Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek never likes to talk about his offense when he has a pitching staff to run and scouting reports to pore over.
"That's not really all that important to me," said Varitek, when asked if he's feeling good at the plate. "I'm more concerned with our pitchers and how they're throwing the ball. I'm more concerned with wins and losses." He didn't like to harp on offense when he was capable of bashing 25 home runs and knocking in 85 RBIs back in 2003, and he certainly didn't waste precious energy dwelling on his at-bats last season.
Varitek struggled with a .220 average and appeared -- at times -- as if he had placed extra weights on the end of his bat to slow his lumber down after battling through illness and fatigue from traveling to Japan.
But things changed over the winter as Varitek clearly hit the gym hard. After signing a deal with the Sox that could keep him behind Boston's plate for the next two seasons, he came back this spring with the determination to once again establish himself as one of the game's best all-around catchers.
"Varitek is swinging the bat as good as anyone on our team right now," manager Terry Francona said.
While the .167 batting average after three games isn't screaming out "vintage Varitek," the ball has been jumping off the backstop's bat, and the 36-year-old has already jacked a pair of home runs in the early going.
Varitek had only three home runs and seven RBIs at the end of April last season, so his early showing could be a sign that he'll climb back into the .250-.260 range with intermittent power that he's shown throughout his All-Star career.
RAYS 4, RED SOX 3: The Red Sox very nearly pulled off their first comeback win of the 2009 season when C Jason Varitek launched a ninth-inning home run that cut it to a one-run game. 1B Kevin Youkilis racked up his third straight multi-hit game in going 3-for-4 with two runs, but he couldn't come up with any magic in the ninth. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka coughed up three home runs to earn the loss.
