Colon worth trying to salvage

Bartolo Colon is worth the trouble even if he doesn't look it.

His velocity isn't great anymore. He's getting up in age. Fans are skeptical of flabby professional athletes.

But Colon is worth trying to salvage. He's worth being patient with after his surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. He's worth having young prospects wait behind him.

Colon is one of the few guys in sports I root for. Why? Primarily because of the way he has approached pitching.

So, yes, I cringed Monday afternoon when I checked mlb.com for his progress in an exhibition game for the White Sox - 4 innings, 11 hits, 7 runs, 1 walk and 1 strikeout.

Patience, I had to remind myself. Patience, patience, patience.

At some point it might run out. Colon seemed like a longshot when the Sox brought him in to compete to be the No. 5 starter.

Colon still being around might be an upset in itself. So might be that he isn't dragging his right arm around behind him by now.

It could happen any day, you know.

Then again, underestimating Colon would be a mistake. Sox general manager Kenny Williams and I disagree often but not concerning that round mound standing on the mound.

Williams traded for Colon in 2003. The next offseason he tried to re-sign him. This offseason he brought him back.

Colon isn't the pitcher he was, of course. His age is listed at 35 now and who knows how accurate that is? His weight is listed at 250 and does anybody believe that?

But something likely hasn't changed - Colon's pitching acumen being sharp and his competitive heart being huge.

A couple weeks after Williams first acquired Colon from the Expos six years ago, I ran into a Montreal newspaper columnist at the Super Bowl.

I wanted a scouting report on what the Sox were getting in a roly-poly pitcher who looks better suited for eating contests.

I was told the Sox were getting a guy who will take the ball any time the manager wants to give it to him and throw as many pitches as the manager wants him to throw.

Williams should have signed the Canadian columnist as a scout because that's what Colon was as he pitched 242 innings for the Sox.

The best comparison I can draw is that Bartolo Colon was CC Sabathia long before CC Sabathia was CC Sabathia.

You know, overweight and overworked, an arm injury waiting to happen. Colon's breakdown came and Sabathia's meter is running.

Colon broke down the past three years, maybe partly because of his weight but mostly because of all those times he took the ball at a young age and beyond.

I like guys like that, guys who worry about winning today's game more than preserving themselves for the next contract.

If Colon didn't go to the mound, he was hurt. Nobody questioned that with him like they might with other pitchers.

When Colon did pitch he was 53 games above. 500. In an era of 30 pitchers designated as No. 1 starters, he was one of the rare aces among them.

The Sox are trying to squeeze a few more innings and pitches out of that well traveled right arm.

It's certainly worth a try.

mimrem@dailyherald.com