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Boston Red Sox: Jason Varitek will be a free agent at the end of this season. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes that it won't be easy putting a price tag on his worth. He'll turn 33 soon after play begins in 2005, making him fairly old for a catcher. Pegging him to a comparable catcher is also not easy.

New York Yankees: The Yankees are being more aggressive on the basepaths, reports Dave Caldwell of the New York Times. While they are not trying to steal all that much, the new Yankee credo is to take the extra base whenever possible. "If you rely on guys hitting the ball out of the ballpark, guys are going to hit a dry spell,'' said manager Joe Torre. Third base coach Luis Sojo is under instruction to be extremely liberal when sending runners home and the attitude has permeated the ballclub. "He wants us to run,'' Alex Rodriguez said of his manager. "He continues to remind us to push the envelope.''

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