RECHARGING THE BATTERY:

Rolling out the 'Dice' (STEVEN KRASNER, 2/14/07, Providence Journal)

George Kottaras is in Red Sox camp trying to impress the Boston coaching staff, hoping to shove Doug Mirabelli out of the reserve catcher's role.

It's a relatively low-level battle as spring-training dramas go.

Yesterday, though, George Kottaras was in the middle of intense media scrutiny with more than 70 members of the media either holding TV cameras, still cameras or notepads, recording every movement of his game of catch at an otherwise deserted minor-league complex.

It wasn't as if Kottaras hadn't been watched by a large media horde before. He did play for Greece in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, so marching in for the Opening Ceremonies was done so in front of a large media and fan presence.

"But this was the first time I've ever experienced this for a long-toss session," said Kottaras after the workout.

Dice K is a nice luxury, improving the catching situation is a necessity.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 14, 2007 12:00 AM