CATCHER
JORGE POSADA VS. JASON VARITEK

Winslow Townson / AP Jason Varitek

Nothing has changed here, and that’s a good thing in both cases, as Jason Varitek and Jorge Posada are two of the best in the American League. The Red Sox showed how much they value Varitek by giving him a four-year, $40-million deal.

Then they named him team captain, making official what already has been the case in the clubhouse over the last couple of years. His stability and game-calling abilities behind the plate will be especially important this season, as the pitching staff will include up to five new members.

Offensively, the 33-year-old switch-hitter is more dangerous from the right side, and is coming off a career-high .296 batting average. Expect 15-20 homers and 70-80 RBI out of him in the seventh spot in the order.

Posada, 33, plays an equally important dual role for the Yankees, providing solid defense and five years of durability in which he has averaged 143 games. His biggest offensive year came in 2003, when he hit 30 homers and drove in 101 runs. But you can count on him being in the vicinity of .270, 20 homers and 80 RBI, plus an on-base percentage near .400 due to his inordinate number of walks.

DESIGNATED HITTER
DAVID ORTIZ VS. TINO MARTINEZ

Al Behrman / AP file David Ortiz

The Minnesota Twins make few mistakes when it comes to player evaluation, but you have to wonder what they were thinking when they let David Ortiz go rather than offer him arbitration before the 2003 season. He quickly was signed by the Red Sox, and has turned into one of the league’s most-dangerous power hitters.

While Ortiz’s .301 average, 41 homers and 139 RBI in 2004 all were career highs, he is in the perfect lineup and home part to be a consistent 35-40-homer, 100-plus RBI man for the next few years. The Red Sox think so, too, as they gave Ortiz, 29, a two-year contract extension over the winter.

Tino Martinez is back in pinstripes, and while he isn’t the hitter he was in his first go-round in the Bronx, he does bring back some of the mystique from that dynastic 1996-2000 period when the Yankees won three World Series in a row and four in five years. At 37, he’s still capable of a .270-20-70 season, and remains a patient hitter who will take walks. He also still can play first base when Jason Giambi needs a rest.

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