Anyone could have had him, really. Pick up the phone, place a call, and a former Cy Young Award winner could have been yours.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, they were the ones who got through to the Dominican Republic in spring training. Then again, they were the only ones who tried.
It was a chance they were willing to take, especially for short money, and Bartolo Colon has so far been more than they could have asked.
Last night he won his fourth game in five decisions, going six innings and allowing one run on five hits in a 6-3 triumph over the Orioles at Fenway Park. That's three fewer wins than he had in 2006 and 2007 combined, because of injuries.
"Right now he's got a lot of movement," Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez told Baltimore reporters. "He's got a pretty good two-seamer going on. He's around 93, 94 [miles per hour], and if he wants to go higher, he's still got it. He's not easy to face. He pitches more; before, he was a power guy trying to blow everyone away. Now he's the guy that pitches around the plate and makes you swing early in the count. He has way more movement than he did before."
He also had plenty of support as the Sox eased the way for Colon with a five-run first inning before a crowd of 38,130.
"He's been tremendous for us," said manager Terry Francona. "It's been fun to watch. Get a guy that you didn't have when spring training started, and all of sudden, he's right in the middle of the rotation, helping us win games. It's been big."
Big too was the three-run homer by the ailing Jason Varitek, which gave the Sox a 5-0 lead.
But any germs the catcher might be bringing into the clubhouse seem to be forgiven. "I hope he feels like crap every night," Mike Lowell said, "if he's going to hit three-run home runs."
With the win, Colon stands at 150 for his career, one of only 12 active players to have hit that milestone. He also pitched his 2,000th inning last night.
Colon struck out seven, all but one coming on fastballs, as he tries to mix in his slider more.
"He's done a great job for us all year, really giving us a chance to put us in a position to win a lot of games," said Lowell, who hit a home run to lead off the sixth. "I think a lot of people kind of thought it was a high flier, but he's been very important to us all year.
"After his first outing, when he was throwing 92, 93, I think the biggest concern was velocity, not ability. Because the ability's there. I was kind of optimistic on that, just seeing if they could get his pitch count up. I don't believe you forget how to pitch, especially when you've been as successful as he has."
