Varitek Speaks About Sox

Jason Varitek opened up to NESN reporter Heidi Watney, according to boston.com's The Buzz. Its the first statement that Varitek has made, to my knowledge, since it came out that he requested a meeting with principal owner John Henry last week. Although there had been no official report out of that meeting, Tek is saying it was to "clear the air," and that he wants to finish his career as a Red Sox.

The most interesting thing Varitek said was that, apparently, he was unaware that teams would have to sacrifice draft picks if they signed him. My initial reaction to this was "Ha! Right... it's your contract and your responsibility to talk with your agent. How do you not know?" After a few moments of reflection and regret for such condescension I realized that it's entirely possible that he didn't know. After all, how many times have I not known something small that was still pertinent to my employment? Now, I'm not necessarily defending him here; he's been in the game for some time now, and if he doesn't know the rules of the collective bargaining agreement his union negotiated by now, it's his own fault.

Most likely, this is simply a case where a player feels the winds of public opinion shift against him, and is trying to push back to retain some goodwill. Nobody can fault him for that. Yet the fact remains that Jason Varitek turned down salary arbitration of his own volition, and is now facing the dismal prospects provided by bringing a nose-dive offensive decline into a recession-bound free agent market. His odds are not looking good.

I have no problems if they re-sign Tek to a one or two year deal, so long as it's not obscenely expensive and he allows for more platooning with catching prospects. Similarly, I won't be upset if the Sox can swing a trade with Arizona for someone along the lines of Miguel Montero. I just want to be able to watch without covering my eyes every time the catcher comes up to the plate.