On this off-day, some noteworthy stories from around the web for Red Sox fans:
- Sports Illustrated’s glowing piece on the meteoric rise of Mookie Betts asks, “how can you not root for an undersized, dynamic underdog who answers to Mookie?” Writer Jay Jaffe calls Betts “Boston’s most compelling player, a symbol of the organization’s success in drafting and development as well as its hopes of returning to the top of the AL East.”
- Washington Post breaks down the Red Sox strategy: wait and wait and wait — and then pounce on the pitch that’s best for you. National baseball writer Barry Svrluga says the “Red Sox are back to the approach that helped make them World Series champions in 2013: Make every at-bat, every pitch, matter.”
- As covered elsewhere on RSNStats, pitching, especially starting pitching is a mounting concern for Red Sox fans, but General Manager Ben Cherington toed the line on WEEI radio this morning saying “I know as a group the guys feel good physically, confident and just have to execute a little better. Cherington also said that he expects Rusney Castillo to “make a contribution [at the Major League level] this year, but I don’t know when.”