When Colon signed with the A's before the start of the 2012 season, I felt like this was a good decision because he was going to be a veteran presence in a rotation pretty much filled with rookies. Colon was very efficient all year and his demeanor on the mound was excellent. If he gave up a home run, he would just move onto the next batter and get him out. Colon seemed happy to be pitching even though he has an impressive resume with 170+ wins to his credit and a Cy Young Award from 2005 while with the Angels. Before being busted for testosterone, Colon was a very respectable 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA for the A's. He even had one game against the Angels where he threw 38 strikes in a row. The only thing he seriously throws is a fastball, but the way he understands how to use the plate is amazing. Usually if you miss location on a fastball, a major league hitter will blast it 25 rows into the outfield stands. Colon throws fastballs and his location is just outstanding. He leaves hitters guessing with his movement on his assortment of 2 and 4 seam fastballs.
When I heard the A's re-signed Colon for the 2013 season, I was skeptical and I wasn't sure what was going to happen with him. I have issues with people who have cheated the game. I still don't consider that Barry Bonds is the all time home run leader. Even if Alex Rodriquez breaks the record, I won't consider him the home run leader. In my eyes and many will agree, the All Time MLB Home Run leader is Henry Aaron. PED's has been an issue since the late 80's to pretty much three to four years ago when MLB instituted a drug testing policy. There are still players that do get busted for PED's, but not as much anymore.
Since the start 2013, I put Colon under a microscope and noticed that with him, nothing has changed. He still looks like a person you would find at a Hometown Buffet line instead of a pitchers mound, but he can still pitch. After watching him help reliever Chris Resop add a pitch and seeing how Colon pitches, especially after Tuesday night, I have decided to back off the microscope of Colon and realized that he is a great role model for the other starters in the rotation. Younger pitchers tend to "nibble" around the strike zone and try to make the "perfect" pitch which tends to lead to mistakes rather than outs. Colon just doesn't give a damn. If he gives up three home runs in a row or strikes out 3 in a row, his demeanor is the same. I have also found amusing that Colon also likes flipping the baseball in the air at random times during the ball game just to screw around. Talk about a man unfazed by anything. I am sure that Colon could be pitching in a blizzard and still be enjoying his time on the bump.
There is a saying that "If you do what you love, then you never have to work a day in your life." I would say that Bartolo Colon is a prime example of that when pitching. Colon in the batter's box is another story though...
Enjoy life, try to have fun and keep your head up!
Adapt or Blog
- Congrats to the San Jose Sharks - 9th consecutive playoff year. Let's take Lord Stanley home now!
- Golden State Warriors tied their series with Denver at 1 coming back to the Roaracle. DEFEND WARRIORS GROUND!
- Our softball team lost 20-10 Tuesday against a team that was really good. In the Co-Ed league, most of their team either played college ball or had gotten to the minors. We were even up on them at one point too. We had a 4-0 lead, then down 5-4 and 10-7, but they pulled away with about what seemed was 500 home runs. I think the final count was like 5-6. Also, their range in the field was outstanding.
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