via d.yimg.com
After earning his fourth win of the season last night over the Orioles, Bartolo Colon improved his numbers to the following:
Not bad for a "washed up" former Cy Young Award winner, ey?
With his success right off the bat since joining the team from the disabled list, is Colon the best off-season pickup in all of Major League Baseball so far this season?
There are a lot of teams that would love to have a line like that from their fourth starter (at best). Three of those teams are in the AL East.
The wins are probably the offense's doing; it helps having the powerhouse of a lineup the Sox have. But 22 strikeouts and seven walks in 29 innings isn't too shabby from a guy the Sox stole off the scrap heap.
Considering Colon's paycheck, I think he's a damn good pickup. Colon has made $1.25 million already this year for just showing up in the big leagues. He'll get $7 million if he can make 30 starts or more. Will he do that? It's possible, but it's slim at this point. But if he does continue to pitch like this, 30 starts will be doable.
Has he essentially demoted Clay Buchholz? Probably, but I say let's ride this train while we can. It won't do any harm to Buchholz if he stays in Pawtucket much longer.
Bartolo Colon -- comeback player of the year?