Jason Varitek

At 1:51 PM today, I got a text saying that the Sox acquired Adam LaRoche from Pittsburgh.  I had heard the name many times, but had never followed him much.  So I looked him up online and found out that LaRoche is a first baseman and will be used to give Lowell some days off.  I was pretty excited about this.  And with our recent struggles, why not grab another bat?

Continue reading "Look out Kostay – LaRoche is coming through"

Did anyone else get the chills last night as Ortiz’s shot just cleared the center field fence in the fifth?  I sure did.  I kept smiling for the rest of the inning (which was hard not to with all the homers) and even laughed out loud as I realized the team was giving Papi the cold shoulder when he came back to the dugout.  And Red Sox Nation topped it off by giving him one of the loudest ovations of the season, to which Papi answered with a curtain call.  What a great moment at Fenway Park. 

Continue reading "Papi Power - What a Game!"

Seriously, I got into my car at 9:45pm last night expecting to catch the end of the Sox game as I got out of rehearsal.  But instead I hear John Rish, and he’s not giving the game highlights – he’s giving the out of town scores.  My first thought was maybe one of the pitchers threw a no hitter (I would have been frustrated to find out that I had missed another one).  But that wasn’t the case. 

Continue reading "Well That was a Fast One"

rting nine yesterday.  Oh, and I almost forgot the biggest hit of all from Opening Day – Jason Varitek bending one around Pesky Pole.  That’s exactly what Tek needed yeste

Continue reading "Play Ball!!!"

n a decade, it seems as though the Boston Red Sox may be facing a new season without their captain, Jason Varitek.  This is just wrong, and although he'll be 37 in April and his offensive production has dipped dramatically in recent years, the Red Sox still need number 33 behind the plate come April.  Anything else would be a travesty, plain and simple.

Continue reading "Rightful Place"

It's truly a shame in the modern era of baseball to see a player like Jason Varitek as just part of business. Call me a traditionalist but I'm a big fan of any player who gives his loyalty t

Continue reading "Oh Captain, My Captain"

Baseball is an amazing game: You spend six months falling in love with 25 guys you've never met, spend almost 200 nights tuning in to see how they do, and then with one half-swing by J.D. Drew it's all over.

Continue reading "Warming up the hot stove"

s highly likeable, but be honest with yourself - a lineup that includes Jed Lowrie, Mark Kotsay and Jason Varitek (hitting the way he has this year) isn't exactly going to strike fear in a Rays staff whose confidence is sky high. Can they come through? Sure they can. But am I confident it will happen on a nightly basis? Not yet.

Continue reading "Feeling Fenway"

evening. 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give due credit to the Captain, Jason Varitek, for calling an excellent game from behind the plate (and for a sacrifice in the ninth inning that set up Boston’s insurance run).  His control of the game is reminiscent of a conductor’s command over an orchestra, and Varitek directed all of the action and guided his team to victory in a truly harmonious fashion.  After working with Lester through seven, Tek guided young gun Justin Masterson through a jam in the eighth and shut the Angels out in the ninth behind the smoking fastballs of Jonathan Papelbon.  It seemed as though every pitch call was the right one, and the Angels hitters that weren’t simply overpowered were often downright fooled (good show, chap!). 

Continue reading "Same as it Ever Was"

However, the Red Sox would score Jason Bay from 3rd on an RBI fielders choice by The Captain Jason Varitek, giving the Sox the 4-3.

Jonathan Papelbon came into the 9th to save the game. Papelbon has been great this year once again, but he has hit a rough patch this month, blowing a save against Tampa and nearly blowing another 3 run lead against the Jays earlier this month. He looked shaky again and the tying run, Brad Wilkerson, got to within 90 feet of home at 3rd base, but Papelbon was able to shut the door by striking out rookie phenom Travis Snider and earning his 39th save. The strikeout was his 73rd in 65 innings this season.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/19"

After getting seven more in the fourth, including homeruns from Jason Bay, Kevin Youkilis, and Jason Varitek, they had a commanding 11-1 lead that they would not give back.

Even a poor performance out of the bullpen by Chris Smith, 4 earned in 2 innings, couldn't stop the Sox who had 6 total homeruns on the night, capped off by a solo shot by Jacoby Ellsbury in the 5th. Matsuzaka finished the night having given up only 3 hits and 1 earned in 5 strong innings, pushing his record to 17-2 and lowering his ERA to 2.93. He is making a strong case and while it will probably be the Indians' Cliff Lee who wins it, Matsuzaka is probably the strongest runner up, despite missing 3 or so weeks with injury and being among with the league leaders in walks.

Continue reading "Red Sox Report 9/15"

I’m not gonna lie, I was very disappointed last night.  WHERE WAS HEIDI?!

Okay down to business.  Obviously last night was a great game.  Although it wasn’t so great that Byrd gave up three homers, they all came with no one on base.  In addition, the offense did what it’s been doing best as if to say “Hey Byrd – don’t worry about it! We’ll take care of this.”  With that kind of attitude from the bats as well as Byrd’s criticism (towards himself), our ballclub has a playoff attitude and I couldn’t be more proud.

Continue reading "Last night no good for Sox"

z
LF - Manny Ramirez
3B - Mike Lowell
RF - JD Drew
1B - Kevin Youkilis
C - Jason Varitek
SS - Julio Lugo

Exhibit B: The Red Sox lineup, Friday night
CF - Jacoby Ellsbury

Continue reading "Law and Order"

e would have more RBI than Julio Lugo, that Manny would take his Manny show to the left coast, that Jason Varitek would be struggling to hit .220, that Kevin Youkilis would be the team's most feared power hitter, and that David Ortiz would miss the bulk of the first half with an injury - I'd probably have predicted that the Sox would finish fourth in the American League East.

Continue reading "Not Exactly How They Drew It Up - ..."

ur pitching rotation because of injuries, our offense has sure helped us out. 

For starters, Jason Varitek is showing us that he’s still the Captain we all know and love.  Of course we love these guys no matter what.  But there’s nothing that makes us happier knowing that our boys are happy and playing well.  Although he’s only gotten a total of three hits this series, they have all been for extra bases (two of them homers). 

Continue reading "Supporting the Team"

ot as bad as they did the next day)  So last night we had a solo home run from our captain Mr. Jason Varitek!  Finally!!  I'm so happy for him.  We all know our captain has been obviously struggeling at the plate.  Now we might know the reason...divorce?  Poor Jason...yet he will prevail!  Anyway, hopefully they pull out another win tonight, even without one of my faves...Mikey Lowell and new hardhitter...JD Drew.  Heal up fast guys!  We need you!!

Continue reading "A Win in Baltimore and a Solo homer ..."

cquired Knuckleball throwing starting Pitcher Tim Wakefield and the tremendous team captain catcher Jason Varitek.  Tim Wakefield, believe it or not, really made me start liking the Red Sox. 

Continue reading "Who is your Favorite Red Sox Pitcher?"

People who wonder how Jason Varitek can get voted into the All-Star game when he's hitting .215 have their answer right here.

And it seems to me that these men have a responsibility to do just the opposite. I go to work every day with the intent of enlightening my readers about whatever it is I cover. I can't imagine spouting one opinion in newsprint and backing another in a hardcover. To me, it breaks a critical unwritten rule of journalism.

Continue reading "My Life Behind a Tiny Green Wall: ..."

ster has emerged as a truly dominant left-hander, a rare commodity in the Major Leagues these days. Jason Varitek says Lester is going to be the best left-hander in the game in a few years, and watching this season, it's hard to argue with The Captain.

Continue reading "Ladies and Gentlemen, Jon Lester ..."

At the mid-point of the '08 season, when many players are being lauded for their first-half accomplishments, I think it would be a disservice to the deserving fumblers around the league not to recognize their remarkable level of ineptitude.

Continue reading "Baseball's All-Underachieving Squad"

So can we please talk about Jason Giambi's mustache for a second? First the guy admits to wearing a gold thong when he needs to break out of a slump (it's hard to imagine that's all he's "breaking out of" in that kind of attire). And now he goes ahead and grows a full-out, mid-80s, Magnum PI mustache. Add these two nuggets to the fact that he's one of the 3 sweatiest humans on the planet, and that he's a New York Yankee, and you have the grossest person in America. Ever. Period.

Continue reading "Now playing first base for the New ..."

So there I was, lounging on the couch with my dog, half-way paying attention to Kevin Cash's eighth-inning at-bat Wednesday night. Half-way paying attention, you see, because Cash's last 40 or so trips to the plate have resulted in something of a similar outcome - ugliness. Obviously nobody is expecting a 40-40 season from a back-up catcher, and he continues to do what he was brought here to do - catch Wake - but his swing hasn't exactly been drawing comparisons to Griffey, Jr. of late.

Continue reading "Catching A Break"

Ortiz and Jason Varitek make up the heart and soul of this team and what they bring to the table cannot be measured in any concrete terms, but it is undeniable to all who wear the uniform. Varitek was lost to injury during the final month of the 2006 season and that team completely collapsed down the stretch. Could it be possible that without Ortiz, the jolly big man with an even bigger smile who keeps everyone in the clubhouse loose, this team could face similar problems?

Continue reading "Injury to Ortiz is Bad News for Boston"

But the hidden story here, as it often is, lurks behind the plate, in the person of team captain Jason Varitek, only the fourth player ever to receive that honor. Better known for his work at the plate and in the clubhouse than behind it, Varitek has caught no-hitters from Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, Clay Buchholz and, now, Jon Lester's. He's the first catcher in major league history to catch four no-hitters, and that's no coincidence.

Continue reading "No-no? Yes Yes!"

           If you’re a baseball fan (any team), you know better than to get excited about the results of any single series of games. If you’ve been a Boston Red Sox fan for longer than (say) 10 years, you know better than to get excited about almost anything until (say) mid-September (and even then. . ).

Continue reading "Don't get too excited. . .but the ..."

rms, especially in the bullpen, but they also need a young catcher to develop to eventually replace Jason Varitek, who is certainly not getting any younger. However, there does not appear to be any rush to trade Crisp and Theo Epstein seems content to wait for the right deal to come along, and it certainly will as one of these teams will eventually become desperate for a proven centerfielder. Will that happen before the Red Sox break camp or will they wait until during the season and they get a better sense of their pitching situation?

Continue reading "Boston Red Sox Spring Training Stories To Follow"

Sean Casey, who helped the Tigers win their title in '06, is now a member of the Boston Red Sox, so I went fishing for a performance 'snapshot' of him to see what we were getting for our $800,000.

Continue reading "Casey at the Bat"