Varitek's cheap shot and the myth of 2004

In case you hadn't heard, the greatest and smartest catcher of all time is going to call it quits (and we'll conveniently forget it's because the Red Sox didn't want him any more, much like the Yankees didn't want Jorge Posada), so the tributes are rolling in.

"From afar, he was everything you want a guy who wears a 'C' to be," (Red Sox manager Bobby) Valentine said of the longtime Red Sox captain. "He was a man's man, he was a big hitter when needed, he was the leader of the pitching staff. [Pause] He was able to beat up Alex, all that stuff. He was exactly what he was supposed to be.''

"He was able to beat up Alex." Cute, Bobby. It's that kind of talk that almost made me miss Joe Morgan on ESPN.

But until I no longer draw breath, in spite of what Joe DeLessio may think about it, I'm going to remind people ...

,,, Varitek kept his mask on. It was a cheap shot.

As bad as that is, there's one other thing people get completely wrong about the fight. From the Gordon Edes article linked above.

The moment is one many Red Sox fans point to as a turning point in the rivalry with the Yankees.

The turning point was that day, but it wasn't the fight. I watched the game, but went back to the box score to remind me of some of the details. The Yankees were up 3-0 when the fight happened, and although the Red Sox went up 4-3, the Yankees got six runs in the sixth to make the score 9-4, and after the Sox got four back in the bottom of the inning, the Yankees got another run in the seventh to make the score 10-8.

Then Bill Mueller hit a home run to win the game for the Red Sox ...

... off Mariano Rivera.

Let's say, however, that Rivera got out of the ninth. The Yankees would have been 10 1/2 games ahead, with Red Sox Nation saying, "Save us, Derek Lowe! Save us!" If the Yankees won that game, they would have been 11 1/2 games ahead, and all the talk would have been "What prospects can we get for Nomar?" and "When will Francona get fired?"

Instead, the Red Sox took two out of three, and the Yankees lost a chance to make them quit. On the season, the Red Sox won the season series 11-8, including two big ones at the end of the season. Even though they didn't win the division, the Red Sox knew they could beat the Yankees, and they knew they could beat Rivera ... which I think was the biggest difference between 2003 and 2004.

Maybe they knew those things ahead of time, but if they didn't before, surely they knew as soon as Mueller's home run cleared the fence.

And Jason Varitek's glove in Alex Rodriguez's mush had nothing to do with it.

Captain of the sunken ship

Buster Olney had this question on the Twitter machine this morning:

"Open-ended question: What are the benefits in naming a captain in baseball?"

He seemed to find it somewhat dubious.

My own view of naming a captain: There is no practical benefit, and any upside is far outweighed by downside. For example: during BOS collapse, stuff went on in the clubhouse, and Varitek didn't address -- but that's not really his personality, anyway.

Somewhere in the rubble of the Boston's lost September -- yes, I was gleeful -- is Jason Varitek's reputation as a leader. For the most part, I'd say naming him captain was relatively harmless.The "C" was a bit indulgent and pointless, but Boston's a big hockey town, so it fit.

And then it all went to hell in September, and a few people started to ask, "Isn't a captain supposed to do something about that?"

But as Olney contemplates captains, a better question about the Red Sox might be "If Varitek doesn't come back, what will that mean for the pitching staff?"

People around here acted like he was the greatest, smartest game-caller ever, a Sheldon Cooper of the straight change, if you will. Josh Beckett, in particular, seemingly couldn't think without his Varitek binky out there with him, which may be just as well, because left to his own devices, seemed to think mostly about chicken and beer. 

It will be interesting come spring training if the pitchers can develop any kind of trust with Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kelly Shoppach and Ryan Lavarnway behind the plate. Then again, it may not be a problem, since Bobby Valentine is apparently as smart as two Sheldon Coopers.