ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Tim Wakefield-George Kottaras battery made its official debut last night, marking not only a new chapter in the knuckleballer's specially trained succession of catchers, but also the first major league start for Kottaras.
``It's very exciting, I'll stick to what I'm doing all spring,'' said Kottaras before the 6-3 loss to the Angels. ``Slowly, but surely, it's going in right direction as far as my comfort level. At the same time, I can't get too comfortable, I have to stay focused and react to him.'' Kottaras clearly was engaged in keeping the pressure turned as low as possible. However, the fact the Angels are just about the most aggressive base-running team in the league magnified the event.
The Angels swiped four bases in the game and scored all three of their runs off Wakefield in the second inning.
``I'm here for Wake, trying to get the most out of him that I can,'' Kottaras said afterward. ``It was just that one inning where things got out of hand. I felt fine, I just tried to calm myself down. I didn't have anxiety.''
Manager Terry Francona, who was looking forward to seeing Kottaras, came away satisfied.
``(Kottaras) was fine,'' he said. ``They're going to run on everybody, regardless of who's catching but I thought he handled himself pretty well.''
Kottaras was named Wakefield's catcher last month.
Rest for Tek
The team's plan is for Kottaras to get starts even when Wakefield doesn't pitch. The Red Sox want primary catcher Jason Varitek to get more rest than in previous seasons, but it is too early for a reduced Varitek workload to get formalized or even hashed out.
``We don't want to just run him into the ground,'' Francona said.
Francona noted that more important than the two home runs Varitek has hit this season is that he has had quality at-bats.
``I think his contact is what we liked, he's hit the ball on the nose six or seven times,'' Francona said. ``That's probably more important. I know players need to see results, I understand that. If you keep making right turns, it's hard to pat guys on the back and say, `Way to go,' but he's swung the bat very well. It's been three days. If he can stay with that approach, he'll be OK.''
Saunders starts
The death of Nick Adenhart and the cancellation of Thursday's game required the Angels to make some changes in their rotation. Left-hander Joe Saunders was moved up a day and will start this afternoon's game against the Sox with righty Dustin Moseley stepping in to start tomorrow's series finale. . . .
Francona said the Red Sox originally planned for Mike Lowell to get a day off today, but now he probably will play. Francona said Lowell has reported no problems in his return from offseason hip surgery. . . .
Brad Penny will make his Sox debut today. His pitch limit is expected to be around 85. . . .
Outfielder Mark Kotsay (back surgery) took early batting practice, did some running and took ground balls before the game. He remains on a timetable to be activated next month.
``He did good, he's obviously not ready to go but it's nice to see him take those progressions,'' Francona said. . . .
Francona said John Smoltz (shoulder surgery) will stay with the team through the end of the road trip and then fly to Florida to resume his throwing program. He is on a timetable to return in early June. . . .
The Angels have now beaten the Sox nine straight times in the regular season. . . . Kevin Youkilis went 2-for-4 to raise his batting average to .625. He has had at least two hits in all four games this season. . . .
Last night, the Red Sox debuted their new alternate blue-top road uniform, along with the ``Hanging Sox' ' alternate cap.
