Jason Varitek has done a superb job with the pitching staff, but the Boston catcher has been woeful at the plate, struggling through a 12-for-102 span for a pathetic .118 average before last night.

The Journal / Bob Breidenbach

Traditionally, it’s the captain who goes down with the ship.

In the case of the second-place Red Sox, however, it’s the ship that’s going down with the captain.

The batting average of Jason Varitek, the Sox’ catcher and team captain, has been sinking faster than the Titanic.

His numbers aren’t just dropping, they’re plummeting.

He’s not merely in a slump at the plate, he’s in free fall.

Compared with his batting average, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is on a roll.

Going into last night’s game with the Yankees in New York, Varitek had a paltry three hits in his last 48 at-bats. He was hitless in his last five games, going 0-for-17. In the month of June, Varitek had only nine hits in 74 trips to the plate, a woeful average of .122.

It’s even worse if you go back to May 24, and also include this month’s games in Tampa. In the 30 games he’s played in that time span, Varitek is 12-for-102 — a pathetic .118. He has had only three extra-base hits — two doubles and one home run (on June 11, against the Orioles). He has driven in only nine runs — three of those RBI coming in that June 11 game against Baltimore.

He has struck out 34 times in those 30 games, including six of his last seven at-bats against the A.L. East-leading Rays. Twice on Wednesday night, the Rays walked Kevin Youkilis to pitch to Varitek, whose season average is down to .216.

In the ninth inning, with Mike Lowell on first base representing the tying run and one out, Boston manager Terry Francona signaled for a hit-and-run with Varitek at the plate. With the less-than-speedy Lowell running, Varitek missed the pitch and Lowell was thrown out at second. Varitek then struck out to end the game.

“Put this one on my shoulders,” Varitek said afterward. “I didn’t do the job.”

Varitek does an outstanding job handling the Boston pitching staff. That is what makes him invaluable to the Sox. Although he doesn’t have a rifle arm, he is considered to be one of the better defensive catchers in baseball. Unfortunately — especially with Boston in need of punch in the lineup because of the prolonged absence of slugger David Ortiz — Varitek has become a liability offensively. Like a National League pitcher, he has become almost an automatic “out” in the batting order.

“I’ll figure it out,” Varitek said recently, more determinedly than dejectedly.

The way he’s hitting — or, more accurately, not hitting — the Boston brass has some figuring to do, too.

Varitek is 36 years old and in the final year of his contract. He has been Boston’s catcher since 1998. Three times he has hit more than 20 homers, with a career-high of 25 in 2003, when he also drove in a career-high 85 runs. His best batting average was .296, in 2004, when he hit 18 homers and drove in 73 runs.

He began to show signs of age at the plate — although not behind it — two years ago, when he hit just .238 in 103 games, only to bounce back a bit last season, batting .255, with 17 homers, in 131 games. This season, however, has been a disaster for him offensively, raising serious questions for Boston’s brain trust about what to with their veteran catcher and team captain.

Varitek is being paid $10,442,031 this season — big money for a guy with miniscule offensive production. With the contentious Scott Boras as his agent, and quality catching in very short supply throughout the majors, “Tek” likely will be looking for one, last financial “score” — perhaps a four-year deal in the $40-plus million range.

Can he get it, especially given his current dismal offensive numbers? Is he worth it?

It’s not out of the question that — gasp! — the Yankees could get involved in the bidding, with the idea of moving their sore-armed catcher, Jorge Posada, to first base. While it seems unthinkable that the captain of the Red Sox would put on pinstripes, money has a way of buying loyalty.

Can Boston afford to let that happen?

There is no budding Carlton Fisk — or budding Jason Varitek, for that matter — down on the farm. George Kottaras has displayed power (16 homers) for Pawtucket, but is batting only .233 and his defensive skills must continue to improve. Dusty Brown is hitting .274, but isn’t yet considered ready to be a regular in the big leagues.

Boston’s backup catcher, Kevin Cash, makes even the slumping Varitek seem like Manny Ramirez at the plate, with a career batting average under .200.

And it is difficult to overstate the value of Varitek in preparing his pitchers and calling the game. He knows the hitters and works hard to make sure Boston’s hurlers know what to throw, and when to throw it.

The problem is, when Varitek’s at the plate, it doesn’t seem to matter what opposing pitches throw — he can’t hit it.

So it’ll be interesting to see what Boras’ pitch will be to the Sox after this season, and how the Boston brass responds.

jdonalds@projo.com