Boston Red Sox Strut: Hanley Ramirez and Rick Porcello

The weekly article series where we examine the two players who deserve to strut their stuff for the Boston Red Sox. This week — Hanley Ramirez and Rick Porcello.

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.

Wow! What a week to look back on for the Red Sox. We all knew that the final weeks would clearly determine if this team was going to be playing October baseball or not with so many games against AL East opponents, and Boston has been up to the challenge. They went 5-1 since the last Strut was posted and have taken a firm grip on the lead of the AL East with a four game cushion on both Toronto and Baltimore. They also pushed the Yankees out of contention in the process with a four game sweep which is always especially delicious for Sox fans.

The most impressive aspect of their current streak is probably how they have been winning. It seemed as though this team was a bit of a front-running bunch that liked to get up big on teams and crush them. But winning close games was an issue. That changed last week. They won some very tight games with timely, clutch hitting and impressive pitching performances. This team currently looks very poised to make a true run in the playoffs.

POSITIONAL PLAYER: Hanley Ramirez

I mean, seriously, who else is going to earn the honors this week? The guy has been on absolute fire! Hanley went from keeping quiet and going about his job, which was good enough for Sox fans this year, to becoming one of the major players in the lineup and a solid first baseman as well.

The dude absolutely destroyed the Yankees over the weekend. He’s had a magnificent month of September overall, but this last week put his value to this team on full display. In fact, there are some analysts claiming that Ramirez could earn some MVP votes. Newsday’s David Lennon even compared Hanley to the other Ramirez that helped bring a World Series title to town over a decade ago.

His numbers on the year are impressive: .293/.363/.515 with 28 home runs and 106 RBI. Sure, he’s got some solid hitters around him, but his power and knack for making contact is pretty special.

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Hanley went 11-for-23 over the last six games – that’s a batting average of .478. He also crushed four home runs, all in the series against New York, and added 9 RBI. The home runs weren’t just your run-of-the-mill homers either. They were mile long blasts, some to deep center, and they came at crucial times. The first one came in an incredible ninth inning that saw the Sox score five runs to come back and beat the Yanks in dramatic fashion on Thursday. It was a three run shot that everyone knew was gone from the moment it left his bat. I was at Fenway as a spectator that night, and the atmosphere at Fenway was magical.

Then came the two homeruns on Sunday night – another three-run shot to give the Sox life and put them on the board and a solo shot a few innings later to give them the lead. He truly ruined the Yankees season in a matter of a few days.

The guy is locked in right now, seeing the ball extremely well and just baiting opposing pitchers to throw something in his wheelhouse. He’s been an awesome part of the lineup this season and is very difficult to get out. He understand how to be patient and where he wants the ball to do the most damage. Hanley is Strutting once again, and is a huge reason why this team has a comfortable lead in the AL East.

PITCHER: Rick Porcello

The pitching portion of the Strut award was fairly obvious as well this week. The starting pitching and even the bullpen has looked much better as of late. Things have at least been more consistent on the mound for Boston.

While Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz have been up-and-down and didn’t have great outings last week, David Price and Rick Porcello have excelled with Steven Wright remaining out of action with a shoulder injury.

But Price wasn’t great on Saturday afternoon against the Yankees. He gave up five runs on nine hits and only managed to get through six innings. Boston went on to win the game and Price earned a no-decision on the day. We are giving him a pass for Saturday’s outing though after news came out that he learned about the passing of a close personal friend that morning.

Clay Buchholz had a very nice showing as he was back in the starter role on Friday night. He went six innings and only gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks with no homers. This is precisely what the Sox need from him. But we all know we can’t fall for the bait with Clay. Let’s see what his next start brings.

The bullpen continued to show signs that things have been figured out since the return of Koji Uehara. Koji along with Craig Kimbrel and Brad Ziegler had great outings. Even Robby Scott, Joe Kelly, Heath Hembree and just about all of the other relievers have been getting the job done.

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This week is Rick Porcello’s week once again as he makes a real argument for his contention in the Cy Young race and as the best pitcher on this squad. He works so quickly and efficiently that it is a real joy to see him pitch. He started strong in 2016 and is finishing the same way.

Porcello had two starts last week and both were against the Orioles. That O’s lineup is not too shabby with three 30-plus home run guys to contend with. But Slick Rick basically shut them down both times.

He gave up one run on four hits in eight innings last Wednesday. The Sox offense was stifled though, and he unfortunately got the loss. He did sit six batters down by way of the K with no walks. Then on Monday night, he figured eight innings wasn’t good enough and pitched a complete game where again he only gave up four hits and let up two runs. This time he had seven strikeouts with no walks and earned himself his 21^st victory.

Porcello’s ERA is now 3.08 with a WHIP of 0.98. He’s now averaging 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings to just 1.24 walks per Fangraphs. And if you’re a persons who values that WAR stat, his is now a whopping 4.7.

Next: Mookie Betts hits historic home run

Porcello is the real deal and is Strutting yet again in 2016. He has already made an amazing case to get a start in game one of any playoff series, and has also made Ben Cherington look like a genius for that contract extension last year. It’s been fun to watch him pitch this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing it in October.

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The weekly article series where we examine the two players who deserve to strut their stuff for the Boston Red Sox. This week — Hanley Ramirez and Rick Porcello.

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