Contreras, Colon making progress
PHOENIX - Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon are ready to face hitters.
Both right-handers are scheduled to throw batting practice at White Sox camp Monday, the next step after each threw 55 pitches in a bullpen session Saturday without any problem.
"It was a very positive day," pitching coach Don Cooper said. "We're more and more excited about their chances to be ready to open the season."
It was the third bullpen session since Monday for Contreras and Colon. Without setbacks, they could see Cactus League action in about a week.
If Contreras and Colon are ready for Opening Day, that could fill out the White Sox' rotation behind Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd. Left-hander Clayton Richard and right-hander Jeff Marquez would go to the bullpen or Triple-A.
Richard threw 4 shutout innings in the White Sox' 2-1 loss to Texas on Saturday in Surprise, Ariz. Marquez had thrown 5 shutout innings in 2 spring starts.
"They cannot plan themselves out. I love the way those two kids throw," manager Ozzie Guillen said Saturday's game.
"If they continue to throw like that, I might take them. - When I came here, those two guys were in my mind. I was not counting on Colon or Contreras. And they're still on my mind just in case something happens."
"I don't worry about it. It's out of my control," said Richard, who started eight of his 13 games last season. "The only thing to control is our outings on the mound and try not to worry about what they are doing with their progress."
Contreras is more than three months ahead of schedule after rupturing his left Achilles' tendon last August. Colon is coming off off-season surgery to clean up some bone chips in his right elbow.
Contreras was 7-6 with a 4.54 ERA in 20 starts for the White Sox last season.
Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner, is 150-97 with a 4.09 ERA and 1,569 strikeouts over 12 seasons with Cleveland (1997-2002), Montreal (2002), the White Sox (2003), Angels (2004-07) and Boston (2008).
He returned to the White Sox for a second stint in January when he agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract that could earn him an additional $2 million in performance bonuses.
David Murphy homered off Sox reliever Mike MacDougal, and Josh Hamilton also drove in a run in the fifth on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded.
Ben Broussard's sacrifice fly in the ninth accounted for the only Sox run. A.J. Pierzynski went 2-for-2 and is hitting .538 (7-for-13) this spring.
Shortstop Brett Lillibridge was scratched from the Sox' lineup because of flu-like symptoms.