Have you read the “Tek Issues” post on Extra Bases today? The Globe already has one Dan Shaughnessy so they don’t need another guy trying to find conflict where there isn’t any. In the post Christopher L. Gasper speculates that Varitek’s presence on the team will be harmful to Victor Martinez:
Tek’s return for a 14th season with the Sox sets up Martinez’s game-calling skills to be second-guessed at every turn by fans, media and possibly his own pitchers.
Every time Martinez puts down a sign this season and a Red Sox pitcher shakes him off, you’ll have to wonder if the pitcher is doing it because he thinks there is a better pitch in that situation or because it’s not the sign that Varitek would have put down…Now, they’re stuck with the difficult balancing act of moving on from Varitek with Varitek, which is all but impossible.
Can’t you already envision a scenario where Josh Beckett, who seemed to be the most obstinate about Martinez supplanting Varitek as the team’s best option behind the plate last season, goes to manager Terry Francona and asks for Varitek to be his personal catcher?
So what if he does? V-Mart can play first and Lowell can rest his hip. There is no issue here, when Tek rejoined the team he knew he was doing so as the backup. Jason Varitek showed he can be a class act as a backup at the end of the season, his leadership will help as the team adjusts to having a new bench coach.
It is articles like this one that make players not want to talk with the media. The Globe has some great people covering the Red Sox like Amalie Benjamin, Chad Finn, and Peter Abraham. I know they want to expand Extra Bases to be more interactive and look more like other blogs but they have to realize that they are in a different position. They are issued credentials to the cover the team, they have a built-in readership and are given an air of respectability that other sites have to earn. When they are issuing opinion pieces they need to keep those things in mind or they risk damaging a good brand. Jason Varitek’s offensive decline and lack of ability to throw runners out is a real issue, playing second fiddle is not.
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