A day after Jose Contreras officially kicked off his comeback campaign, Bartolo Colon hoped to follow suit but would be quickly jettisoned by the pesky Royals. Pitching only into the second inning, Colon was as hittable as a BP pitcher as the White Sox lost 11-7.
Of course, it’s only the first day back for both of these veterans, so there’s no reason to be too excited or too down in either case. That being said, considering Colon has so much to prove, it’s going to be as much of a physical battle as it will be a mental battle. Contreras on the other hand, had very little to prove. Few expected him to return before the All-Star break, let alone in time for spring training. Now, twenty pounds lighter, Contreras looks as determined as ever and has willed his way into the starting rotation.
To boot, Contreras is reportedly working on a cutter– the same pitch that led to Esteban Loaiza’s stellar 2001 season– a pitch that, when added to his already lengthy repertoire that includes a wicked splitter, should continue to keep batters guessing for much of the season.
Bartolo Colon will certainly be much more effective in his second start, but it’s easy to say that he may not be on the same level as Contreras right now. Look for him to turn it up a few notches however towards the end of spring training– after dealing with injuries for the last three years, he’s definitely going to try to pace himself, and the Sox will also err on the side of caution.
With Contreras seemingly gaining confidence with each passing day, look for him to continue work on his secondary pitches– lastly focusing on his new found cutter and splitter. The White Sox coaches should also try to limit Contreras’ experimentation with pitching out of different arm slots, so he can gain confidence in his pitches before focusing on additional (and arguably unnecessary) deception.
Topics: bartolo colon, baseball, jose contreras, White Sox
Latest Headlines
- Possible La Russa Replacements
- Rodriguez Proves To Be Valuable For Rays
- Welcome To The Team Cut Your Hair
- Inside the Hobby – Online Trading
- BD Fantasy: The Buck Stops Here
- Retro Box Breaks – 2005 Topps Total
- BD Fantasy: Highlighting September Call-Ups
- Baseball Digest Classic Discussion: Higher Standards – Part IV
- Francouer And Mets Agree To Just Be Friends
- Burnett Joins The Race
- Former Met, Royal Hearn To Be Honored At Nephcure Foundation Night At Citi Field
- A Look At The Reds Pitchers-Part 2 The Bull Pen
- I-70 Baseball Radio And WWPM MediaNet Reach Agreement
- Javy In, Andy Waits
- Gotham Baseball LIVE: Adam Worthington Interview
In The News
BD Fantasy: Can Aroldis Chapman Help You?
After a lights-out debut by
Pinstripe Recap: Yankees & Rays Set For Battle To The Wire
A five-hundred week allowed the Rays to catch the Yankees and set up a race to the AL East finish.
Rushing Niemann Was Not Smart
The Rays activated Jeff Niemann from the disabled list couple of weeks ago, but it has not been smooth sailing for him so far.
Baseball Digest Classic Discussion: Higher Standards – Part III
Kirk Verner provides Part III of our series on players as role models, an ideal he has a hard time accepting.