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Colon can help both Sox squads |
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Tuesday, 01 April 2008 |
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By TERRY NAU Sports editor The news broke Saturday in the Hartford Courant newspaper that Bartolo Colon would be the starting pitcher this coming Thursday evening when the Pawtucket Red Sox open their 2008 International League season at home against Indianapolis.
Certainly, this is an exciting development for PawSox baseball fans. While the Boston Red Sox remain on the west coast to resume their travel odyssey with the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night, the PawSox are in the process of returning home from Florida. They’ll stop in at McCoy Stadium for a Media Day outing on Tuesday and probably will hold a practice session, considering the local weathermen are forecasting temperatures approaching 60 degrees.
Colon’s appearance in Pawtucket has great implications for both the PawSox and Boston Red Sox. Originally signed on Feb. 25 as an “insurance policy” after Curt Schilling’s shoulder problems became public in January, the former Angels fireballer has been impressive in spring training with Boston, throwing free and easy with a fastball in the low 90s.
The Angels let Colon walk last winter at the end of his four-year contract because they felt his ongoing elbow and shoulder issues of the past two seasons would render him an ineffective and costly option for the 2008 season. Now it’s the Angels who look silly after starting pitcher John Lackey went on the shelf with a torn triceps and could miss the first month of the season. Even worse, No. 2 starter Kelvim Escobar has a tear in his right shoulder that could require season-ending surgery. If Escobar goes the Curt Schilling route and tries to rehab his shoulder through workouts, he might return in June. Key word there is “might.”
Boston general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona put a hard sell on Colon in February, convincing the 34-year-old free agent righthander, who won a Cy Young award in 2005 following a 21-8 season with the Angels, that Boston would be a good fit for the Dominican Republic native.
Colon stands to guarantee himself a $1.2M contract if he gets promoted to Boston – which seems a virtual certainty. Some writers have suggested he could get a start against the Yankees during the April 11-13 series at Yankee Stadium. That’s the first time Boston will need a fifth starter this season.
Rookie righthander Clay Buchholz had been ticketed for the No. 5 starter’s job. But Colon was not signed just as an insurance policy for Schilling. His presence also allows the Red Sox to bring Buchholz, who remains a work in progress despite his spectacular debut in Boston last September, along more slowly.
Remember, Buchholz has an innings limitation (around 180) this season. Colon gives Francona another option while Buchholz gets his feet planted squarely on the ground. Does Boston really want this kid pitching in Yankee Stadium two weeks from now? The experienced Colon might be a better option, for now.
Colon’s signing is just the latest example of how GM Epstein has fortified his pitching staff in recent years while his opposite number in New York, Brian Cashman, has wasted time and money on flops like Jeff Weaver, Javier Vasquez, Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano and Kei Igawa.
Epstein recognized early on that signing pitchers, young or old, could be dangerous business. Cashman actually acquired Weaver and Vasquez in trades, giving up Ted Lilly, Nick Johnson and Juan Rivera to get two young pitchers who couldn’t handle the pressure of New York.
Kevin Brown came over in a trade for Weaver, which compounded Cashman’s original error because Brown was 40 years old and over the hill.
Meanwhile, Epstein traded for Curt Schilling after the 2003 season, setting the stage for Boston’s historic 2004 World Series campaign. After the Red Sox missed the playoffs in 2005, team management pulled the trigger on a deal that brought then 25-year-old Josh Beckett to Boston in exchange for stud prospect Hanley Ramirez and what now appears to be some loose change.
Cashman countered by trading for 41-year-old Randy Johnson after the 2005 season. Johnson won 34 games in two years before Cashman traded him back to Arizona before the old horse broke down for good.
Now it is 2008 and the Red Sox are defending world champions again, thanks in no small part to the Beckett deal. Epstein also acquired Japanese export Daisuke Matsuzaka, who contributed 15 wins in 2007. Dice-K is only 27 and gives Boston a relatively youthful 1-2 punch at the top of its rotation.
Youngsters Jon Lester and Buchholz could give Boston’s rotation an even more youthful look if they succeed this season at the big league level. Behind those two prospects loom hard-throwing Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden, who should both rise from Portland to Pawtucket this season.
And don’t forget seemingly ageless Tim Wakefield, who still fits in as Boston’s No. 3 starter. Even Schilling could come back and help in August, perhaps as a bullpen option.
It’s asking a lot for a pennant-contending team to integrate two young pitchers into its rotation in the midst of a tough pennant race. Both the Red Sox and Yankees are attempting this feat in 2008. The Yanks are hoping Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy can match the efforts of Lester and Buchholz.
The difference between Boston’s approach and New York’s is that the Red Sox went out and signed Colon, who just might serve as an effective stop-gap performer for half the season. The Yankees did not have this kind of foresight. Their No. 6 and 7 starters are recent cuts Jeff Karstens and Darrell Rasner, who failed in this role last year and gave no hint in spring training that they could succeed this year.
Boston remains a step ahead of the Yankees when it comes to developing a young staff and adding backup pieces to the puzzle in the case of an inevitable injury. Theo Epstein went out and signed Bartolo Colon. Brian Cashman must be scanning a list of replacement pitchers right now, wondering what kind of package he must offer in case his own staff needs to buy some insurance.
In the end, of course, it all comes down to pitching. And that’s why Bartolo Colon’s start in Pawtucket on Thursday night carries implications far beyond the International League season.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 April 2008 )
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Saturday night I attended the semi-final girls basketball
game vs Townies Girls team as an aunt of one of the EP players. It was an exciting
all-around game for both teams, and I give credit to my niece and the Townie girls
too for a great season. <br />I just have to say though, that I was
particularly impressed with the talent, poise and unflappable playing style of this
Tolman girls team! It can only speak well of a great coaching staff, and their love
and encouragement of these talented girls. After the game, the low-key humilty that
the Tolman girls displayed, showed real sportsmanship and class. I have a feeling
that this season is the "Year of the Tiger" and hope that they go straight on to
victory in the championship. No matter what the outcome though, they've gained a new
loyal fan in me, and I look forward to following the next seasons with real
interest. This is the way that high school sports should be played! You go Tolman
girls! - Regina Orio
THANK YOU TO THE PAWTUCKET TIMES AND THE WOONSOCKET CALL
FORV THEIR GREAT COVERAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING IN YOUR PAPERS IT IS VERY MUCH APPERICATED!! A SPECIAL THANKS TO TERRY NEAU FOR HIS EXCELLENT COVERAGE OF CUMBERLAND CLIPPERS WRESTLING AND FOP ALL THE GREAT PICTURES YOU PUT IN THE CALL THEY ARE AWESOME!!!THANKS AGAIN!!! - Dawn Lariviere
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