Sox on verge of wasting (I mean signing) Tek to a 2 year deal.

[nickagneta]

The difference between a catcher that is amazing at handling a pitching staff and one who is bad is anywhere from .50 to 1.00 on a team's ERA. When Tek went down at the trading deadline in 2006, the Red Sox brought in Javy Lopez to team with Mirabelli while Varitek was out. Javy Lopez has always been considered a bad carcher at handling pitching staffs much like Pudge is. Varitek was out the entire month of August and the team's ERA went up to 5.80 in that month whereas in every month when Tek was handling the staff the ERA was between 4.60 and 4.80.

That's a jump of over 1.00 in the team ERA while Tek was out. That's how important having a great catcher who prepares properly and handles the staff well and calls a good game is. ONE RUN A GAME LESS. In order to make up for that with offense a replacement would have to be responsible, all by himself for somewhere between 80 to 160 more runs produced than Varitek's offensive production.

And, believe me, not only is Varitek that much better than Pudge, but the Red Sox pitchers feel he is even more important than I am giving him credit for. I have a friend on the team, a family friend really, and he's discussed this with us and he swears that without Tek, the pitching staff is just not the same. He has said it in front of me and every Sox pitcher ever asked this question by media goes out of his way to say the same thing.

Pudge Rodriguez here as a catcher would be an absolute giant mistake. He can't call a game. He can't handle a staff. Pitchers hate him because he will always call fastball, fastball, fastball when there's a runner on first and inevitably his pitchers give up more home runs because of it. His arm strength and his ego are his weaknesses because all he wants to do is show off he has a good arm.

If Varitek called pitches the same way and the Red Sox were a team who's philosophy was to hold runners close to prevent the steal, you wouldn't be wanting to bring in Pudge because of his good arm because Varitek's numbers would be so much better. The Sox as a team believe in hold runners on but concentrating on the out at the plate rather than the runner on the base. It is why they have had such bad caught stealing numbers for years. Tito doesn't care about the runners. He wants the batter out at the plate.

[Jon]

The difference between a catcher that is amazing at handling a pitching staff and one who is bad is anywhere from .50 to 1.00 on a team's ERA. When Tek went down at the trading deadline in 2006, the Red Sox brought in Javy Lopez to team with Mirabelli while Varitek was out. Javy Lopez has always been considered a bad carcher at handling pitching staffs much like Pudge is. Varitek was out the entire month of August and the team's ERA went up to 5.80 in that month whereas in every month when Tek was handling the staff the ERA was between 4.60 and 4.80.

That's a jump of over 1.00 in the team ERA while Tek was out. That's how important having a great catcher who prepares properly and handles the staff well and calls a good game is. ONE RUN A GAME LESS. In order to make up for that with offense a replacement would have to be responsible, all by himself for somewhere between 80 to 160 more runs produced than Varitek's offensive production.

And, believe me, not only is Varitek that much better than Pudge, but the Red Sox pitchers feel he is even more important than I am giving him credit for. I have a friend on the team, a family friend really, and he's discussed this with us and he swears that without Tek, the pitching staff is just not the same. He has said it in front of me and every Sox pitcher ever asked this question by media goes out of his way to say the same thing.

Pudge Rodriguez here as a catcher would be an absolute giant mistake. He can't call a game. He can't handle a staff. Pitchers hate him because he will always call fastball, fastball, fastball when there's a runner on first and inevitably his pitchers give up more home runs because of it. His arm strength and his ego are his weaknesses because all he wants to do is show off he has a good arm.

If Varitek called pitches the same way and the Red Sox were a team who's philosophy was to hold runners close to prevent the steal, you wouldn't be wanting to bring in Pudge because of his good arm because Varitek's numbers would be so much better. The Sox as a team believe in hold runners on but concentrating on the out at the plate rather than the runner on the base. It is why they have had such bad caught stealing numbers for years. Tito doesn't care about the runners. He wants the batter out at the plate.

TP

That's my point exactly.  If Varitek batted .250 last year, people may have thought him unworthy of a 10 million dollar contract, but nobody would've batted an eye at him coming back at 5.  And as I pointed out, the difference between .250 and .220 is 13 hits, or 1 more hit every 10 games.  And for all we know, that could be 1 more hit every 10 games could be a single that doesn't knock anyone in and leaves him stranded. 

What we do know, is what nick said, he knows how to manage a staff, and that knowledge prevents runs.  For that, I think it's a great move the Sox brought him back. 

[Brickowski]

Since when did Varitek ever throw a pitch?

Wow, the folks here have bought Scott Boras' crap hook, line and sinker.

[nickagneta]

Since when did Varitek ever throw a pitch?

Wow, the folks here have bought Scott Boras' crap hook, line and sinker.

Brick, you're a smart guy, I can't believe you are being this dense.

Are you trying to claim that catching is catching and that all the catcher's do is catch the pitch throw it back to the pitcher and throw out runners? Because if you are you don't know what you're talking about.

Heck, I played Div III baseball in college and caught and the job was 1000 times more difficult than pre-high school ball. I can't even imagine how complex it is at the major league level.

The ability to prep pre game and have a game plan for your pitcher at that level is unbelievably difficult. You have to know all the hitters hot spots from the nine zones. You have to know all their weaknesses and tendencies. You then have to pair those up with the pitcher's strengths and weakness and formulate a plan for each batter. You have to then coordinate that plan around each situation and have count pitching strategies.

Couple that up with the difficulty of knowing the tendencies of the umpires behind the plate and the amount of preparation is unreal. But that's only if you are thorough. If you aren't, and lots of catchers aren't then the pitcher's suffers and so does the team. Now add in being the defensive quarterback and setting the field assignments giving defensive signals, being a pitching coach and pointing out problems you might see in a pitcher's mechanics, being a psychologist in trying to keep the pitcher confident and focused and you are just beginning to understand the catcher's position.

A great catcher calling a great game, defending a great game and blocking the plate properly, will save a team anywhere between 60-120 runs scored against a year over 162 game season. Compared to a bad catcher, which way too many nowadays are, that numbers soars higher.

Varitek is without a doubt the best in the game at handling pitchers and calling a game. The next guy isn't even close in his game prep, game planning, and handling as Tek is. I now what I am talking of. My family is very good friends with the a Red Sox player's family. Heck my wife and father-in-law bowl in the same bowling league as that player. I and my brothers in law talk to him almost every Sunday during the off season and have since he was 8-9 years old. He says that without a doubt, Tek is the best there is. I'll take his word on it as he's been in pro ball for 8 years now.

[MBz]

The idea of Tek calling a game is ridiculous.  Curt Schilling called his own games in Arizona.  Do you honestly think  that these pitchers cannot call their own games?  Also, you don't think the pitching coach can call the game from the bench?  Come on now.  People talk about Variteks calling a game because he can't swing the bat.  Also, mentioning defending the plate and blocking the plate?  Varitek very rarely blocks the plate.  I love how people mention that it's all about Tek, well if the pitcher throws a bad game, how come it's never Tek's fault then?  He can only have a positive affect on these pitchers?

[LB3533]

When the Sox pitchers don't pitch well, it's because they did not "execute" the pitches, not because Varitek called a bad game....sheesh!

Catchers that are "great" game callers is the most overrated skill or quality for a catcher.

If there were any truth to this, BK Kim would be Mariano Rivera with Jason Varitek.

Or Matt Clement would won at least 2 Cy Youngs with Jason Varitek as his catcher.

Let's face reality and facts.....Varitek is a good "game caller" because he's had some super stud pitchers to catch. (Pedro, Lowe, Schilling, Beckett, even Dice-K)

[MBz]

When the Sox pitchers don't pitch well, it's because they did not "execute" the pitches, not because Varitek called a bad game....sheesh!

Catchers that are "great" game callers is the most overrated skill or quality for a catcher.

If there were any truth to this, BK Kim would be Mariano Rivera with Jason Varitek.

Or Matt Clement would won at least 2 Cy Youngs with Jason Varitek as his catcher.

Let's face reality and facts.....Varitek is a good "game caller" because he's had some super stud pitchers to catch. (Pedro, Lowe, Schilling, Beckett, even Dice-K)

Exactly.  I like when people bring up the no no's he's caught too.  Now Pedro is the best pitcher he's ever caught in my opinion.  He has the ability to get a no no out of Hideo Homo but not Pedro? Come on.  Pedro could have had any catcher catch one of his games, he was still going to be nasty.

[Chris]

When the Sox pitchers don't pitch well, it's because they did not "execute" the pitches, not because Varitek called a bad game....sheesh!

Catchers that are "great" game callers is the most overrated skill or quality for a catcher.

If there were any truth to this, BK Kim would be Mariano Rivera with Jason Varitek.

Or Matt Clement would won at least 2 Cy Youngs with Jason Varitek as his catcher.

Let's face reality and facts.....Varitek is a good "game caller" because he's had some super stud pitchers to catch. (Pedro, Lowe, Schilling, Beckett, even Dice-K)

Exactly.  I like when people bring up the no no's he's caught too.  Now Pedro is the best pitcher he's ever caught in my opinion.  He has the ability to get a no no out of Hideo Homo but not Pedro? Come on.  Pedro could have had any catcher catch one of his games, he was still going to be nasty.

Personally, I think the truth (as always) is somewhere in the middle.  Game calling is absolutely important.  Ask any pitcher, catcher, or coach, and they will tell you that it is not something that just anyone can do, and it is a very important skill.

On the other hand, a lot of Boston fans make it sound like Varitek is the only guy in the world who knows how to call a game, and without him, the pitching staff will fall to pieces.

To me, the value in Varitek comes from his experience, his leadership ability, and his relationship with the rest of the team (especially the pitchers), and of course his game calling.  To me, those skills and intangibles even off his lack of hitting.  Especially when you take into account the fact that there are very few catchers that are good both defensively and offensively.

So if you can bring him in on decent money (which this contract is, given his resume), and allow him to split time with another catcher, who might be able to provide a bit more pop, then it is an ideal situation.

[Roy Hobbs]

People talk about Variteks calling a game because he can't swing the bat. 

People -- specifically, Red Sox players -- have been talking about Tek's ability to call a game for years, including when he was winning a silver slugger.  Schilling and Lester, in particular, have mentioned how important Tek's pitch calling is.

I have no idea how well the Sox staff would do without Varitek (although nick's numbers above suggest there is a tangible effect), but this idea that it's the *fans* giving him undeserved credit is false.  If the guys who are actually throwing to Varitek feel the same way, maybe there's something to it.

[moiso]

Varitek is worth $5 million this year.  No more, no less.  The argument that the teams era went up a run in 2006 when he was out is flawed because Tek wasn't replaced by an average catcher- he was replaced by a horrible catcher in Lopez, plus another guy who has done nothing but catch knuckleballs for years.  I'm glad to have Tek back, but a $5 million dollar veteran player is an average player.

[Bankshot]

Varitek is worth $5 million this year.  No more, no less.  The argument that the teams era went up a run in 2006 when he was out is flawed because Tek wasn't replaced by an average catcher- he was replaced by a horrible catcher in Lopez, plus another guy who has done nothing but catch knuckleballs for years.  I'm glad to have Tek back, but a $5 million dollar veteran player is an average player.

Also, what people are forgetting the year that the Sox era went up is that the Sox were trotting out guys like Jason Johnson, Kyle Snyder, and guys even worse than them.  Not sure why people totally dismiss that point, or maybe they just forgot about the pitchers that were actually pitching when the era went up.

[winsomme]

Varitek is worth $5 million this year.  No more, no less.  The argument that the teams era went up a run in 2006 when he was out is flawed because Tek wasn't replaced by an average catcher- he was replaced by a horrible catcher in Lopez, plus another guy who has done nothing but catch knuckleballs for years.  I'm glad to have Tek back, but a $5 million dollar veteran player is an average player.

and who would have been the catcher that was going to replace Tek if he didn't come back.

I'm with Roy....don't take our (the fans) word for it, take the pitchers word for it. Tek is a huge boost to this staff and not having him and dragging in a replacement at this late date would have been lots of unneeded problem-making.

I think Tek clearly wanted to be here because i think he had more leverage than he was willing to risk using.

if he didn't sign here, he probably wasn't going to get a big deal elsewhere, but his value was the highest to the Sox of any other team in the league. Especially with a team that is now built on pitching

fortunately we won't have to find out what would happen to this staff without him.

I also am with the group that sees a nice little bounce back in his offense...something along the lines of .260-.270...

now if we can just get a big bat to go behind Papi....that's what i'm really worried about.

[winsomme]

Varitek is worth $5 million this year.  No more, no less.  The argument that the teams era went up a run in 2006 when he was out is flawed because Tek wasn't replaced by an average catcher- he was replaced by a horrible catcher in Lopez, plus another guy who has done nothing but catch knuckleballs for years.  I'm glad to have Tek back, but a $5 million dollar veteran player is an average player.

Also, what people are forgetting the year that the Sox era went up is that the Sox were trotting out guys like Jason Johnson, Kyle Snyder, and guys even worse than them.  Not sure why people totally dismiss that point, or maybe they just forgot about the pitchers that were actually pitching when the era went up.

i think the argument was that the ERA of the individual pitchers that pitched both with and without Tek went up...not just the staff ERA...

[moiso]

Varitek is worth $5 million this year.  No more, no less.  The argument that the teams era went up a run in 2006 when he was out is flawed because Tek wasn't replaced by an average catcher- he was replaced by a horrible catcher in Lopez, plus another guy who has done nothing but catch knuckleballs for years.  I'm glad to have Tek back, but a $5 million dollar veteran player is an average player.

and who would have been the catcher that was going to replace Tek if he didn't come back.

I'm with Roy....don't take our (the fans) word for it, take the pitchers word for it. Tek is a huge boost to this staff and not having him and dragging in a replacement at this late date would have been lots of unneeded problem-making.

I think Tek clearly wanted to be here because i think he had more leverage than he was willing to risk using.

if he didn't sign here, he probably wasn't going to get a big deal elsewhere, but his value was the highest to the Sox of any other team in the league. Especially with a team that is now built on pitching

fortunately we won't have to find out what would happen to this staff without him.

I also am with the group that sees a nice little bounce back in his offense...something along the lines of .260-.270...

now if we can just get a big bat to go behind Papi....that's what i'm really worried about.

Predicting Tek will hit .270 is like predicting Tony Allen will win the 3pt contest.  It's just not realistic.  I'd be happy if he improved to the mid .250's.

[winsomme]

Varitek is worth $5 million this year.  No more, no less.  The argument that the teams era went up a run in 2006 when he was out is flawed because Tek wasn't replaced by an average catcher- he was replaced by a horrible catcher in Lopez, plus another guy who has done nothing but catch knuckleballs for years.  I'm glad to have Tek back, but a $5 million dollar veteran player is an average player.

and who would have been the catcher that was going to replace Tek if he didn't come back.

I'm with Roy....don't take our (the fans) word for it, take the pitchers word for it. Tek is a huge boost to this staff and not having him and dragging in a replacement at this late date would have been lots of unneeded problem-making.

I think Tek clearly wanted to be here because i think he had more leverage than he was willing to risk using.

if he didn't sign here, he probably wasn't going to get a big deal elsewhere, but his value was the highest to the Sox of any other team in the league. Especially with a team that is now built on pitching

fortunately we won't have to find out what would happen to this staff without him.

I also am with the group that sees a nice little bounce back in his offense...something along the lines of .260-.270...

now if we can just get a big bat to go behind Papi....that's what i'm really worried about.

Predicting Tek will hit .270 is like predicting Tony Allen will win the 3pt contest.  It's just not realistic.  I'd be happy if he improved to the mid .250's.

I think somebody noted that it would take something like 20 more hits for Tek to hit .260s. That doesn't seem that unrealistic to me...