Jason Varitek

[andyfox]

I think both you and Sublime make insightful points.

The sport's greatest dynasty involved three great defensive catchers (who could also hit): Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. It may not be coincidental that the franchise recovered only when they got another smart and talented catcher (Thurman Munson) and then again when Posada developed. Casey Stengel, when asked why he was suddenly successful as a manager in New York when he had failed elsewhere, replied that he never played a big game with "my man." By whom he meant not Dimaggio, and not Mantle, but Berra. Ted Williams said the Yankees were a great team because Yogi Berra was the smartest player in the game.

Anecdotal? Sure. But it makes sense that the Red Sox pitchers don't pitch as well as they would with an obviously baseball-smart and savvy Varitek behind the plate. It's a much bigger loss to the Sox than, say, the loss of their left-fielder was to the Yankees.

That said, the Red Sox just don't have anyone throwing well out of the pen except for Papelbon. And, as Sublime points out, they're short of quality starting pitching as well, and they've had to play Detroit and New York. The Red Sox's record is far better than any wild card contender in the NL, it just so happens that there are five good teams in the AL this year competing for the three non-western division playoff spots.