PAWTUCKET – Not a bad way for Rich Sauveur to begin his tenure as Pawtucket’s pitching coach. First up, a chance for Sauveur to work up-close with a former Cy Young recipient. 
The PawSox ring in the new season tonight against the Indianapolis Indians. Amidst all the pomp and circumstance that usually surrounds the home opener will be the welcome mat rolled out for Bartolo Colon, who is slated to make what could end up being a few rehab starts for the top affiliate of the defending champ Red Sox.
In Sauveur’s case, his first contest in the home dugout at McCoy Stadium could very well turn out to be one of the easiest nights he has all season – only because Colon will arrive to McCoy Stadium with a specific set of instructions.
“You have a game plan that will be handed down to me and we’ll go with that,” said Sauveur. “We’ll take it one pitch at a time; he’s going to be on a pitch count, just like all my starters.”
The obvious difference being that the staff Sauveur will be primarily working with doesn’t nearly match Colon’s impressive resume, which spans 11 big league seasons, a lifetime record of 146-95 and the AL’s top pitching award from 2005, when Colon posted a 21-8 record and a 3.48 ERA for the Los Angeles Angels.
If the 34-year-old Dominican Republic native’s prior outing is any indication (60 pitches in four innings vs. the Dodgers), then Colon might be stretched out to five innings.
Then again, plans could be altered if the weather has any say.
“Is it an easy day? I don’t think there’s ever an easy day in this job, but it will be something etched in stone that I will go by,” said Sauveur.
Asked if he’s ever had the pleasure of working with the quality of Colon’s arm before, Sauveur brought up two pitchers he nurtured along at his prior stop at Double-A Huntsville, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
“I’ve had Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra, who pitched a perfect game [for Triple-A Nashville],” said Sauveur. “Both are a little younger, but Bartolo has shown some serious strength in his arm this past spring. I’m very excited to have him down here and I know he’s anxious to get up to Boston.”
In regards to working with rehab pitchers, the one that stands out for Sauveur is Chris Capuano, who last week underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. Three years ago saw Capuano win 18 games and strike out 176.
Savuveur worked with Capuano in Single-A Beloit, where Pawtucket’s Jay Rainville pitched in 2005, the first season in which the organization changed affiliates and became property of Minnesota.
Sauveur’s general impressions of Colon during spring training were more than favorable. “When I saw him throw one day in batting practice, he was starting to come around and make the turn,” said Sauveur. “The arm strength is there; he just has to make sure he has the command back when he was in his prime.
“There’s no doubt that boy is strong.”
Though Colon will be working on a predetermined/mapped out pitch count, Sauveur will have a judgement call to make once the outing nears completion. “If he comes close to the pitch count and there’s another hitter, it’s my decision whether to give him that hitter or not,” said Sauveur.
While Sauveur can to an extent kick back and enjoy Colon’s performance, the same won’t be said for the catcher in-charge of flashing signals to the burly right-hander. Whether the PawSox catcher for this evening won’t be determined until manager Ron Johnson arrives at the ballpark, it won’t be a total surprise to see Dusty Brown back there, given that he has some history working with Colon.
“I caught Bartolo in his first start this spring,” said Brown. “Obviously his stuff isn’t what it used to be, but his stuff is still there and he locates the ball very well.
“I think his arm strength is slowly coming back. If he can get back up to the 93-94 [mph] range, I think he can be very effective.”
Given this will be Brown’s first-full season in Triple-A, most of his dealings with big name pitchers on rehab stints have come in Florida. “I’ve caught Wade Miller and Byung-Hyun Kim,” he said. “You know guys like those are going to be around the plate with their stuff.”
So what happens if Colon happens to repeatedly shake Brown off?
“I might go out and say something, but we were on the same page in spring training and okay for the most part,” said Brown. “If he wants to shake me off, he’s the veteran; I’ll let him throw what he wants.”