Saturday, July 15, 2006

It's Varitek's Fault?

I don't know if any of you have ever checked out a site called Rotoworld.com. They are a fantasy sports site that has comments about individual players from all different sports. A few sites actually have a section for them so you can check on players without actually going to the site. (Bornintoit.com lists Red Sox players they've just updated.)

Under their update for Josh Beckett and his disasterous performance last night, they wrote this:

Not to let Beckett off the hook here, but it's past time that the media starts questioning Jason Varitek's game-calling abilities. A remarkable number of pitchers the Red Sox have brought in from outside the organization have been disappointments, yet Varitek is almost universally praised for his handling of the staff. Instead of being one of baseball's best defensive catchers, it's entirely possible that he's among the worst.

Who the hell are these guys kidding? If you want assess blame for the pitchers who the Red Sox brought in who have been disappointments, look to the front office for some questionable decisions. Also, I don't see any mention of Al Nipper here, the interim pitching coach. The loss of Dave Wallace is rarely talked about, and I don't know for sure if that's the main reason for the struggles of some Red Sox pitchers.

But I thought this was a real cheap shot at Varitek. Yes, he is universally praised for his handling of the pitching staff and rightly so. No catcher in the majors better prepares for a game in terms of going over the opposition hitters than Tek. Ultimately, it's up to the pitchers to get the job done. To the credit of pitchers like Beckett and Matt Clement, the buck stops with them. When the game is on the line, I want Jason Varitek behind the plate.

I find this Rotoworld site to be a bit too much on the smartalecky side with their rather wiseass comments about some players. And many times they are just plain wrong.

Well, you know what they say about opinions.....

9 comments:

Michael Leggett said...

As I have been saying on various Red Sox Blogs, Q, Wallace has been missed & can't come back, soon enough:

It's RARELY, if ever, discussed.

Michael Leggett said...

My appeal to Wallace to get well, is now up.

KAYLEE said...

That is a Joke.He seemed to call Schilling's game well tonight.
-kaylee

Michael Leggett said...

He called it quite-well, Kaylee.

Peter N said...

This is total BS. Just this morning, in the Globe, Schill was saying that last night's game might have been the BEST EVER in his career called by a catcher. In fact, he has given the captain total control in his starts. See the Globe's sports site for the article. Amazing spin that roto is guilty of. Total BS.

WelshSoxFan said...

Those pricks are always writing negative nonsense. I have long held a great distaste for them

Michael Leggett said...

Roto World?

Why do they sound like the various "'86 Asshat So-Called Mets Fans", which I meet in Rego Park, in Queens?

I have already posted my latest piece of fury.

Michael Leggett said...

My article on Dave Wallace, now on "Fenway Nation.com."

Jonah Falcon said...

Yeah, sure. Promote you want Varitek behind the plate at the end of the game, because we've seen what he's doing at the plate with the game on the line.

Only reason the players chose Varitek is because they HATE AJ Pierzinski. Honestly, Joe Crede?