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Could Bartolo Colon be a major factor in the Red Sox rotation?
Yesterday, Colon made his Grapefruit League debut for the Sox going two innings, giving up one run on a solo shot and getting out of a bases loaded, no out jam, unscathed (a mess that was caused, in part, by an Alex Cora E6). Colon threw 26 pitches but, more importantly, topped off at 94 mph on the radar gun and was consistently in the 92-93 mph range with his fastball (as well as hitting 84-88 with his slider and 81 with his change-up). In all, a pretty good debut for a guy who was written off by most clubs and only signed by the Red Sox to a non-guaranteed minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
The name I keep hearing him compared to is Luis Tiant, another former Indian, who the Sox picked up off the scrap heap in 1971. Tiant was trying to bounce back from several injury plagued seasons which followed a fantastic 1968 season (that saw him post a 21-9 record with a 1.60 ERA), much as Colon is now (Colon was limited to only 18 starts over the past two seasons following his Cy Young season in 2005).
I certainly can't expect Colon to reproduce El Tiante's career resurrection with the Red Sox in the 1970's (in which he became the staff ace and helped pitch the team to the 7th game of the 1975 World Series), but I really am excited but what I've heard about so far. Even if he's only as good as a 2nd or 3rd starter I'd be happy. So far, word from the scouts who've been watching him this spring is that they wish they're teams signed him.
The name I keep hearing him compared to is Luis Tiant, another former Indian, who the Sox picked up off the scrap heap in 1971. Tiant was trying to bounce back from several injury plagued seasons which followed a fantastic 1968 season (that saw him post a 21-9 record with a 1.60 ERA), much as Colon is now (Colon was limited to only 18 starts over the past two seasons following his Cy Young season in 2005).
I certainly can't expect Colon to reproduce El Tiante's career resurrection with the Red Sox in the 1970's (in which he became the staff ace and helped pitch the team to the 7th game of the 1975 World Series), but I really am excited but what I've heard about so far. Even if he's only as good as a 2nd or 3rd starter I'd be happy. So far, word from the scouts who've been watching him this spring is that they wish they're teams signed him.