I was watching tonight's Red Sox/Rays game, and can't help but notice how incredibly loose the webbing is on Jason Varitek's mitt. I've never caught fastpitch (and certainly not baseball) but I can't help but wonder how he can catch power pitchers like Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon and not worry about a ball smashing right through that floppy web. Yes, I know the ideal is to catch it in the pocket, but still.
Any current or former catchers out there use a similarly floppy web?