The Red Sox, if you're wondering, have not picked up the phone this spring to ask the San Diego Padres if they'd like to deal Doug Mirabelli back to Boston. If the Sox were to call, the Padres, almost certainly, wouldn't be inclined to offer up Mirabelli, whom they need as protection for Mike Piazza .

This brings us to yesterday's spring training game against the Twins. John Flaherty was behind the plate, Tim Wakefield was on the mound, and the "Who is going to catch Wake?" experiment began.

Wakefield, in the first inning, threw two consecutive called strikes to Ruben Sierra , neither of which Flaherty caught. Later in the inning a pitch beat him low for a passed ball, allowing two runners (both of whom had walked) to advance. Wakefield escaped the inning when a ball eluded Flaherty, who chased it down and relayed to Wakefield covering the plate for the out.

Flaherty summed up his day by relaying a comment made by fellow catcher Mike Redmond , after fanning in the second inning.

"I said, `You're not expected to hit it. [I am] expected to catch it."

Flaherty turned his body more to the side in the second inning, which he found helpful. He used an oversized mitt, though he thought it was too big.

"A bunch hit me in the pocket and popped out," he said. "I may go to a smaller model so I can feel the ball."

The plan, as set by manager Terry Francona , calls for Flaherty, former Indians backup Josh Bard , and nonroster invitee Ken Huckaby to catch Wakefield equally throughout camp. Huckaby, though, tweaked his left knee last Thursday when he caught a spike on a turf mat in a batting cage. He remains day to day. Bard, Francona said, is likely to take the next turn.

"It's not going to be easy," Wakefield said. "I'd rather make a decision on who's going to catch me and let that guy fail first. And then if you need to change something you have somebody to change to before spring training is over."

That, Francona said, will not happen. "We already talked to Wake," Francona said. "I'm not quite sure why he said that. He knows what we're doing."

Furthermore, Wakefield added, "I think [ Jason Varitek ] needs to have some input on this, who he wants to have as his backup . . . I'm not ruling out the possibility 'Tek may catch me, too."

Wakefield allowed no runs in two vastly different innings. He walked three and struck out two but didn't allow a run in the first inning. He set the side down in order in the second.