Contreras, Colon get down to business

GLENDALE, Ariz. - It was the most important 35 pitches White Sox general manager Ken Williams has seen so far this spring.

With Williams, pitching coach Don Cooper and manager Ozzie Guillen all looking on, both Jose Contreras and veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon made their 2009 debuts off the mound before Monday's Cactus League game with Seattle.

Contreras is more than three months ahead of schedule after rupturing his left Achilles' tendon last August. Not only did he throw all his pitches, but several times he dropped his arm angle down and threw sidearm to test the injury.

His fastball had pop on it, leaving Cooper saying, "Hey, we could plug him tomorrow. But we're not going to do that."

Contreras was scheduled to throw 35 pitches but reportedly lost count and threw only 33. The right-hander felt like he could have thrown 100, however.

"It's incredible how I felt," Contreras said through an interpreter. "I've never really thrown a bullpen like that, six months of not having thrown on a mound. I felt strong. Velocity, location was good, the slider felt good."

Colon is coming off off-season surgery to clean some bone chips up in his right elbow.

"Bartolo is coming back from a little bit of arm problems," Cooper said. "Jose is coming back from a leg problem, so you can see physically, stuff wise, Contreras is a bit ahead."

Cooper said he was not being more deliberate with Colon.

"I wasn't more deliberate. He was," Cooper said. "We're letting him go at his pace. ... I told him he's not being graded on stuff."

Contreras and Colon are on the same schedule, each penciled in to throw off the mound Wednesday and then again on March 7. If there are no setbacks, they will face live hitters in a batting practice session on March 9, with the hope of seeing Cactus League action by March 15 or 16.

As far as Contreras was concerned, however, Guillen can go ahead and pencil him in the starting rotation come Opening Day.

"Before I got to spring training, I felt confident I would be with the team for the opener," Contreras said. "I told Ozzie. They said, 'Let's wait and see.' But once they saw me, how I'm working and walking around, they know I was serious."