If Jason Varitek doesn't return to the team, the Red Sox will likely play the 2012 season without a captain. Boston didn't have a captain designated from 1990-2004 and most teams in the Major Leagues don't have one. "If Varitek doesn't show up? I hadn't planned on [a captain]," manager Bobby Valentine said. "If the team thinks a captain's a cool thing, I think that could be considered. It's not that I don't think a captain's necessary. Then again, I don't know that it's so necessary you can't live without it. Who was the captain last year in St. Louis? They didn't have one. So you can win a world championship without a captain."