McAdam: With a month to go, Red Sox catching situation remains unclear

CHICAGO -- It's September now. The Red Sox sit comfortably in first place, with a chance to clinch a playoff spot in the next week. They own the game's best record and almost certainly are going to set a franchise record for most wins in a season.

They have the most formidable and productive offense in the game. They have a starting rotation that is slowly getting healthy.

What they don't have, with four weeks remaining in the regular season, is a sense of who their starting catcher is.

"I think that's fair (to say),'' agreed Alex Cora on Saturday.

This is far from standard operating procedure, although it must be pointed out that these same Red Sox changed starting catchers in the middle of the 2013 World Series when Jarrod Saltalamacchia's defensive shortcomings became an issue and veteran David Ross took it from there.

Still, this is far from typical. A number of teams begin the year with one closer and by the time they reach the postseason, have gone with another. Lineup tweaks over the course of the season are common.

But so much goes into the catching position -- familiarity with the staff, knowledge of opposing hitters, rapport with the pitchers -- that uncertainty at a critical spot, this late in the season, is virtually unprecedented.

The season began with Christian Vazquez as the clear-cut starter, even if Cora was reluctant to anoint him with that title. But with Vazquez underperforming both defensively and at the plate, Sandy Leon eventually began getting more playing time to the point where the two were in an official job-share. And when Vazquez broke his right pinky finger in the final week of June, the starting job unofficially became Leon's.

For a time, the Red Sox were virtually unbeatable (25-1 during one stretch) with Leon behind the plate. His offensive output, while modest, was helpful. But perhaps because of the increased workload, Leon slumped miserably in August, finishing 7-for-56 for a slash line of .125/.222./.232. Leon has a habit of expanding the strike zone for stretches and that's evident in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Blake Swihart, a complete non-factor in the catching equation for the first three months, began taking advantage of his increased playing time and from the day Vazquez was injured, has hit .306. Then again, the Sox were never worried about his bat; their concerns were mostly related to his work at the catcher's spot, and with help from catching instructors Chad Epperson and Jason Varitek, Swihart's defensive game has shown remarkable improvement. His throws, too, have been strong and accurate.

On Saturday, Vazquez was activated off the DL and immediately inserted into the starting lineup. Cora, however, cautioned that it was more about wanting the right-handed hitting Vazquez facing White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon. Vazquez appears intent on reclaiming the job that was his to start the year and making up for lost time.

From here on out, however, it would appear everything's up for grabs.

"It looks weird,'' conceded Cora, "but at the same time, whoever's behind the plate is capable of calling a game and contributing offensively. We feel comfortable with all of them. That's on me now -- how we're going to play them. They understand everybody's got to be ready. One thing's for sure -- we've got three catchers now. You never know, we might (pinch) hit earlier. That's the benefit of it. We'll take advantage of it.

"Somebody's going to be consistent and they're going to play and when we have to make a decision on who's going to catch, we'll make it and whoever it is, we're going to be comfortable with him. It looks like a tough situation, but it's actually a good one for me. We trust all three guys.''

For the next few weeks, Cora will examine matchups and history against opposing starters. He'll take into account how well some catchers have paired with certain pitchers. Leon is virtually guaranteed to catch Chris Sale when the lefty returns and it's a safe bet that Vazquez and Eduardo Rodriguez will be paired together as a matter of course.

But in the big picture, playing time and the right to claim the title of No. 1 catcher will be based on merit.

"Day-by-day,'' said Cora of the process. "That's how we're going to play it.''

That's something that's usually heard in March, not September.

"I know it's hard to catch three guys,'' conceded Cora. "But I'll figure it out.''

Or, more likely, they'll figure it out for him.