Backstop Merry-go-round

The contract the Red Sox have put on the table for Jason Varitek has been given a deadline, according to the Globe's "Extra Bases" blog. The skinny is that Tek has one week from the issuance of the deal (thought to be either last Thursday or Friday to decide. Why is this important? Well, for one thing, it would be nice to see something happen before I do my annual Truck Day dance.So what would be the other reason, you ask? Simple.A "club source" for the Rangers is saying they're still willing to swap Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. It's nothing but an unfounded rumor floated by an anonymous source, but I haven't gone into this trade, so what the heck.Let's start with Buchholz. We all remember that no-hitter he tossed in 2007 and his comet-bright start, but let's not forget that last year he went out and posted a 2 - 9 record and a 1.76 WHIP. His ERA+ was stellar 68 (100 begin league average) and he was all over the place with his ...