Updated: May 22, 2008, 3:19 PM ET

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AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Bartolo Colon's Red Sox debut ended with his first victory since June 14, 2007.

Colon victorious in return to mound
cockcroft_tristan

By Tristan H. Cockcroft
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Bartolo Colon is back, and boy, could he find himself in a better situation in which to succeed? The newest Red Sox player, stepping into the roster spot vacated by Tuesday's out-of-nowhere pitching stud, Justin Masterson, tossed five innings to win his first start.

But there's a key difference between Colon and Masterson, the past two days' mound studs for the Sox: Colon gets to stick around.

Not that he's necessarily the perfect fit as the Red Sox's newest No. 5 starter, but with his experience, Colon might suit the team's needs better than the less-battle-tested Masterson, Clay Buchholz or David Pauley. This is a genuine World Series contender, folks, which often calls for experience over upside, a sort of Joe Borowski-like rationale to making important roster decisions. (Hey, numbers can't drive all the decisions.)

With Colon, the 2005 American League Cy Young award winner, a two-time 20-game winner and two-time All-Star, in tow, the Red Sox can afford to be patient with the development of those younger arms, which might actually be good for them in the long haul. Of course, that's not necessarily the kind of news sure to please fantasy owners.

No, in fact, Colon's emergence might actually be a somewhat bad thing for fantasy owners. Maybe the Red Sox can't afford to be as patient with a rookie like Buchholz, but he has been good in more starts than not, and in the case of Masterson, well, he has now made two career starts and each has been a quality start. The case can quite easily be made that each of their statistical ceilings, perhaps even this year, is higher than that of Colon's, and their owners surely would've preferred patience on the team's part.

Besides, look at the track record of Colon himself, and there's a bit of reason to be worried. Shoulder and elbow issues have dogged him in each of the past two seasons, and be aware of the progression of his 2007. He kicked that year off similarly strongly, with a win and seven innings of one-run ball. Then he stood out in starts Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6, with No. 3 a so-so effort that still earned him a win. Yes, through six starts last year, Colon looked similarly rejuvenated, with a 5-0 record, 3.69 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.

Then it all came crashing down.

Colon got obliterated for 15 runs (14 earned) on 21 hits in 10 2/3 innings in his next two starts. He threw but three quality starts in 13 appearances from start No. 7 forward, and his ERA and WHIP during that span were 8.06 and 1.91, respectively.

In other words, while Colon might be a feel-good story today, and absolutely worth a pickup in AL-only and deep mixed formats, don't get too cozy with him. The Red Sox demand big things of their starters, and they have plenty of competition for rotation spots nowadays. Matchups potential might be his short- (and long-) term ceiling, but don't make the mistake of hoping for much more than that.

• Past editions: 5/21: Shortstops fall | 5/20: Lester's no-no | 5/19: Oswalt, Peavy hurt

Highlights
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Box Score Bits
So much for Brandon Webb's winning streak. Of all teams to beat him, it was the Marlins, though to be fair, they entered the night with the game's second-best team OPS against right-handers (.817, only Atlanta's .825 was better). Webb still managed a quality-start effort of seven innings and three runs allowed, giving him 11 wins and 12 quality starts in his past 13 regular-season turns dating back to last season. Wow. … Most troubling about Garrett Olson's outing: Left-handed Yankees, who generally struggle against southpaws, were a combined 4-for-7 with two walks against him. No way he can be trusted, as a result, in the rematch in Baltimore on Memorial Day. … Derek Jeter returned to the lineup, assuring us that his injured hand isn't an issue at all. By the way, in the same game, Alex Rodriguez made it crystal clear he's entirely healthy, too, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two doubles, one of which actually should've been ruled a second homer. … Ubaldo Jimenez posted his third straight quality start, and this was his best yet, seven shutout innings of three-hit baseball. He has saved his rotation spot with the hot streak, though let's not call him fully "back" as a fantasy force, not yet. After all, he has faced the Padres, Twins and Giants in those starts, all great matchups. … Brian Fuentes blew his third save of the season, and in the month of May, he has a 4.70 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in eight appearances. It's becoming ever smarter to handcuff him to Taylor Buchholz -- that's right, Buchholz, not Manny Corpas. … How bad is the Padres' luck? Chris Young suffered a broken nose, and possibly a concussion, when he was struck in the face by an Albert Pujols line drive, then Josh Bard suffered an ankle injury when Pujols came around to score later in the same inning. … If there was any question about whether Rick Ankiel would land on the DL, it was answered when he hit a pinch-hit two-run homer off Justin Germano in the eighth inning. He should return to the lineup Friday against the Dodgers. … Jack Cust hit two home runs in a home game, which brings his numbers in McAfee Coliseum to a .285 batting average, 19 homers and 55 RBIs in 86 games since the start of last season. … Chone Figgins returned from the DL with a 1-for-3 performance, though no stolen bases. They'll come; activate him right away. … After two games on the bench and an off day's rest, Jhonny Peralta returned to the Indians' lineup on Wednesday. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, manager Eric Wedge had been troubled by Peralta's lapses in concentration. So what does Peralta do in his first game back? He goes 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and grounds into a double play. Keep him reserved. … Ben Sheets bounced back from a poor start against the Dodgers with a complete-game, one-run, 11-hit effort against the Pirates. The problem: He was left out there to throw 123 pitches, so his health will require monitoring in the short term. The past two times he was allowed to go beyond the 120-pitch plateau, he subsequently found himself on the DL within two starts' time. … The unbelievable Sidney Ponson story continued Wednesday, as the veteran tossed a complete game, one-run, six-hit effort in Minnesota. The matchup certainly favored him, but then again, the same thing could have been said about his May 11 start against the Athletics. He's so terribly unpredictable, and puts so many balls in play, use him at your own risk.


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Standing Out

POWERING UP
Ryan Howard, Phillies
Howard enjoyed his first three-hit game of the season, including a pair of homers, against the Nationals. He has six home runs in his past 11 games, although his average is still below .200. He has struck out at least once in 42 of 48 games played this season.

WASH-OUT
Jarrod Washburn, Mariners
The Seattle lefty was touched up for nine runs and 12 hits in 2 1/3 innings against the Tigers. In his past two starts, he's allowed 16 runs in 7 1/3 innings (19.65 ERA).
News and Notes
The Yankees revealed that Chien-Ming Wang has a mild strain of his right calf, though the New York Daily News reports that the right-hander is not expected to miss his next turn in the rotation, set for Saturday against Seattle. For the record, Wang is 7-0 with a 2.39 ERA in seven career starts against the Mariners, so him at even 80 or 90 percent would be good enough to qualify him for must-start status. … Kenji Johjima's owners can't be happy to hear this: The Mariners plan to use backup Jamie Burke as the personal catcher for both Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Losing two starts for every five his team plays will take a sizable chunk out of Johjima's fantasy value. … The St. Petersburg Times reports Troy Percival was unavailable for Wednesday's game due to tightness in his left hamstring. He is expected to be fine by Friday, but it's little tidbits like these that continue to support Dan Wheeler's case as a smart handcuff. … Consider Eric Gagne officially shut down for the foreseeable future, so says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The right-hander flew back to Milwaukee on Wednesday for further evaluation, with more details to come in the next few days. "It's all in the front of the shoulder," Gagne said. "Now we're just waiting to see. It's just one of those things [where] you usually warm up and it goes away, but it was getting tighter and tighter [Tuesday]." Brewers manager Ned Yost said that while he'll employ a closer-by-committee to fill the ninth-inning void, Salomon Torres will get most of the chances. … Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after Wednesday's game that the process of converting Joba Chamberlain from reliever to starter has already begun. "[Wednesday's game] was the first of extending him a little bit and we'll continue to do it," said Girardi. Chamberlain threw 35 pitches in a blowout, including some changeups, a pitch he'll need to add to his arsenal to be effective in a starter's role. He might need a few weeks to get up to a starter's typical 100-pitch workload, but it'll apparently all be at the big-league level. Plan accordingly. … Joe Saunders' scheduled start today is being pushed back one day due to an illness. Ervin Santana will start in his place.
Transactions
• Dontrelle Willis was activated from the DL, though the Tigers' official Web site reports that he'll pitch in relief initially. Armando Galarraga gets to keep his rotation spot thanks to his 3-1 record and 3.06 ERA in six starts, and it's not tough to see Willis perhaps warming to a left-handed specialist type role, with his .123 batting average and .356 OPS allowed to left-handers in 2007. Don't expect him to be elevated to the rotation in the near future, barring a hot start pitching out of his new role.

• To clear roster room for Chone Figgins' return from the DL, the Angels placed Erick Aybar on the 15-day disabled list with his dislocated right pinkie. Maicer Izturis will stand in at shortstop for Aybar, who claims he'll be ready when first eligible.

• The Mariners designated Cha Seung Baek for assignment, giving them 10 days to trade, release or assign him to the minors. It's a shame he never really got much of a chance to assume a regular rotation spot; perhaps he'll get that opportunity elsewhere.

On The Farm
• Joe Mather, whom you might know as "the guy the Cardinals would have called up if Rick Ankiel had hit the DL," hit his ninth home run of the season for Triple-A Memphis. He's hitting .318 with a 1.089 OPS in 30 games, and, more importantly, is a .313 hitter with seven homers in 19 contests this month. Not that Mather would be a standout fantasy pickup if he's promoted in the near future, but for a right-handed hitter, his .316 batting average and 1.120 OPS against righties is encouraging, so NL-only owners need take note. He's obviously ahead of the struggling Colby Rasmus -- down to .179/.573 rates after an 0-for-3 effort -- in the pecking order among Cardinals' hitters.

• In the same game, Jeff Weaver, attempting to make his way into the Brewers' rotation, allowed five runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings for Triple-A Nashville to take the loss. He has a 6.52 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and has allowed six home runs in five starts, which is exactly why the Brewers are going to Seth McClung instead on Saturday.

• Chase Headley hit his eighth home run of the season and was 3-for-5 for Triple-A Portland, but what's most interesting about his performance was that he started at third base, only the second time he has done that this season. He's the top candidate to be part of the "wholesale" changes Padres general manager Kevin Towers is promising, and maybe it's that Towers is tiring of Kevin Kouzmanoff, batting .252 with a .669 OPS in his past 30 games, at the hot corner. It'll be interesting to see how Headley gets worked into this team in the next couple weeks, as left field is a clearly weaker spot for the big club.

• Jeff Clement homered for the second consecutive day, and is 3-for-10 with two homers, five RBIs and three walks in three games since his demotion. He's too talented for Triple-A ball at this point, so count on him being back in Seattle before long.