quote:
HVbaseballDAD said.....Fenway... you know I love you, but I gotta step in here. It does not take a lot of guts to go after someone with all of your gear on - including helmet and mask. Also, where was your captain when Beckett was ordering all that chicken and beer?
Yuke was a grinder for sure. I did like seeing Joba hit him all the time, though. Kind of thought of it as payback for all the times Pedro used to plunk Yankees.
Nobody said anything about guts. You get to be THE captain for being smart! There is no doubt in my mind that if Varitek would have taken off his shin guards that A-Rod would have kicked him. There is a lot that will be learned over the years with regard to chicken-gate. It won't come from Francona, Valentine or the front office. It will come from a player(s). Their sin wasn't eating chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse on their off days. Their sin was playing awful, losing a playoff spot, and eating chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse on their off days. I'm sure Varitek didn't concern himself with what people were doing during their off days. I hope Varitek was concerned with what was going on, or not going on the field as the case may be. I'd love to see Tek come back as a manager.
I will miss Youk's intensity. Youk and Pedrioa are like bookends. The Red Sox are missing a bookend.
quote:
JH said....fenway- I always did find it difficult to see Varitek as "THE" Captain like you say. I have no doubt he was a great motivational leader both on and off the field, a grinder and a great teammate. However, captains are usually really good ballplayers too. Varitek never hit over .300 and made just 3 All-Star teams (one in '08 when he hit .220...).
To each his own. We like our Red Sox captains to be grinders, have a few scars, and talk dirty. Yaz was the same way. I just don't see Jeter ever being a Red Sox captain
. Much too pretty. He should have been a model.
In all seriousness, you can't compare the two (Tek vs Jeter). Comparing Varitek to Posado would be more fair...both switch hitting catchers. In that case, it is a wash IMHO. Posada was a much better offensive player, and Varitek a much better defensive player. Comparing Jeter to Nomar would be fair as well. When they were both playing I thought they were equals as well. However Jeter has had a longer career and more rings to show for it. I have to give Jeter the nod there if I was going to start a team from scratch. I may dislike the Yankees & Steinbrenners an intense amount, but I'm not an idiot!
