Vraiment la fin d'une époque à Boston. On peut penser que Wakefield ne sera pas de retour non plus. Jusqu'à la fin de la saison dernière, Varitek était le capitaine respecté de la formation et un "vrai" joueur de baseball dans la plus pure tradition. Il était un modèle pour les jeunes joueurs. La fin de saison cataprophique a laissé de profondes séquelles et le rôle de leader de Varitek pouvait être questionné quand on sait que plusieurs lanceurs n'accordaient pas tout le sérieux nécessaire à leur préparation. On dorlotait des vétérans comme Beckett dont Varitek était le receveur attitré. Rien de justifie présentement qu'on chouchoute les joueurs. Il me reste malgré tout une foule de très beaux souvenirs du long passage de Varitek (15 ans, une éternité de nos jours dans le sport) à Boston.
"General manager Ben Cherington has been hinting for weeks that the Red Sox were lukewarm to the idea of bringing back captain Jason Varitek for another season.
The door closed a little tighter yesterday when the Sox signed veteran catcher Kelly Shoppach to a one-year contract worth $1.35 million.
“I’m excited to be going back to Boston,’’ Shoppach posted on his Twitter account.
Shoppach, 31, was drafted by the Red Sox in 2001 and made his major league debut with the team in 2005. Shoppach was traded to Cleveland in 2006, part of the deal that returned Coco Crisp.
Shoppach spent four seasons with the Indians before being traded to Tampa Bay. He became a free agent after this season.
Shoppach, a career .224 hitter, has regressed at the plate in recent seasons. He hit .176 last season and over the last three seasons is hitting .197 with a .672 OPS.
Varitek hit .221 last season with a .723 OPS. The 39-year-old hit .176 with a .649 OPS after the All-Star break, however. Now, with Shoppach signed to a guaranteed contract, there is little chance that Varitek returns.
“At a loss for words,’’ wrote Varitek’s new wife, Catherine, on Twitter.
Varitek said after the season he wanted to return to the Red Sox for a 16th year. Other teams might have interest in Varitek as a backup."
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2011/12/14/jason-varitek-era-ending-with-shoppach-board/Kp7kUYdAVr8MfV9EIIqmqN/story.html
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