Is Jason Varitek’s personal life affecting his performance on the field? The answer is no.

If you haven’t heard by now, ‘Tek and his wife, Karen, recently split-up after 12 years of marriage. We’re hearing the news now, but Varitek filed for divorce about 3 weeks ago.

One can make a case that Varitek’s struggles at the plate may pertain to his off-the-field issues. It’s surely a possibility. Last year we witnessed J.D. Drew struggle out of the gate due to a couple of reasons; one being the situation with his sick son, the other adjusting to the Boston sports scene.

With Varitek, his struggles haven’t been solely based on this year. If we look at his splits from last year, the drop-off occured after last year’s All Star break, in which The Captain hit a mere .225 in the second half.

Keeping the stats in mind, maybe we can assume that Varitek is simply losing his swagger at the plate. Indeed he calls the best game behind the plate as a catcher, but at 36-years-old, one might have to assume an offensive drop-off is expected.

We as a fan-base must face the facts: Varitek’s offensive game is diminishing; but is it worth it to let Varitek walk as a free agent at the end of the year considering what is out on the market in terms of catchers? Who would the Sox bring in?

Exactly.

Let’s hope ‘Tek is willing to take a paycut to stay in 2009.

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Now that we’ve indulged in the personal life of ‘Tek, why not continue?

According to various sources, it appears that Jason Varitek and Sox sideline reporter, Ms. Heidi Watney, are apparently working out in the bedroom. This may serve as a valid reason why the break-up between ‘Tek and his wife is currently occuring. Watney started working for the Red Sox in May. If true, she didn’t take long to jump all over Captain and become a home-wrecker.

As for her job, the Watney era may come to an end shall these rumors become valid.

That would be a shame; and shame on you people who are secretly congratulating Varitek for hooking up with the unbelievably good-looking, astounding sideline girl.

Last night was the start of David Ortiz’ last part of his journey back to the Majors, almost two months after going on the disabled list with a partially torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Ortiz, sporting a Portland Sea Dogs uniform, went 2-3 with an RBI, R, and a BB. Although, unfortunately, he could not homer in this game.

Overall, however, Ortiz is 5-12 with 3 HR and 6 RBI’s in his rehab stint. Papi is expected to play two more games with Portland before finally arriving for his long awaited comeback to Fenway Park, a series in which the Red Sox will host three important games with the New York Yankees.

David Ortiz talked very positively about his rehab and return at the Boston Herald:

“I want to see pitches. I know my hand is fine right now. Everything is coming out pretty good,” Ortiz said. “When you see pitches, that’s when you really get your timing that you want to have.”

Ortiz’ comeback should spark a Red Sox team that has recently shown some holes in their lineup, especially on the road. The timely hits aren’t coming, the bullpen can’t get it done, and the Manny drama has put more of a damper on an already struggling road team.

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Things look to be changing as the Sox captured their first win post All Star break. Jon Lester once again dazzled for the Sox, striking out 6 while shutting out the Seattle Mariners in 7.1 innings of work at Safeco Field, a place in which the Sox usually struggle.

Jason Varitek hit a 2-run home run in the 5th inning, finally breaking out of his slump. Varitek burned the same team that drafted him in 1994 and is almost hitting above the Mendoza line. He’s currently at .218.

Jed Lowrie also contributed with a 2 run single in the 8th. (If Julio Lugo wasn’t making as much money as he is, the Red Sox could use Lowrie as their starting SS)

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The 10-1 Daisuke Matsuzaka starts for the Red Sox tonight against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. If Dice-K doesn’t walk the house, the Sox should snatch another win and continue their surge back to Boston with Papi on board.

We at On Deck Sports are not prone to downing a home town player, more importantly, the captain of the Boston Red Sox, Jason Varitek. Varitek has been in the most brutal slump of his career, and being in Boston it’s become much chronicled news.

Major league players and managers have voted in Varitek as a reserve in this year’s All Star game at Yankee Stadium. His selection has raised plenty of eyebrows in the sports media. Take it for what it’s worth, but Varitek is not an All Star.

Sure he calls a great game behind the dish, he does his homework on hitters, he knows which pitches to call, let’s not take anything away from that side of the field. Varitek has been with us since ‘97 after a deadline deal that sent Heathcliff Slocumb to the Mariners in exchange for he and Derek Lowe. Here we are twelve years later and 2 World Series rings to boot — the Sox couldn’t of done it without their main man, V-Tek, but things change.

Yes, it’s been twelve years, twelve relatively good years, but is time creeping up on Jason Varitek? The numbers don’t lie. Varitek is hitting below the Mendoza line, is on pace for a career high in strikeouts, and his slugging percentage is .358. Beyond that, Varitek is being paid 10.5 million this year — not the kind of money an organization wants to spend for the poor production. If things don’t change pretty quickly, Red Sox Nation could be saying cyanora to our beloved captain.

It’s honestly a really sad thing to watch — you almost feel bad for the guy when he takes a step up to the plate. No examples were more evident than this weekend’s Yankees series. After Mo’ Rivera loaded the bases in the 9th inning with no outs, Coco Crisp struck out. V-Tek stepped to the plate and launched a lifeless pop fly to the first baseman.

The struggles are evident and maybe showcasing our catcher as an All Star only brings about more publicity about those struggles. Let’s hope our man can turn it around and get back to .250, that’s all we need from him.

It’s late in the game. High Drama. The crowd is going crazy, chanting all sorts of things. The runner on second is a tall, lanky outfielder. The big outfielder wearing a number in the teens hears the crack of the bat, and makes his way to third. The third base coach waves him around. The right fielder scoops up the ball and fires a frozen rope from medium-depth right to home.

The catcher gets the ball in plenty of time. The crowd knows what’s coming. The catcher braces himself for impact…..

Booooom.

Legs, elbows, helmets, and shoulders go hurdling to the ground. The catcher collects himself on the ground to show the umpire the ball.

The umpire yells: “YOU’RE OUT!”

Does this scene sound familiar to you? It sounds a lot like Chris “Don’t call me Shelly, or Dave for that matter” Duncan in extras yesterday trying to bowl over V-Tek. It also is a personal story of a game in which I was this tall, lanky outfielder rounding third and heading for home.

Each year in Burlington’s Little League, the kids from every team play, in what is called “Family Day” up at Simonds Park. This day is filled with 2 inning games with kids from Tee-Ball to Majors showcasing their skills. I was 9 years old. I played for the Phillies, and we were facing the White Sox on Family Day. It was the bottom of the 2nd, 2 outs, and I was standing on second; probably waving like an idiot to my parents and grandparents. As soon as I heard that ping, I knew that the catcher was going to be “standing on the tracks with the train coming through”. Running through a blatant stop sign from the coach, I continued down the third base line, knowing full-well what was to come of this.

After the catcher caught the ball, and I knew I was cooked, I took matters into my own hands. I railroaded the diminutive backstop like he wasn’t standing there. I got to give him credit, he held onto that ball like his life depended on it. Not only was I out, and lost the team the game by 1 run, but I had hushed the crowd and embarrassed the sh*t outta my family. I was totally that kid. The Centerfielder who wanted to be a ‘Lenny Dykstra/Ken Griffey Jr’ hybrid.

So next time you come across Family Day at a Little League field, just think of me. Ignoring repeated stop signs. Coming around third. Railroading the catcher.

Oh, and Mr. Duncan… Why would you even attempt to take on V-Tek? It’s not good for your health. Just ask Eric Byrnes.