"Not that long ago, the Red Sox [team stats] losing both David Ortiz [stats] and Jason Varitek [stats] to free agency was virtually unimaginable.

This year, it's not so hard to fathom at all.

Ortiz' loss would by far be the tougher one for the Sox and their fans to swallow, and there are good reasons why the odds are much longer for him departing than Varitek."