This is a mistake. Unless we all missed something during the last 10 years, Tek was field general, with potential to be a manager some day. For his contract price you get "tastes great, less filling."

It has taken Varitek a few years and now a management change to get the hint. While I respect him as a player I never accepted someone putting a C on their uniform. That is not done in baseball period. Valentine has the right idea of leadership coming from all quarters, etc. If he wants to play in 2012 then Varitek's best hope is to hook on with an NL club where he can backup and pinch hit.