Red Sox Update: Varitek and Yankee Cuts
Friday, March 02, 2012
An emotional Varitek took to the podium at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers and officially announced that he is retiring from baseball after 14 seasons all in a Boston Red Sox uniform.
Varitek thanked everyone from ownership to coaches, GM’s, managers and more. He also thanked the fans by saying, “to Red Sox Nation - the best fans in baseball, thank you for making this the most special place to play.”
But the former captain fought back the tears hardest while acknowledging his teammates. “My teammates are what I’m going to miss the most,” he said. “The hardest thing to do is to walk away from your teammates and what they’ve meant to you over the years.”
However, his final statement may have best summed up his career in Boston and how he was viewed as a player. “As I walk away from this game, I can look at the man in the mirror and be proud that I gave everything I could to this game, this organization, my teammates.”
He may not have been the most talented player to ever wear a Red Sox uniform, but his work ethic, leadership and class were virtually unmatched.
NOTES:
-The Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins played a “B” game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers Thursday - a game that was won by the Twins 6-5.
Alfredo Aceves pitched the first inning and gave up a run on 2 hits. Daniel Bard pitched the second and also gave up a run to the Twins on 2 hits.
Catcher Ryan Lavarnway homered in his first at bat for Boston while short stop Jose Iglesias singled, walked and stole a base.
Saturday the Red Sox play a pair of games – one against Northeastern in the afternoon and one against Boston College at night. Their first real Grapefruit League contest will be Sunday at JetBlue Park against the Twins at 1:35pm.
-With Major League Baseball yet to formally announce the new playoff format which will include an additional Wild Card entry from each league, many of the players in Red Sox camp are talking about the proposed changes.
“One game? That’s kind of crazy,” said Sox’ slugger David Ortiz. Others shared similar thoughts while some declined to comment on the subject until it becomes official.
Fan reaction, like that of the players, has also been mixed. Some like adding an extra team because it will add more teams to the pennant race late in the season and a 1-game playoff sure will be exciting.
Others say it’s nothing but a money-grab on the part of Major League Baseball and that it will reward mediocre teams who may upset a more deserving team in that 1-game playoff.
At this point, it would be more of a surprise if baseball did not implement the plan for this season as opposed to vice versa. An announcement could be forthcoming any day now.
-An interesting story coming out of Yankees camp in Tampa was the revelation by owner Hal Steinbrenner that his club will cut payroll to the luxury tax limit of $189 million by 2014. Steinbrenner says that teams are continually winning with payrolls far less than that amount and he believes that his Yankees can reduce their payroll as well. New York has paid more than 90% of all of the luxury tax money paid to the league since the rule was instituted in 2003. ($206 of the $227 million assessed)
The Yankees 2012 payroll is approximately $210 million which is tops in baseball. Under the current rules, they will have to pay 40% of the $32 million they are over the $178 million threshold (or $12.8 million).
Under the new collective bargaining deal, the percentage paid will go up to 50% of the new threshold of $189 million in 2014.
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