Have you read the "Tek Issues" post on Extra Bases today?  The Globe already has one Dan Shaughnessy so they don't need another guy trying to find conflict where there isn't any.  In the post Christopher L. Gasper speculates that Varitek's presence on the team will be harmful to Victor Martinez:

Tek's return for a 14th season with the Sox sets up Martinez's game-calling skills to be second-guessed at every turn by fans, media and possibly his own pitchers.

Every time Martinez puts down a sign this season and a Red Sox pitcher shakes him off, you'll have to wonder if the pitcher is doing it because he thinks there is a better pitch in that situation or because it's not the sign that Varitek would have put down...Now, they're stuck with the difficult balancing act of moving on from Varitek with Varitek, which is all but impossible.

Can't you already envision a scenario where Josh Beckett, who seemed to be the most obstinate about Martinez supplanting Varitek as the team's best option behind the plate last season, goes to manager Terry Francona and asks for Varitek to be his personal catcher?

So what if he does?  V-Mart can play first and Lowell can rest his hip.  There is no issue here, when Tek rejoined the team he knew he was doing so as the backup.  Jason Varitek showed he can be a class act as a backup at the end of the season, his leadership will help as the team adjusts to having a new bench coach.

It is articles like this one that make players not want to talk with the media.  The Globe has some great people covering the Red Sox like Amalie Benjamin, Chad Finn, and Peter Abraham.  I know they want to expand Extra Bases to be more interactive and look more like other blogs but they have to realize that they are in a different position.  They are issued credentials to the cover the team, they have a built-in readership and are given an air of respectability that other sites have to earn.  When they are issuing opinion pieces they need to keep those things in mind or they risk damaging a good brand.  Jason Varitek's offensive decline and lack of ability to throw runners out is a real issue, playing second fiddle is not.

Comments (5)

Red Sox Sonoma (aka Sonoma Dave) said:

Who the hell is CLG?! I had a hard time making it to the end of his article. And then he makes this statement: "You know Varitek will do all he can to help Martinez." First he throws 'Tek under a bus. Did they hire this hack just to stir up shit? Maybe he just wants Ken Rosnthal's job. Keeping 'Tek another year to mentor Martinez for another season was the obvious best choice. Nobody has the game calling skills that 'Tek has. Unfortunately his bat and arm are not what they used to be, but he is still the best back up choice they had. Martinez will help give Lowell the rest he will need, as well as giving Youk an occasional break. Should VM get hurt, 'Tek is still there. 'Tek will be playing more than once every five games, and gives Tito many more options in filling out his line up card every day.

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November 12, 2009 | url
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Red Sox Sonoma (aka Sonoma Dave) said:

	Um... What's a CHB?
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Matt O'Donnell said:

	... CHB stands for "Curly Haired Boyfriend". Carl Everett yelled out at Gorden Edes to get out of the Sox clubhouse "and take your his curly haired boyfriend with you" (referring to Shaughnessy)
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SoxMeRed said:

	eh come on. Writing about another writters opinion came to be bad writing. The Story "Tek issues" Posted by Christopher L. Gasper, sorry, is an aweful judgement of the situation. Tek is a professional. He has Only been with 1 MLB team and only loves 1 MLB team. If Tek for some reason causes problems, The redsox will take care of it, just like Manny. Ship him off from Boston. lol
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Bottom Line Rob said:

	$3M He tries to say that the Sox were "stuck" once Tek exercised his player option, but the Sox agreed to that plan for 2010 last year. They knew it would happen. Bottom Line: I have no problem wit the guy speaking his mind about Tek, but he flip flops through the whole thing... it was way too long and a waste of time.
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