Red Sox-Royals (August 24, 2005)

The Boston bats, combined with the performances of starter David Wells and middle-man Jeremi Gonzalez, carried the Old Towne Team to a 5-2 victory on Tuesday night over the Royals. The one negative in the game was the shaky outing by de-facto closer Mike Timlin in the ninth inning. Timlin allowed the only Kansas City runs and with two outs, former Sox minor leaguer Chip Ambres represented the tying run but he grounded into a force out. Matt Clement (11-3, 4.38) tries to finally get win No. 12 tonight. He will be opposed by D.J. Carrasco (5-7, 4.89). NESN and WEEI have the game at 8:10 p.m. As a side to my note on Red Sox MVP candidates, where would the Red Sox be without Jason Varitek? As a catcher, he has carried a patch-work pitching staff to the top of the A.L. East. It is true that the Boston team E.R.A. (4.79) is eleventh out of fourteen American League teams but you must take into account that he has worked with a staff without it's No.1 starter (Curt Schilling) for the vast majority of the year and without it's closer (Keith Foulke) for a good portion of the season as well. At the plate Varitek is having one of the great offensive seasons by a catcher in baseball history. 'Tek is hitting .301 with 21 home runs, 59 RBI and an impressive .927 O.P.S. Lastly, Varitek is the captain of the most insane team in the game. He is the voice of reason on a team of self-proclaimed Idiots that include Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, Schilling, Foulke and Kevin Millar. In a city such as Boston, with its' swarming media hordes, and a home park such as Fenway, with its' tiny clubhouse space, Varitek is almost always front and center in answering questions about himself and the rest of the team. He is a true leader -- behind the plate, as a hitter and off the field. He would get my vote as American League MVP.