Without Varitek, Sox leadership fails

August 29, 2006 | Boston Herald | By Tony Massarotti

 

OAKLAND, Calif. - True story: When the Red Sox were struggling on a road trip to Tampa Bay and Kansas City earlier this month, the message indicator lit up on Gabe Kapler’s cell phone. The outfielder accessed his inbox and discovered a text message that went something like this: “We need to pick up the energy.”

Jason Varitek was the author.

And so the Red Sox were unraveling again as they arrived at McAfee Coliseum last night - have they ever really stopped? - and Varitek’s absence is growing more significant by the day. Who will save this team? Who will grab the Red Sox by the collar and shake some sense into them? Who will step up and set an example?

Who?

“If the old adage is true that we’re judged in difficult times, and I believe it is, Jason is very good at that,” Kapler said as the Sox prepared to open a three-game series against the Oakland A’s. “He does not change his approach and his philosophy and his energy regardless of what is going on.”

The Red Sox have undergone some dramatic changes the last two years, some out of necessity and some out of choice. A year ago, nobody imagined they’d be where they are now, physically and statistically crumbling without either Varitek or Johnny Damon there to help keep the pieces together.

More than anything else, Damon and Varitek played hard and played hurt. Always. It was that kind of energy that the Red Sox possessed win or lose, and it is that kind of energy that has been disturbingly absent recently.
The Red Sox, if nothing else, have looked dispirited and demoralized.

And they have looked defeated.

“We came through the Yankees series and we were beat up. And I know that people don’t want to hear that, but that’s the way it is,” Sox manager Terry Francona said. “I can’t bail on how I’ve felt all year. I like this team. I don’t like our record, but I don’t have a problem with how we go about our business. If I did, I would tell them. I think when you’re not hitting and you’re not a fast team, it looks like (quitting) happens.”

Let us make something clear here: Those Red Sox who have been on the field lately are trying. Mark Loretta and Mike Lowell are two of the most dignified men ever to have worn a Red Sox uniform. Kevin Youkilis treats every at-bat as if it were his last. (Just ask his helmet). Many of the other players have been forced into greater roles because the roster is terribly banged up.

All of that is true.

But at times like this, especially, the absence of a leader like Varitek is impossible to ignore. Varitek has now been in Boston for all or parts of 10 seasons and it is difficult to recall a single mental lapse he has suffered during that time. He always runs hard. He never gives up on a pitcher. He always plays the game with full intensity, which is incredibly difficult to do during the marathon that is the baseball season.

“He’s certainly not very loud,” Francona said. “But when he does say something, it carries a lot of weight.”

What would Varitek say now? Only heaven knows. The Red Sox have been embarrassing themselves lately, and Varitek clearly is the kind of man who takes pride in everything he does. Francona said Varitek could begin playing games by the end of the week, but he also needs to play in some minor league games before can he resume his responsibilities in Boston.
Until then, for just the second time in his career, Varitek rests on the disabled list. His only other stint there came in 2001, when the Red Sox illogically remained in contention until the final six weeks of the season, then plummeted to unforseeable depths.

Suddenly, this season is starting to feel a lot like that one.