For captain Varitek, it's full speed ahead

February 16 , 2008 | MLB.com | By Ian Browne

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- He will turn 36 years old on April 11. His contract -- if there is no successful renegotiation before then -- will expire in November.


But Jason Varitek sure doesn't sound like a man nearing the end of his career. He also doesn't sound like he's entering his final year with the Boston Red Sox as their invaluable catcher and captain.


Varitek is a rock behind the plate, and has been since 1999. He's confident that there are more years of production in his future, and his hope remains that they all come with Boston, the franchise for which he's played all 1,199 of his Major League games.


Will the Red Sox and agent Scott Boras spend any time during Spring Training talking about an extension for Varitek?


"There haven't been steps toward it so far, [to] my knowledge," said Varitek. "Yes, we'll be extremely open to seeing what can be done. Right now, I'm a Boston Red Sox and have been a Boston Red Sox. There's nothing right now in front of me other than being a Sox. I'm going to work on helping this team right now be the best that we can be."



How many more years does he want to play?


"I don't know, somewhere between 10 and 15, probably," quipped Varitek.


In all honesty, Varitek will keep pushing his body until it simply gives out.


"I want to play as long as my body will allow me to play and I can competitively play," Varitek said. "If I start to become a detriment, or they may have to change my role, then [we'd have to] see from there. What I could handle last year and what I worked through, of being able to handle that workload, I proved a lot to myself. I just constantly have to listen to my body and adjust from there."


Last year, he played in 131 games and then started 13 of the 14 postseason contests.


Varitek's bat is still capable of doing some damage from both sides. His presence behind the plate remains one of sturdiness, dependability and security for his pitchers.


Entering 2008, it is still full speed ahead for the captain. Varitek clearly has a goal that has nothing to do with personal statistics and everything to do with a full roster of players focusing hard on the big prize.


"Our focus has to be to come out and win another championship," said Varitek. "We come in to try to build another championship team. It's been a while since anyone in Major League Baseball has had that opportunity. We'll go out there and do step one of trying to start that and set that tone now. It's been, probably since 2000, that someone has been able to repeat. That's the goal of this team, this organization: to keep putting winning teams out there."


They'll chase that goal with Varitek continuing to be the tone-setter.


Manager Terry Francona painted a telling picture of Varitek from Friday's conditioning drills.


"In some of those things that we did out in right field, he blew everybody out of the water," Francona said "That probably shouldn't be able to happen just because, again, he's a catcher. And I know there will be some position players who can [beat him], but that's just the work ethic and wanting to do things at a high level, leading by example, things like that. That's why he has that 'C' on his chest. He's our leader and he'll continue to be, and it bodes well for us."


And one advantage the Red Sox have in trying to become the first team since the 2000 Yankees to repeat is that Varitek doesn't allow complacency to seep into his ship.


"I think that every year presents a challenge, because if you stay where you are the previous year and you don't make any adjustments ... we have to look to make adjustments with each individual guy to make them take another step," Varitek said. "I think that there's a lot of guys that pitched on this team last year that can take another step and be better."


The ongoing game of adjustments is what drives Varitek as much as anything.


That's why Francona would often find Varitek punishing himself a year ago in the batting cage following a long bus ride back from a Spring Training game. And it's why Varitek's binder full of scouting information seems to grow a little each year.


"That's what makes my job so fun -- it's a constant learning process," Varitek said.


The Red Sox hope not to learn what life without Varitek is like any time soon.


"Last year, his ability to not only retain information, but to recall it at various points in the game, it's very unique and one that I know, as a pitching staff or pitching department, we're fortunate to have him behind home plate," said Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell.


Though Varitek would much rather talk baseball than business, he was asked if he took note of the new contract that Yankees catcher Jorge Posada signed over the winter.


"A four-year deal? Of course," said a smiling Varitek, who didn't bother noting that Posada is eight months older.

The bottom line for Varitek is that another season is near and it's time to get to work.


"I'm about as ready physically as I can be at this point," Varitek said. "Right now, I just have to focus on what's here in front of me."