I tried this nine months ago with little support. Let’s see if it flies better now.
Terry Francona lost the Red Sox clubhouse. Bobby Valentine never had it in the first place. What the Red Sox seem to want is one of their own running the team, and who is more one of their own than The Captain, Jason Varitek?
Of course, the arrangement could have complications. For Varitek to go from teammate to boss might prove awkward. However, it’s not like Varitek would step into a situation with a bunch of tough calls to make. He’s not sending Josh Beckett or Jon Lester to the bullpen. The Red Sox already dealt Kevin Youkilis and committed to Will Middlebrooks at third base, and there are no other veterans with real job security concerns except for Mike Aviles at shortstop.
The Red Sox either need to make wholesale personnel changes or find a manager for whom the current team would enjoy playing. Whether it’s a good idea for the inmates to be running the asylum or not, it’d sure be a lot easier to land a player’s manager than it would be to undergo a massive rebuild that would result in the departure of several players from the group of Beckett, Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury.
I don’t know that Varitek is the answer, but he probably knows more about American League pitchers and hitters than anyone else the team could possibly bring in. That alone makes him a viable candidate. If he feels he’s ready -- and that’s completely up in the air -- and the Red Sox feel that he still has the respect of the clubhouse, then what better option is out there?
