Ordinarily, a mid-day start by Tim Wakefield at the Red Sox’ minor-league complex would pass rather quietly. Yet today’s start by the 42-year-old carries some added intrigue.

Wakefield will pitch for the first time since the job of catching the knuckleballer was declared George Kottaras‘ to lose on Wednesday. The 25-year-old Kottaras will now be subject to heightened scrutiny for the way in which he tosses each of Wakefield’s throws. With the Red Sox scheduled to play tonight in Sarasota, the event of the pairing of those two battery mates will assume center stage during the day.

A couple of additional notes at the minor-league complex this morning:

–Jason Place is still trying to get past the ligament strain in his right ankle, suffered at the end of last season. He is taking batting practice but being held out of games. Place hopes that he will be able to start competing in the next couple days.

–While in major-league camp, Lars Anderson wore the number of a defensive lineman (No. 78) while Josh Reddick played the part of a wide receiver (No. 82). Now, following their re-assignment to minor-league camp, both have been given digits more suitable to baseball, with Anderson wearing No. 5 and Reddick No. 30.

–With ever greater attention given to the notion of the Red Sox catcher of the future, one potential catcher of the distant future has shown some intriguing tools in camp. Oscar Perez, a 17-year-old from Venezuela who was the jewel of last year’s class of international amateur free agent signees (non-Junichi Tazawa division), has shown impressive all-fields power at an early stage, and will certainly be intriguing to monitor as he prepares to play in the U.S.