Varitek may not be an automatic out
ANAHEIM, Calif. - His team is on the big stage, playing in the big games, and he is going to be on the bench.
This is new. This has never happened before. Not in the Little League World Series at Williamsport. Not in the Cape Cod League with the Hyannis Mets. Not in the College World Series at Omaha. Not in the Olympics in Barcelona. Not in the World Series in St. Louis and Denver.
Jason Varitek has always been The Man. The Catcher. The Captain.
Now he’s the one who helps the guy who catches. He’s on the bench, being a good teammate. He’s the guy who makes fans cringe when he walks to the plate with a bat in his hands. In last year’s American League Championship Series, Varitek went 1 for 20 with eight strikeouts and was lifted for a pinch hitter three times. This year he threw out only 16 of 124 runners attempting to steal.
Too old. Washed up. Gone, baby, gone.
That’s the new book on the proud, old backstop and it has to hurt.
The Red Sox begin their Octoberfest tonight with Game 1 against the Angels and Victor Martinez will be behind the plate catching Jon Lester. Terry Francona, more loyal to his veteran players than any manager in the history of baseball (if Mike Timlin flies into John Wayne Airport today, Tito will use him in the eighth inning), has finally bitten the bullet and gone with the better, younger player.
And Varitek is the one sitting.
He’s reluctant to talk about it. This is, after all, the playoffs. It’s about Team, not individual achievement. But it’s weird to see the Captain sitting on the bench with the Sox in big games.
“It’s not like it all of a sudden just happened today,’’ he said yesterday, sitting in front of his locker before the Sox’ workout. “There’s different ways that I can still help. It’s different, but it’s the cards you’re dealt.’’
How does he perceive his role?
“I’m not sure. It’s kind of whatever rolls out, to be honest with you.’’
Josh Beckett is the Game 2 starter. Beckett likes to throw to Varitek. Has anyone told Varitek he might start tomorrow night?
“They haven’t really said anything yet.’’
Does he expect to start in this round?
“I can’t sit there and this can’t be about me and I’m not going to make it about me. We just go out there and do our stuff, prepare our pitching staff and be ready and we’ll go from there.’’
How does this affect him personally?
“It’s different, but the fact of the matter is that we need to put our best lineup out there,’’ he said. “I have one job to do - support my teammates and be prepared if the bell rings . . . You can’t control your playing time. But you can control the other parts of what you can contribute. It may not be by playing, it may be by being on the bench. It’s not the time of year to be selfish.’’
Does he feel slighted by fans and media who have turned against him?
“I can’t control that. I can’t sit there and really know what’s going on in those regards. All I can do is go and do what I do and be a good teammate.’’
Varitek has been with the Red Sox since late in the 1997 season. The last Red Sox catcher to play regularly before him was Mike Stanley. Varitek has caught more games for the Sox than Carlton Fisk, Sammy White, or Rich Gedman. He is one of only four players on the roster who were there in 2004. He has seen it all during his time in Boston. And he has seen his role shrink to that of Doug Mirabelli or Bob Montgomery.
Victor Martinez loves Varitek. He goes out of his way to praise his predecessor. Sox pitchers sing the same song. And we know how the manager feels. In Boston’s regular-season finale at Fenway last Sunday, Francona lifted Varitek during the eighth inning so he could get an ovation from the crowd.
The love will be tested in upcoming days. Varitek says he hasn’t yet been told if he’ll catch Beckett tomorrow, but he’ll have that information by the time he leaves the park tonight. Playing Varitek means Mike Lowell or David Ortiz must sit and this doesn’t go over well with fans. Varitek hit only .209 this year and was an automatic out after the All-Star break.
I say he’s got another start in him. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Monday. It’s not over yet for Jason Varitek in Boston.
Dan Shaughnessy can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com. 
