"May I have your attention please: Will Jason Varitek please report to the catcher's box? Jason Varitek. To the catcher's box. Thank you."

It sounds like something that would be said in a grocery store. It is. Just about every grocery store conversation in New England this time of year relates to the Boston Red Sox and how can any Red Sox fan discuss the team without addressing their recent woes, which, by no coincidence, have taken place without their captain and former All-Star catcher, Jason Varitek.

Varitek, known as "Tek," has been out of the Red Sox lineup since going on the disabled list on August 1.

A day before they lost their captain, the Red Sox ended July in style with David Ortiz hitting his third walk off home run of the season for Boston. The Sox finished July with a 63-41 record and were fending off the New York Yankees (62-41), in the American League East by half a game.

Since the start of August, the Red Sox have been more noticeably out of style than bowl cuts and tie-died shirts. They have posted a record of 8-19 and fallen a distant 7 games behind the Yankees. The Red Sox most embarrassing series of the month came at home when the Yankees swept a five game series. This sweep might later be declared the series that lost the season, but it can't be overlooked that over the last month, the Red Sox were also swept by two last place teams (the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Mariners) and lost a series to the AL's other last place team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, as well.

"What is causing the Red Sox to fall apart like this?" one might ask over the deli counter.

Sports Illustrated seemed to suggest it was related to the fatigue of young players in their recent article "A Pox on the Sox." They cited the rise in earned run average, batting average against, and walks+hits per inning experienced by four rookies (Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, and Jonathan Papelbon). They cited the stats before and after a certain day. That day? August 1.

These rookies are far from the only pitchers to blame for the Red Sox poor August. This month, Red Sox pitchers have recorded the second worst ERA in baseball at 5.94, close to a run and a half higher than the 4.58 team average through the end of July. Starting pitcher Josh Beckett, a focal point in the pitching staff this season, has posted a 7.28 ERA in August, while opponents have hit .288 against him. Papelbon, a Rookie of the Year candidate, has yielded four earned runs this month, after yielding only three during the first four months of the season. Red Sox pitching has cost the team the month of August and likely the season.

Pitchers might fatigue during the season as SI suggests, but doesn't every pitcher, on every team? This doesn't explain why such a powerful team has struggled so much.

So again, I'll relate you back to the turning point of the pitchers chosen by SI: August 1.

August 1: The day that Varitek was placed on the disabled list.

Varitek isn't a pitcher, but he is a pitcher's best friend and is recognized by many around the league as baseball's best play caller behind the plate. Free agent signees, such as Curt Schilling (winter 2003-04) and Beckett (winter 2005-06), acknowledged that working with a catcher as knowledgeable as 'Tek was a huge plus in pitching for the Red Sox.

Without Varitek behind the plate, the Red Sox pitchers have had trouble locating their pitchers. Comparing August stats with those of April through July: the pitching staff has seen increases in walks per inning (.345 to .389), home runs per inning (.130 to .157), while strikeouts per inning have declined (.764 to .738). The differences seem marginal on such a small scale, but magnified over the course of a game or a month, they begin to take effect.

There are many factors that might contribute to the drop-off in numbers this late in the season, such as injuries or fatigue. However, it can not be overlooked that the game's best play caller was no longer behind the plate for these pitchers when they began to struggle.

Unlike behind the plate, Varitek was having a season to forget at the plate, where he was hitting a sub-par .243 with 11 home runs, 40 runs, and 50 runs batted in in 85 games. However, he was replaced by a combination of Doug Mirabelli and Javy Lopez, who are batting .185 and .214, respectively, with the club this year. Since Varitek's injury, the two have platooned at catcher, but only combined for ten runs and ten RBI (about one run and one RBI every three games).

To be fair, Varitek was not the only reason for the Red Sox demise, but he can be viewed as the catalyst. In August, the Red Sox have clearly not been the same team that dominated the Major Leagues for the first four months of the season.

Last night, the Red Sox marched out their worst lineup of the season in a 9-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics. They were without their two best batters (both named starting All-Stars): outfielder Manny Ramirez, who was batting a team leading .326 but was sent back to Boston today with a sore knee; and, MVP candidate Ortiz, who was sent back to Boston yesterday, with an irregular heart beat. To compensate, the team moved first baseman Kevin Youkilis to left field and second baseman Mark Loretta to designated hitter. Alex Cora, a reserve, started at shortstop for Alex Gonzalez, who went on the disabled list August 19, Kason Gabbard made his second career start at pitcher for Jon Lester, who was placed on the disabled list August 24, and Javy Lopez started behind the plate for...Jason Varitek.

The projected time frame for Tek's return is this coming weekend. At this point, it will provide about as much pain relief for Red Sox Nation as an ibuprofen would for a broken leg. With Ramirez and Ortiz questionable, and Gonzalez and Lester, along with Trot Nixon (right field), Tim Wakefield (pitcher), and Matt Clement (pitcher) all on the disabled list, the Red Sox appear to be all but statistically eliminated from the playoffs.

Before you leave the grocery store, Red Sox Nation buy chips, hot dogs, and soda, and get ready for the tailgate. It's New England Patriots season and that will provide the necessary pain relief. After all, in Red Sox Nation, "there's always next year" (and a Patriots dynasty to uphold.)

Stats and information provided by espn.com, sports.yahoo.com, and mlb.com.

NOTE: This blog was written as an assignment for the Journalism 499: Sports Commentary class at the University of Southern California, taught by Joshua Adande.