though strictly looking at this year, the first since '04 that they haven't had a captain, he probably won't be around next season. it's not really a good look to name someone captain and then have him leave after a year (whether that's his decision or the sox', it's still not a good look). if you'll remember, varitek's title came along with a 4-year commitment from the sox. so the significance was them saying "this is your team now and into the future." this is a very strange year in that this team has been reeling since last september and we don't know what this team is going to look like in the future. one might argue that you need a captain even moreso in that situation, and i might agree, but i'd add that it should be someone you know is gonna be there for a few years.

also we have to remember that captains are not a common thing in baseball. there have only been 3 in sox history, and i can only remember 2 others from my lifetime (jeter and mike sweeney when he was with the royals)

edit: just researched it, konerko is the only current captain besides jeter.

double edit: got some bad info, there have been way more than 3 Red Sox captains, though there have been many gaps with no captain, including from 90-04