Dusty the darkhorse

Josh Beckett and Jon Lester both threw bullpen sessions this morning, according to the early-rising Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe. While the focus is on the pitchers, especially Beckett, I noted that Dusty Brown did the catching. Can we read into that? No. But Brown is worth watching this spring. Brown is one of three catchers competing for the job of back-up to Jason Varitek. Because of Josh Bard's experience and George Kottaras' situation (he is out of options), "Brownie" is expected to finish third in this race. When Kottaras got the September call-up to Boston last year, I was a little surprised. Brown batted .290 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI in 84 games. Kottaras played more (107 games), and had better power numbers (22 HR, 65 RBI), but hit only .243. Plus, Brown is considered a better defensive catcher. Assistant general manager Ben Cherington said both catchers were considered for the call-up, but only one spot was available. Kottaras' roster status appeared to be the deciding factor. "Brownie had an excellent year and made this a very difficult decision," Cherington wrote in an email back then. "We believe Dusty will be a good major league catcher. In his second year in AAA, George made good strides in every area that he was challenged with in spring training. That progress, combined with the importance of getting a look at him at the major league level given his roster status, led us to this decision. "Between George, Dusty, and Mark Wagner we feel we have three young catchers capable of playing in the major leagues in the near future and that's a good position to be in." While Brown may lose out this spring and go back to Pawtucket, don't count him out.