General manager Theo Epstein said the coaching staff was high on Cash last season after watching him handle knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
The developments made it clear how valuable the soon-to-be 36-year-old Varitek is to this team. Varitek said yesterday he has no crystal ball, but he does have one realistic goal. "I'd like to keep playing every day until I'm 40. I think that's the immediate goal. I want to play as long as I can competitively, as long as I don't hurt myself or the team. I've thought about this a lot. I don't have a magic answer, but I know that I can probably do this for a while."
Which is precisely what his agent, Scott Boras, will say when he pitches an extension to the Red Sox in the near future. With Yankee catcher Jorge Posada, 36, signing a four-year, $52.4 million contract in the offseason, Boras has a player to compare Varitek with. The Red Sox would likely offer Varitek a two-year deal worth $20 million, but Boras might be looking for more money and more years.
Catching is hard to find and unless Dusty Brown, George Kottaras, or Mark Wagner develops very quickly, Varitek is still the best in the organization.
Varitek shrugged when asked whether the four-year deal he signed after winning the World Series in 2004 was done too late for comfort. After all, Varitek has never thought about playing in another uniform. If he's on the market after this season, he will have plenty of suitors, but Varitek quickly changes the subject, directing business questions to Boras.
His bat isn't as potent as Posada's, which is how the Yankees justified giving him a big contract. After his catching days are over, Posada can DH or play first base. Yet Varitek, given the way he takes care of himself, could surely reach his goal of playing at 40. When posed with the comparison with former Sox great Carlton Fisk, who caught until he was 45, Varitek smiled. He knows that might be a stretch, but if he could do it, he would.
"That would be a nice thing," said Varitek.
