Jason Varitek

[Joe Tall]

I think it's more than obvious what Tek means to the Red Sox pitching staff. They have completely fallen apart. There was a interesting story of when Schilling was in his first spring training with the Sox. Griffey Jr was up and Schill shook off Tek for three striaght calls with a 0-2 count. Tek let him throw what he wanted and Griffey took it deep. After that game, Schilling had a long talk with Tek and the rest is history. When Papelbon came up from the minors last year, Schilling took him aside and told him to just listen to Tek, he'll get you through everything.

Now Tek is out and the Sox suck. Quite a few of my Red Sox contingent agree with me. However, I was surprised that Sublime dismissed this quickly. Sublime, you underestimate what a catcher is worth to a pitching staff. He's also the captain for a reason eventhough he's had an aweful year at the plate.