At the age of 39, Jason Varitek’s best days are in the rear-view mirror.
Despite the minimal number of games he’s played with the Red Sox, Jarrod Saltalamacchia has yet to show he’s the second coming of Carlton Fisk.
As a result, is it unreasonable to expect that Boston’s catcher – or catchers – of the future are currently laboring in the minor leagues?
Boston’s list of potential future catchers includes Pawtucket’s Luis Exposito plus Portland’s Ryan Lavarnway and Tim Federowicz – with the 24-year-old Exposito currently serving as the PawSox’ number one backstop.
“That’s out of my control,” Exposito said when asked about the possibility of getting a call to Boston in the not-too-distant future. “I’m going to do what I’ve done every year, which is work hard and make it difficult on (Boston’s) front office to make a decision.
“I think (Saltalamacchia and Varitek) have been doing a great job up here. I can learn from them and will try to model what they do up there.”
Considering the Red Sox placed Exposito on their 40-man roster during the offseason and installed him as Pawtucket’s top catcher one could assume he’s done a commendable job of “modeling” Boston’s current catchers – especially Varitek during his early years with the big club.
But with Lavarnway and Federowicz knocking on the door, the competition between those two and Exposito could mean Boston eventually will hit baseball’s equivalent of Mega Millions.
“Obviously we have Luis but you look at ‘Feddy’ and Lavarnway,” said Pawtucket manager Arnie Beyeler. “For two years now, they’ve been catching next to each other. They can’t be happy about that. But we don’t want them to be happy about that. We wouldn’t want them to be happy or they wouldn’t be where they’re at.
“Somewhere along the way, some of these guys are going to separate themselves. That’s what the competition brings and it’s good for those guys. But that being said you’ve got to give them time to develop.
“You don’t learn how to put the fingers down by reading a book,” continued Beyeler. “They’ve got to go out there and get experience through trial and error.”
Exposito, of course, already is a step ahead of his competition.
In 2010 at Portland, he ranked third in the Eastern League with 94 RBI and fourth in doubles with 39. And he also led Eastern League catchers by throwing out 37.5 percent (30-of-80) of attempted base stealers – which helped offset his .260 batting average that included 11 home runs.
But Exposito realizes his primary value is in his ability to handle a pitching staff – learning what pitches guys prefer in certain situations, blocking pitches in the dirt and learning which buttons to push when a pitcher’s struggling.
“When spring training opens, you try to catch these guys as much as possible and work with them and try to figure out what they like and vice-versa,” said Exposito. “It’s been a grind and every day it’s a growing relationship with these guys.
“You have to trust yourself in what you’re doing in a situation and at that point in time so you know what’s the right action to take in terms of settling a the guy down and getting him back in the zone. You want to make him feel comfortable so that he knows I’m there with him and there are eight guys behind him.”
That, of course, can be easier said than done.
“The leadership thing comes from your pitchers respecting you,” said Beyeler. “When you put down a finger, they have to buy into that finger. That’s the respect factor. Luis and the rest of the guys have a pretty tough road to hoe as far as that goes because the guy (Varitek) they’re being compared to is a pretty impressive guy.
“Nobody’s going to step in and fill his shoes right away. Yet, from an organizational standpoint, we expect somebody to be ready to do that. I think we’ve got to be realistic in that, sooner or later, we’re going to have to give some of these young guys a chance.”
Exposito last season certainly improved his chances by throwing out so many base stealers.
“At this level, it’s more about focusing on the little things that you really don’t worry about when you’re younger,” he said. “When I was younger, it was more about just getting rid of the ball.
“Now, it’s more about getting your footwork right and really finishing your throws. I think it comes into play now when you get older because base stealers get quicker, some pitchers are quick to home and some are not quick to home.
“It’s more about having to put in the work so you improve your talent level.”
Of course, Exposito could improve his chances of landing a job with Boston if he could improve his hitting (through his first 19 games with Pawtucket, he was hitting only .167 (17-72) with one homer and eight RBI). But Beyeler at the moment isn’t overly concerned about Exposito’s offensive production.
“He’s a dangerous guy at the plate,” said the skipper. “But the toughest thing with these guys from a catching standpoint is they get it pounded into them from us about you’re out there for the pitcher.
“Yes, they still have to hit and battle at the plate. But by the same token, when you go to the big leagues, they’re not going to hit in the three, four or five slots. They’re there to catch and to be there for their pitchers and to block balls and to throw out guys.
“It’s tough,” continued Beyeler, “to go out and tell a guy that because they all want to hit and their family and everybody (read: media) look at the numbers. But that’s baseball and the ability to separate. I think the ability to deal with it is something every catcher goes through. These guys have to learn to separate and continue to improve on both sides. If the hitting comes with some of these guys, they’ll be all-star catchers. If it doesn’t, they’ll still be good, big league catchers.”