The Captain Abandoning Ship

So much in sports, and in life in general, is all about timing. Timing your day. Timing your words. Timing your workouts. Sometimes timing is everything. George Costanza times his exits from meetings so that he leaves on a high note, because it can only go downhill after that, right?

More often than not, people don't time their exits the way Costanza did so well in that episode of Seinfeld. We see what David Stern is doing in the NBA right now. Brett Favre hung on anywhere between 1-5 years too long, depending on who you ask. George W. Bush hung around the White House 8 years too long. The Simpsons probably should have been cancelled 7 or 8 years ago. I should have left Pro Sports and gotten a real job two summers ago. Belezos should have stopped making statuses....well he never should have started. You get the point.

Jason Varitek is finally leaving the Red Sox. We think. Hasn't this been AT LEAST two years in the making?

Don't get me wrong, I've been a Varitek supporter all along. Haven't been a fan of the "C" that they threw on his uniform after the 2004 season in a pathetic charade to convince him to re-sign here. This ain't hockey. But he's meant a great deal to this team since he came here in 1997, along with Derek Lowe, in a comically lopsided trade for Heathcliff Slocumb. He's caught more game than any other catcher in Red Sox history along the way, more than Carlton Fisk and Doug Mirabelli combined. He stuck his glove in A-Rod's face. He plucked Heidi Whatney.

But the facts are the facts. Since the start of 2006, Varitek has really been more of a liability to this team than an asset. He's hit .230 since then, to the tune of a .726 OPS, averaging 12 home runs per season. And I'm well aware of the fact that catcher isn't an offensive position per se. And obviously, you can't overlook what he's meant to the pitching staff. He's been Josh Beckett's personal binky, in a way even more confounding than Dougie Fresh was to Wakefield (who we may be writing a similar blog about later this winter).

Back to catcher not necessarily being an offensive position. It's true. But last season, Varitek ranked 30th in the Majors amongst catchers with 250 plate appearances in batting average (.221). He was 36th (out of 36) in average in 2009 amongst catchers with the same qualifications. And, in fact, there are many an offensive catcher coming forth in today's game. Joe Mauer and Buster Posey are the stars you hear about, and while it's true they are/will be playing some 1B nowadays too, it sure doesn't hurt to have the extra boost of offense at a non-premium offensive position.

There are other catchers providing the pop these days as well. Yadier Molina. Miguel Montero. Brian McCann. Matt Wieters. Mike Napoli (also plays some 1B, but still). Carlos Ruiz. Alex Avilla, just to name a few. All but Wieters and McCann played on teams that qualified for the post-season.

It may not be fair to blame Varitek for any of the fallout from the Sox' 7-20 mark in September. But you have the fricken "C" on your chest for a reason, unnecessary as it may be (can you imagine Derek Jeter having a "C" on his jersey? Steinbrenner would fire Joe Girardi from his grave). Act like the damned captain."Lead by example", as they say. If Francona isn't going to stop the KFC and Bud Light parties, somebody else can step in, right? Make it the captain. If Francona, the manager, can be a fall guy for the way things were, why can't the team captain be as well?

At the end of the day, the signing of Kelly Shoppach, a former Red Sox prospect who went to Cleveland in the Coco Crisp trade, may not inspire much more than a rumble on the Richter scale around Fenway. But you can clearly see the writing on the wall from it: it represents that the Red Sox are ready to move on from the Varitek era. Completely. And it's been a helluva ride, Tek, truly has. But your timing was way, way off. Much like Brett Favre, you probably should have called it a career after 2009. But we'll always remember this: