Meanwhile, the Red Sox have their own Core Four; Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis and Tim Wakefield are the sole remaining members of the 2004 championship team. They are the only four players on the roster who wore the uniform in the days of The Curse; a quartet that knows how difficult it once was to play in Boston.
They are also four players who have learned to adapt to continue their careers. That's been good news for Terry Francona, who was in his first year as Sox manager in those halcyon days of '04.
"Any time good players that care place the team first, it creates a really good atmosphere," said Francona. "Since these guys do that, it sets the tone for our young guys. They'd better buy in, because the veterans are."
No one has "bought in" to his new role better than Varitek, who returns for his 12th year and is still the captain of the team, despite not being the everyday catcher he once was. The man who once turned a season around with a glove to the face of Alex Rodriguez played only 39 games last season, the fewest he has played since first coming up with the Sox.
Rather than bristle at the notion of reduced playing time, Varitek realized he could get more out of his aging body by playing a little less. Now, closing in on his 40th birthday, he's back for another season, hoping to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2010. He won't be behind the plate each night — right now, 25-year old Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the starter — but he's in great shape, ready to go, and is serving as an on-field mentor to "Salty."
Ortiz is also back on a one-year deal after the team picked up his 2011 option. It remains to be seen if his role will be any different than it has been in the past. At $12.5 million this season, he's one of the highest paid designated hitters in the game, but he has also struggled mightily against left-handed pitchers in recent years — over the last three years, his OPS against lefties is .258 lower than it is against righties.) If he struggles against lefties early, he may find himself sitting on the bench as players like Jed Lowrie and Mike Cameron get into a starting lineup that is a bit skewed to the left side of the plate.
Wakefield has always been a versatile member of the Sox. He made 30 relief appearances in 2002, and his mop-up appearance in Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS allowed the pitching staff to stay rested and ready for an epic comeback. Now, he's back in the bullpen, a year after struggling with the uncertainty of his role in spring training.
There's no question Wakefield will pitch in relief this year, but he also knows teams usually need more than five starters to make it through a season. He'll undoubtedly get his chance to serve as a spot starter, and his ability to pitch as a starter and a long or short reliever means he'll have one of the bullpen spots if healthy.
Youkilis was just a rookie in 2004, and he spent the next season bouncing between Boston and Pawtucket. Now he is one of the team's most important hitters, serving as the cleanup man in the lineup since Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers. Two years after winning a Gold Glove at first base, he is moving back across the diamond to his original position. By agreeing to go to third, he made the team's acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez much easier.
It's hard to believe that nearly seven years have passed since that unforgettable October. As Mick Jagger once sang, "time waits for no one," and this Core Four has had to accept new roles in order to be part of what could be a very good season for baseball in Boston.
"Any time a respected veteran does anything, other players in the clubhouse notice," said general manager Theo Epstein. "So when you have those leaders putting the team first in meaningful ways, like accepting a lesser role because it's the right thing for the team or changing positions because it's the right thing for the team, it sets a great tone of selflessness in the clubhouse. I think you need that to build great chemistry and to get through 162 games as a team."
