Red Sox News & Notes @ SOX & Dawgs

Good article in today’s Providence Journal about one of the three catchers, Dusty Brown, who will probably be in Pawtucket to start the season. Brown was added to the Red Sox 40-man roster in the offseason and could be a prime candidate to backup and potentially take over for Jason Varitek when Doug Mirabelli retires and he (Varitek) decides to hang his spikes up.

Red Sox director of player development, Mike Hazen, had this to say about Brown.

“He does a good job defensively. He’s a good catch-and-throw guy and he runs a good pitching staff. The basics of a catcher at the major-league level are that and he can do all those things very well. . . We feel he’s going to be a major-league catcher.”

Brown does hope that he can be Varitek’s backup and eventually take over for him down the line.

“The Red Sox are coming into a situation where there’s going to be a turnover somewhere in the next few years. I’m sure Varitek will play as long as he wants to and as long as he’s healthy. The backup spot could be up for grabs in the next few years, and ultimately I would love to play behind Varitek and take over his job when he decides to step down.”

One of the things that we the fans might not know about Brown is that he can catch the knuckleball.

“It wasn’t a secret last year that I can catch a knuckleball. If they want to give me a chance in spring training then I will run with it. I may not get that chance with them re-signing Mirabelli, but I think I’ve made enough of an impression with my ability to catch the knuckleball that if something were to happen, they would have the confidence in me.”

To me that’s a great thing because if Varitek or Mirabelli were to go down with an injury this season, there is someone else besides Kevin Cash who can catch Wakefield.

In his 7 minor league seasons, Brown has hit .257 with 26 home runs and 225 RBIs. He has also stolen 25 bases over those 7 seasons. His strikeout numbers are high (358) in just 1,580 at-bats.

Brown was a 35th round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox in the 2000 Entry Draft. He played his collegiate ball at Yavapi College. If you didn’t know, Curt Schilling also played there as well.