FORT MYERS, Fla. - Bartolo Colon was hitting 94 miles per hour, throwing 92-93 consistently with his four-seam fastball, 84-88 with his slider, and 81 on his changeup, according to a scout's radar gun yesterday. In his heyday, Colon could reach 100 m.p.h.
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But a good two-inning performance in a 3-3 tie with the Tampa Bay Rays proved to be good news for the Red Sox. Colon allowed two hits, one run, a walk, and a home run in two innings. He struck one of the 10 batters faced.
"I thought he was way up in the zone," said the scout, "but for his first time out, pretty good. He's going to help if he continues like that."
There were a lot of scouts on hand to watch Colon, and the consensus was, "Wish we'd signed him."
"It was a lot more velocity than we expected," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "He had good arm strength for his first time out. Much more life on the ball than the side session he had, which is what we wanted to see."
Colon's stint lasted 26 pitches. He loaded the bases with nobody out in the first, thanks in part to a muffed chop by shortstop Alex Cora, but Colon struck out B.J. Upton on a slider and he was on his way to squirming out of trouble. Colon allowed a two-out homer to Jon Weber in the second inning.
"I'm thrilled," Colon said. "My arm is responding. I didn't know how hard I was throwing, but it felt great."
Epstein remembers when Colon was a power pitcher who "in one playoff game in 1998 didn't throw a fastball under 98. In his most recent incarnation as a Red Sox pitcher, he's been relying heavily on that two-seam fastball. We thought that even if he never showed plus velocity again - apparently he may if today is a launching point - but even if he didn't, we thought he had the ability to manipulate the ball with his two-seamer, cut the ball in, change speeds down in the zone with his changeup. He's serviceable even if the arm strength never came back. It was a roll of the dice without any guaranteed money. If his arm comes back where you can combine some power, who knows what we may have."
Colon, 34, was asked if he could reach the level that made him one of the best pitchers in the game. "I'm definitely trying to reach that level," he said. "I'm older and my body is in a different stage, but it doesn't mean I can't keep trying."
Colon makes his next start Monday vs. the Yankees in Tampa. He has a May 1 out clause in his contract, but it looks as though the Red Sox are going to include Colon in their plans for the fifth-starter role. He's 146-95 with a 4.10 ERA in his career, but arm problems have dogged him the past two seasons.
Sox manager Terry Francona has let Kevin Cash know he's the backup catcher after Doug Mirabelli was released, but Epstein said the Sox are always looking for upgrades.
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"I think at every position we're constantly on the lookout to upgrade, so I wouldn't rule anything out," Epstein said. "It's tough rolling the dice on somebody midseason, not knowing if he can catch [Tim ] Wakefield's knuckleball. But that's what makes it interesting."
Francona said the 30-year-old Cash was appreciative, adding, "Cash is such a good kid that out of respect for Dougie's relationship with these guys, he was quiet about it, which I understand. Dougie's been here and he's got a lot of relationships, as he should. Cash is classy enough to back up and give it a day." Francona believes Cash "put us in the best position to go forward."
Francona had to deliver the news to Mirabelli, who left the facility shortly before noon.
"Once we made the decision, it's never easy," said Francona. "He was actually going to play today and I didn't think it was the right thing to do, so I brought him in, and we talked to him and told him how we felt, and why we felt that way. Not a lot of fun for anybody."
Mirabelli's contract called for a $550,000 base with a $275,000 roster bonus if he made the team. He had more than $1.25 million in incentives for games played.
Francona and Epstein said Wakefield, who is very close to Mirabelli, was told of the catcher's release and what the team had in mind. Cash caught Wakefield very well last season.
Schilling move a formality
The Sox placed Curt Schilling on the 60-day disabled list, a formality given his long-term rehabilitation, making room for Lincoln Holdzkom, a righthander selected by Philadelphia in last December's Rule 5 draft when the Sox left him unprotected. Holdzkom opted for free agency, the Phillies offered him back, and the Sox signed him to a major league contract. The Sox also sent righthander Devern Hansack and outfielder Jonathan Van Every to Pawtucket and assigned righthanders Lee Gronkiewicz, Michael Tejera, and lefthander Jon Switzer to minor league camp . . . With the Red Sox heading to Japan in five days, Epstein and Francona tried to get a timetable on Coco Crisp, who is still out with a sore groin. Crisp's injury has curtailed trade talks . . . Josh Beckett continued to get treatment and showed improvement. The Sox are trying to determine when he can play catch. Beckett received a well-wishing text-message from former Marlins teammate Carl Pavano . . . Lefthanded specialist Javier Lopez fanned two batters - righthander Jonny Gomes and lefthander Carlos Peña - in yesterday's tie. Kyle Snyder pitched two scoreless innings and Julian Tavarez pitched two innings and gave up a run. Bryan Corey threw a scoreless inning in relief. All three were being scouted by several teams yesterday.
Rather then turn that thread into a monstrosity I thought it made more sense to create a new one for 2008.
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They will probably use the trip as an excuse (as the Yanks did last year) if they get off to a slow start. But I think they have plenty of time at the beginning and the end of the trip to acclimate themselves.
I love mlb tv. Great game. Dice K looked fantastic. Although, man those A's are going to have a real hard time scoring runs this year. That offense is bad.
And to think some folks didn't think eh should have gotten the gold glove last year... the guy hasn't made an error at 1st since 2006 for christs' sake 
