Who says the Sox can't beat the Yanks? They did, at least on the minor league level, as Boston's Double A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, took out the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees' affiliate, in four games in the first round of the Eastern League playoffs. Outfielder Brandon Moss, who threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the ninth inning, hit a walkoff home run in the 10th in a 4-3 clinching win yesterday. Moss hit a 3-and-0 pitch for his fourth postseason home run as a Sea Dog, and Sox general manager Theo Epstein was in the house to witness his winning hit. Newcomer George Kottaras, the catcher acquired from San Diego in the David Wells deal, acquitted himself well during the series. Kottaras started Game 2 and had two hits, including a home run, knocked in two, and stole a base, and had a double and RBI in Game 3. He was 0 for 1 in one at-bat Saturday. The Sea Dogs will meet the Akron Aeros in the finals, scheduled to begin Tuesday on the road. Portland will host Games 3 and 4, and a possible Game 5, starting Friday night

George Kottaras is one of a dozen Red Sox prospects who will take part in a rookie development program this week at Boston College. The catcher said he's been working on his defensive technique, footwork, and throwing with minor league coordinator Rob Leary. "I think I've made some strides on some things," said the Toronto native. "Right now I'm just trying to get used to a new organization and getting to know the people and the players." The lefthanded-hitting Kottaras helped Double A Portland win a championship after arriving in the David Wells deal last August. "That was tough in that I was just dropping into a situation where the guys were together all season," he said. "But it was exciting."

George Kottaras
23 years old | Boston Red Sox
Kottaras is small, probably won't hit more than 15 home runs a year, and swings and misses too often to be more than a .270 hitter in the big leagues. The good news is that he is a left-handed hitter with exceptional patience at the plate. Kottaras has worked hard to quiet concerns about his durability.

Sorry, my bad.

So then you're satisfied with what they have to say about him? Because it makes me very nervous, and I have been since we got him. Thankfully he only cost us a fat old pitcher that was gone at the end of the season anyway, but still.

Sorry, my bad.

So then you're satisfied with what they have to say about him? Because it makes me very nervous, and I have been since we got him. Thankfully he only cost us a fat old pitcher that was gone at the end of the season anyway, but still.

His performance so far at the plate doesn't alarm me, and his OBP gives me some encouragement. If he keeps up a .350 OBP in the bigs and boasts some power he'll be a keeper in the bigs, even if only as a backup. (a .350 OBP would be one of the better offensive backup C's in the league)

I could see him becoming a Scott Hatteberg redux, and there are worse names to be called IMHO.

Put George Kottaras, the 23-year-old Sox catcher, on the short list of Canadian athletes who have never played ice hockey. "I think it's the Greek [ancestry] more than anything," said the native of Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. "My dad grew up playing soccer."

Both his mother and father, he said, were first-generation Greeks who met in Toronto. He learned to speak Greek before he learned English, he said, having spent much of his time in his grandmother's home while his parents worked. When he calls home, he said, he usually speaks Greek.

His language skills came in handy when he was selected to play for the Greek Olympic team in 2004 in Athens, a team comprised primarily of other North Americans of Greek heritage. That wasn't his first visit to the homeland; his grandmother maintained a home in Sparta, and split her time between Greece and Ontario.

Kottaras last August was acquired from the Padres for lefthander David Wells. The plan is for him to play this season in Triple A Pawtucket, as the Sox intend to give him a chance to demonstrate he has the skills to succeed Jason Varitek. His lefthanded bat (.276 average and .394 OBP in Double A Mobile last summer) is considered ahead of his defense, but he came here early to work with new bullpen coach Gary Tuck, and plans to soak up as much as he can from Varitek and Doug Mirabelli.

"Each person has his own style," Kottaras said. "I'll try to take bits and pieces for my own style."

Kottaras, catching Wakefield for the first time, made a point of keeping his mitt close to his body, since lunging at knuckleballs is a recipe for disaster.

He's catching on
The Sox are raving about the leaps and bounds catcher George Kottaras has made defensively. Kottaras, who is playing for Pawtucket, spent a lot of spring training working with bullpen coach Gary Tuck, considered one of the top catching teachers in baseball. Given his nice swing, Kottaras might soon be only a phone call away from Boston.

Kottaras has really hit the skids in May, batting just .176 with a .200 OBP and .176 slugging percentage. The struggles have dropped his season totals to .202/.311/.315. He's hit 1 HR and has struck out 22 times while walking 13 times in 89 ABs.

I wonder if this necessitates seeking out a new catching prospect ASAP. Despite correcting his early season woes, 'Tek will never be the guy he once was--catchers never are. Kottaras just doesn't seem like the heir apparent many hoped he might become.

One, do we have anyone else we can groom? Two, if not, does this become a draft priority soon?

Kottaras is 8-for-17 with two homers and two doubles in his last four games (and a deep flyout to the warning track that I thought was a goner on Friday), all of which were in Syracuse.

His splits have gotten WORSE since gerky posted, however.

ROAD: .309/.387/.505
HOME: .135/.191/.221