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Words from Colon

Email|Link|Comments (7) Posted by Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff February 27, 2008 11:47 AM

Bartolo Colon talked just minutes ago to reporters, using Latin education coordinator Duncan Webb as his interpreter. Here is a transcript of his comments, the most interesting of which concerned the fact that he thought he could pitch in a spring training game as early as March 9, which is just a week from Sunday.

On what made him choose the Red Sox: "There were other teams offering, but Boston was the only team who approached me aggressively and gave me the opportunity to pitch."

On how close he thinks he is to pitching: "Probably on the 9th of March. God willing, I'll pitch here."

He said he doesn't know when he might be able to pitch in an actual game.

On how much time he'd be willing to pitch in the minors: "That's the decision of the organization. Whatever is the best for me, I'll be fine with."

On how eager he is to prove he can pitch at a high level: "A lot of teams were saying that I couldn't still pitch, I'm trying to take this opportunity to show all those teams that I still can pitch."

On how his arm felt throwing yesterday: "My arm feels good, I just need to progress to a point where my arm starts to feel stronger."

On joining David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez on the Red Sox: "That was a big part of my decision, being a part of such a strong group of Latino players here with Boston."

He said he didn't really remember John Farrell from his days in Cleveland, that it was a long time ago.

On his performance in the Caribbean Series and how much he's thrown since: "I felt very good during the Caribbean World Series, especially in the game versus Venezuela, I felt I pitched well. Since then I haven't been throwing much, just exercising, running, working out."

On how much conditioning he needs to be ready for a game: "Feel ready now. I'm going to throw a bullpen on Tuesday, so I feel like I'm ready to go."

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7 comments so far...

He can't be in any worse shape than David Wells was, can he? We didn't care that Wells was rotund, as long as he could pitch. Build Colon's arm strength and let him compete for a spot. Still, I'd hate to see what would happen if he had to cover first.

Posted by Ted Shipley February 27, 08 02:16 PM

this whole situation is worth a shot but i really don't see it measuring out too much. at best he will play have a season and have an ERA of 5 1/2. I'm more excited to see Lester and Clay get a chance at the rotation

Posted by chaggy February 27, 08 04:39 PM

Ted --
Wells may have been portly, but he was a soft-tosser. Colon has always relied upon power pitching. That's where his weight is going to become an issue. Remeber El Guapo?

Posted by Lucky_Shamrock February 27, 08 05:11 PM

Never heard of the guy, but, I also think whoever he is, he's gotta have a better outlook than Schilling.
Someone have the heart to tell him, he isn't a starter any more.

Posted by Dan February 27, 08 05:27 PM

Bartolo Colon as your #5 is pretty good because that makes ..Julian Tavares job easier as your long relief.....along with the other sinkerball reliever "Big Bird" the hardest part of the pen looks really good on the days that Wakefield and Colon don't have thier stuff you can go to those 2 in innings 4-7 ....this inning's 8-9 are intact with Okie and Pap's or Hansen Delcarmen combo early in the season....I mean a 1-4 of Beckett,Matsusaka,Wakefield and Lester is pretty good.

Posted by Paulo Paris February 27, 08 05:34 PM

If it doesn't work out, I think Walter Hudson is still available

Posted by Bucky Chambers February 27, 08 05:37 PM