Projo Sox Blog

ANAHEIM, Calf. _ Red Sox veteran catcher Jason Varitek understands his role and realizes his playing time may be limited during the ALDS against the Angels.

With Victor Martinez playing as well as he has since arriving in Boston at the trade deadline, Varitek's playing time has diminished. He's mainly been working with starter Josh Beckett down the stretch, while Martinez has caught the rest of the rotation. Manager Terry Francona did not announce whether or not Varitek would catch Beckett in Game Two.

Francona did explain in his office Thursday afternoon that he spoke with Varitek towards the end of the regular season about his role moving forward.

"He's ready. He knows what we're doing," said Francona. "He's always ready."

The 37-year-old switch-hitting backstop hit a lowly .209 with 14 homers and 51 RBI this season.

Martinez posted a .336 average with eight homers and 41 RBI in 56 games for Boston.

--JOE McDONALD

 Tags  Jason Varitek Terry Francona Victor Martinez

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