Jason Varitek's Value to the Red Sox isn’t lost on ex-Boston catcher Kevin Cash

January 27, 2009 | Providence Journal | By Joe McDonald

 

Both catchers the Red Sox employed in 2008 are no longer with the club – currently. One has a job and the other is looking.


While Jason Varitek and the Sox continue to talk about his possible future with the organization, his backup, Kevin Cash, is preparing for life as a Yankee.


Cash signed a minor-league deal with New York in December that will pay him $700,000 if he reaches the majors. He earned $400,000 as Tim Wakefield’s personal receiver in 2008.


But his former teammate is, at present, a man without a job.


"I don’t know anything about the contract, or how much they have talked with Jason. All I know is what went on in that clubhouse my last two years," said Cash, who joined the Sox late in the 2007 season. "I know how important he is for that club and in that clubhouse, and most of all for that pitching staff."


Cash, 31, has 501 regular-season games of major-league experience. Varitek will be 37 in April has caught 1,330 games, including four no-hitters and has won two World Series.


"I’m not pro-Red Sox or pro-Jason," Cash said. "I’m not picking sides. I just know the value of what he does in the clubhouse. That pitching staff is unbelievable. The guys they sign and the guys they develop in that organization are all talented players. I think it works both ways. I think Jason has benefited from playing with the Red Sox and having the opportunity to work with those pitchers.


"At the same time, every pitcher on that staff will tell you how vital a role he plays in their career and during each season."


It’s become an interesting argument this offseason. Can a team afford to leave a player who is declining offensively – Varitek had a career-worst .220 average in 2008 – in the lineup because he’s valuable in other areas?


Varitek is continually praised for his ability to call a game, run a staff, being prepared and communicating. It could be the latter that has really made a difference for the Red Sox the last few seasons with a continent of foreign and inexperienced pitchers in the organization.


"It’s one thing to do what he does and catch as much as he does, but when you’re talking about dealing with pitchers like Daisuke [Matsuzaka] and Hideki [Okajima], you have to go out of your way to communicate with those guys."


Cash caught Matsuzaka once last season and that’s when he realized first-hand how well Varitek prepares.


"To be honest, it was tougher than catching Wakefield," Cash admitted. "Just for the fact he and I didn’t have the same communication that Jason and Dice developed the last two years. If Dice shakes him off, Jason knows what pitch to go to next. I’m sitting back there guessing because he has so many pitches. I felt bad because you never want to take a pitcher out of his rhythm, but I did that.


"Fortunately we won that day against the Royals, but I remember going out to the mound several times. When you watch Jason catch Dice, that hardly ever happens."


Cash signed with the Red Sox as a minor-league free agent in January of 2007 and spent the majority of that season with the PawSox. He was called up late in the year when Doug Mirabelli was injured and remained with Boston for the rest of the season.


Eventually Cash replaced Mirabelli as Wakefield’s personal catcher during spring training of 2008 and worked all 30 of the knuckleballer’s starts last summer.


Cash, Varitek and the pitching staff would talk about opposing hitters all the time. Whether they were on the plane, playing cards, in meetings, in the dugout, and before and after games, the Red Sox catchers and pitchers were always prepared.


The catching situation in Boston remains unsettled. The Red Sox didn’t tender Cash a contract after last season, but explained their reasoning — they said they needed flexibility on their 40-player roster — and he understood. They offered salary arbitration to Varitek, which he declined. They also signed Josh Bard to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. While there’s certainly a chance Varitek will return, right now the position is in the hands of Bard and minor-leaguers George Kottaras and Dusty Brown. While Cash may have felt like the odd man out, he’s also realistic. He finished the 2008 season with a .225 average in 61 games played with 3 homers and 15 RBI, serving primarily has Wakefield’s personal catcher.


"If I would have done more offensively, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” he said. "I’m well aware of that. I didn’t make it a no-decision for them."


Once the Red Sox did not tender Cash a contract, the Yankees quickly approached him about signing with New York. In fact, the Yankees pursued Cash a little more strongly as he would have anticipated.


"The hype between the Red Sox and Yankees, hopefully people won’t get carried away with it," said Cash. "I look at it as moving from one great organization to another. Anytime a team shows interest, whether it’s the Yankees, Red Sox or anybody else, it’s an honor to get interest from any major league team. I’m excited about this opportunity, but obviously, I’m going to miss everyone in Boston."