Jason Varitek
There's no masking their importance
June 19 , 2007 | Boston Globe| By Nick Cafardo
They have spent their careers as enemies, simply because one was raised a Red Sox, the other a Yankee.
But the respect they have for one another is immense.
Jason Varitek and Jorge Posada, the heart and soul, the backbones of the Red Sox and Yankees, have no peer when it comes to grit, fortitude, and the high regard in which they are held by teammates. They are switch-hitting catchers, handlers of their pitching staffs, and while only one wears a "C" on his jersey, the other might as well.
"He's the one guy we couldn't afford to lose around here," said Yankees lefty Mike Myers of Posada. "He's to us what Tek is to the Red Sox. The fact he's improved his skills so much defensively and he's one of the best hitters in the game right now, that's a tribute to how much he cares. How much he wants to get better."
Varitek never understood where the rap on Posada's defense came from.
"People say he's improved, and I'm sure he has, but I don't know how he ever got the label that he wasn't a good defensive catcher," said Varitek. "Listen, there isn't a catcher I respect more. We've been through the same battles over the years. I know what he means to that pitching staff. I know how important he is to them."
Varitek is enjoying an offensive renaissance of sorts this season, hitting .265 with 7 homers and 31 RBIs after foundering last season, when he wound up at .238 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs .
Posada, who turns 36 in August, has enjoyed a huge spike in performance. He was third in the American League with a .345 average entering last night and has 9 homers and 43 RBIs .
Both Varitek, a two-time All-Star, and Posada, a four-time All-Star, have worked under catching guru Gary Tuck, now Boston's bullpen coach. Varitek said, "This year I'm receiving the ball better than I ever have. I'm excited about the fact that I'm catching better."
Tuck also helped Posada, but it was under Yankees coach Tony Pena that Posada took his game to the next level.
"You always want to get better," said Posada. "Tony has been great for me. He's a guy who's been around as a major league catcher for many years and he understands what we do out there on a daily basis."
This is a far more civil rivalry than the one Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk waged in the 1970s, though Fisk acknowledged years later that while he and Munson didn't like one another, they had respect for each other. Varitek and Posada not only respect each other, they like each other. Then again, it's a different time.
Varitek doesn't know how to explain what happened last year.
"I just had a rough go of it," said Varitek. "I just kind of struggled last year. I had trouble on both sides of the plate, sometimes one side and then the other. It's almost as if you have two different people to work on and sometimes we're two totally different people.
"Last year was going pretty normal except I was just hitting for a low average. But when you're hitting for a low average, those things get exploited worst. I was trying to make changes and do some different stuff. It just wasn't working."
Concerning the talk that he was going south with the bat, he said, "I can't control that. I'm the same guy. It's not bat speed, its not strength. I just went through a tough time. I have enough people in here who believe in what I do."
Whenever a switch hitter struggles at the plate, there is talk that he should stick to one side from which to hit. Neither Varitek nor Posada ever considered it.
"Too many advantages not to be a switch hitter," Varitek said. "Too many tough matchups. I remember early on they'd try to turn me around to hit righthanded and then I got better at that. That's not an option for me. I put too much into it. If you do that, you'd get tough matchups on either side. Being able to switch hit makes those angles better."
Varitek seems to have taken to new hitting coach Dave Magadan, who worked with the catcher on basics in spring training and has emphasized the things Varitek did well in the past.
"I just went back to what's normal for me," said Varitek. "It was just using my eyes, which is the most gifted thing I have."
Both catchers have faced challenges with their pitching staffs this season. Posada has caught 22 Yankee pitchers. Varitek has had to communicate with a pair of Japanese pitchers.
"It's been a challenge at times, but that's my job," Posada said. "Now we have a good veteran staff and these guys know what they're doing. I know them, they know me, and I think we have a nice thing going as long as everyone stays healthy."
"He's the glue that holds it together for us," said Andy Pettitte. "Jorge is amazing back there. He's so in control."
For Varitek, the new pitchers and the work on his hitting has to take its toll.
"It's what I'm supposed to do," he said. "It's what I've become. It's my job. I firmly believe that. You spend more of the season exhausted than you do not. But you just get through it and concentrate on the things you can control."
Varitek does get every fifth day off, when Tim Wakefield pitches, a practice that began with Grady Little. But is that enough?
"I don't know," Varitek said. "Sometimes it hits you when your body is feeling good. And sometimes it hits you where 'Man, I really need today off.' "
As for the leadership part, both players take it seriously.
Varitek has seen changes from the 2004 team that won it all. That team was renowned for its "idiots" image, and though the perception is that the '07 Sox are more subdued, Varitek said, "I'd love to have you come into our dugout and listen to us during games."
He added, "Character is not going to be an issue with this team. We have that. We have a good group of guys together here. If there's something that needs to be said, it'll be said behind closed doors and in front of each other. It won't get out into public.
"The bottom line, though, is that we have to physically perform. We can have the best guys, we can have the most talent, but we have to win games."
Posada and Varitek may never roll in the dirt fighting like Fisk and Munson, but they will fight for their teams. They will fight for the uniform they wear.