Jason Varitek
Rumors Of Catcher's Demise Are Squat
April 25, 2010 | Boston Globe | By Nick Cafardo
It was early in spring training at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa when Jorge Posada said something that seems to resonate to this day.
“You watch,’’ Posada said. “Jason Varitek will play a lot more than you guys think. He’s the leader of that team. They’ve depended on him for a lot of years.’’
Those words are starting to gain substance.
Varitek continues to be a leader, and when he’s played he has contributed offensively, last night hitting his fourth home run of the season. He hit a 2-0 fastball from Orioles rookie phenom Brian Matusz into the Monster seats in the fifth inning, drawing the Red Sox within 2-1. His other homers have come off Zack Grienke and Luis Mendoza of the Royals and Wade Davis of the Rays.
He looks fresher, healthier. There’s more of a bounce to his step. He’s hitting higher in the order (sixth last night) than he has in years. He’s batting .304 and hitting homers at a career-best pace. This good start, in what many believed would be Varitek’s final season with the Sox and perhaps in his career, has given reason to wonder whether the sporadic play helps his offense.
He’s 38, so the thought of Varitek becoming the starting catcher again may not be realistic, but as Victor Martinez struggles, and given the scarcity of catching around baseball, who knows where this season will lead him?
Varitek had a horrible spring training off the field. He spent most of his time in and out of camp, visiting his father in an Orlando hospital. The situation was dire, but since that time a minor miracle has occured and his dad is getting better.
Almost simultaneously, all of Varitek’s injuries started to become more manageable.
The Sox are 3-2 in games he has started. He’s caught Josh Beckett three times, Jon Lester once, and last night he caught John Lackey.
Like Martinez he has struggled throwing out runners; 11 straight have swiped a base. One former catcher-turned-scout, said, “His arm strength is still there, but his release isn’t as quick as it used to be and that’s predictable when a catcher gets to be 38 years old. But there’s nothing wrong with his arm.’’
Varitek has heard about his demise for some time now. When you ask whether it motivates him to prove that he isn’t done yet, he avoids a direct answer. Varitek isn’t one to be publicly defiant, but you can tell based on the intensity of his offseason workouts that he was compelled to come to training camp in great shape. Last season, he often looked like a mummy after games with wraps all over his body.
“Indirectly, I’ve heard what people say,’’ Varitek said. “I think it’s like anything else — you hear stuff like that, but if you wait out the process you get the whole picture. And sometimes if you don’t wait out the process you get one person’s opinion, whether its good or bad. You don’t necessarily see what the whole process is. All it takes is one person who doesn’t like you to start it, and it runs. We’re all fueled by media, talk radio, and you don’t even have to end up reading or listening and you’ll know what’s being said about you. You can’t control that so you try not to have that seep into your head and affect your preparation and what you’re doing.’’
The sporadic playing time has helped him take care of his body better, and perhaps that’s the reason why he’s had early success.
He’s able to hit the weight room, where last year, “I had to stop. I had so many things going on physically I just couldn’t take care of what I had to care of. One thing I’ve been able to do is do a lot of maintenance work. Health is a huge thing. When you’re healthy everything you do is better than if you’re hurt. There’s no way around that. I have 38-year-old nooks and crannies and issues that I need to maintain and take care of, but I definitely feel better than I did last year.’’
Varitek’s forte is and will always be his preparation. He still meets with pitchers to set the game plan for the day and pitchers like Beckett still believe in him.
Varitek has had a lot of friends as backup catchers over the years, and he said of Martinez, “I can’t ask for a better guy to work with. I’m here to support him in any way I can.’’
Varitek had plenty of experience in the mentoring role last season after Martinez showed up Aug. 1. “Now it’s a full season into it. I do what I can to help us win games and to help Vic. I don’t think about the role or the playing time. When I’m called upon I try to do my best and try to do something to help us win a game.’’
Varitek doesn’t expect to be a big bopper this season, but he said, “I’ve always been strong so if I make contact I’m capable of hitting it out. I’ve never been a home run hitter. I don’t know how to explain it. Sometimes it depends on the elements. It’s one of those nights where the ball is just carrying and you hit one up in the air and it gets out. I didn’t crush that one, but I hit it pretty good.’’
Varitek’s a natural righthanded hitter and last night he homered righthanded. His other three homers came lefthanded.
“Really, righthhanded I haven’t had a whole lot of at-bats. I’m still trying to adjust lefthanded, as well,’’ he said. “It’s been a bit of an up and down. I didn’t play that much in spring so I’m trying to see more pitches and the more pitches you see the more comfortable you get so it’s hard for me to evaluate myself this early.’’
So far the evaluation is clear — Varitek is becoming more relevant, more important, just as Posada predicted