguably the MVP of the team. Betts had another very good week for the Sox when the rest of the offense wasn’t exactly clicking. Betts went 10-26 at the plate for a batting average of .385 and recorded at least one hit in all six games. Four of those hits were doubles and he clocked his 23^rd home run of the season. He had three RBI and three runs scored along with a stolen base.

There is no doubt that Mookie is the straw that stirs the drink for Boston’s offense. He is the most dynamic player on the team and a true five-tool threat that doesn’t seem to let one at-bat effect the next. His play in the field has also been stellar. Hopefully, Mookie can continue his hot streak now that the Sox have returned to Fenway and the team can get back on track. For now though, Mr. Betts is the Strutter once again.

PITCHER: Steven Wright

Aug 5, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Steven Wright (35) in the second inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

The pitching wasn’t much better than the offense this week, but that has been the trend for this Red Sox team that has struggled to find quality starting pitching and consistent, clutch bullpen performances. The team only won two games in the last week, and a starter only recorded one of those victories.

David Price continues to baffle Sox fans as he looks more and more undeserving of the monster contract that Dave Dombrowski and the Sox brass gave him in the offseason. He had two starts in the last week – a so-so performance in Seattle in which he went seven innings and gave up four runs on seven hits and a stinker against the Dodgers in which he gave up six hits and six runs in just five innings. He gave up a home run in each game, looks incredibly confused and frustrated on the mound and doesn’t seem to be improving at this point.

Rick Porcello managed to throw an eight inning complete game in Seattle with eight strikeouts, but due to the lack of offense, he also was given the loss. He gave up just three runs on four hits, but three of those hits were home runs!

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Drew Pomeranz was just OK in his most recent start for Boston as he looks to get more comfortable in a Boston uniform. He went just six innings, but only gave up two runs on four hits. He needs to get his pitch count down and throw more strikes – he walked six batters.

Eduardo Rodriguez had his worst start since returning from Pawtucket. He couldn’t even get through five innings as the Dodgers scattered eight hits off him and scored three times.

All of these poor performances by the Sox starters caused them to tax the bullpen even more. This has been an issue all season. After trading for Fernando Abad, he had a rough first outing for the Sox giving up a game-winning homer to Robinson Cano on Tuesday. Junichi Tazawa also had his struggles on Sunday night giving up some crucial homeruns in LA. The good news in the bullpen was the return of Craig Kimbrel and Brad Ziegler getting back on track.

But the pitcher that stole the show for the week is an easy guess – it’s of course the knuckleballer Steven Wright. Wright has been a savior for this pitching staff and the team as a whole. He’s an innings eater, and he continues to completely confuse opposing batters. Wright threw another nine-inning complete game shut-out giving up just three hits and one walk. He also struck out nine batters. The guy has easily been the best pitcher on the team and deserves a ton of credit for everything he’s done this season for Boston. He also deserves to Strut!!

Next: Red Sox Blake Swihart Isn't Cut A Break, May Need Surgery

As much as I love Betts and Wright, it would be nice to see some other guys step up for this team in this incredibly important month for the team.

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