In SunTrust Park debut, Colon gears up for 2017: 'I feel great physically and mentally'
ATLANTA — Bartolo Colon, newly minted Atlanta Braves cult hero, carried a 9.20 spring ERA into the first-ever outing at SunTrust Park. The 43-year-old veteran’s Grapefruit League struggles registered enough concern to become a certified topic of discussion — with Braves manager Brian Snitker fielding multiple inquiries on his new starter throughout spring camp.
Colon’s nonchalance is not an act.
The right-hander uses exhibition games to tinker with his repertoire.
Over the past five seasons, his best spring camp amounted to allowing a 5.28 ERA while his worst regular season ended with a 4.16 ERA in 194 2/3 innings. Colon habitually outperforms his spring numbers — and on Friday night he took another positive step toward the 2017 season, throwing 38 of his 48 pitches for strikes and making just one significant mistake.
“It was a two-seam fastball and it just hung over the middle,” Colon said of the two-run shot he gave up to Greg Bird, the first unofficial home run in park history. “Unfortunately, any time you miss with that pitch and you leave it over the middle you’re gonna pay the consequences.”
Snitker handed Colon three innings in his final tune-up before his first regular-season start in a Braves uniform, a showdown against his former New York Mets teammates. Colon, who is slated to start Game No. 2 after Julio Teheran, ended the day allowing four hits and striking out two. He ends his spring throwing more than 75 percent of his pitches for strikes, a sign that the owner of a walk rate lower than Greg Maddux in his prime years over the past five seasons remains in control.
https://twitter.com/FOXSportsBraves/status/847977860933406721
“To be honest I treated it kinda like a regular season game, you know with the 7:30 start and everything like that. I just wanted to get my body and my mind ready for the grind and what it’s going to be like for the rest of the season,” Colon said after Atlanta's 8-5 win over the Yankees. “To me, I treated it just like a normal game.
“Apart from that home run I gave up, which I left over the middle, I really felt like I was hitting my spots.”
Atlanta is placing plenty of trust in Colon and his well-traveled teammate, R.A. Dickey, instantly transforming the Braves into one of the most experienced rotations in baseball.
The Braves ended the 2016 campaign as a bottom-five pitching staff by a comfortable margin as only All-Star Julio Teheran pieced together a quality full season. If Colon’s production can approach his five-year average with Oakland and New York – roughly a 107 ERA-plus over the course of 186 innings — it will go a long way in helping the Braves make a substantial jump up the MLB rotation rankings.
“I’m happy because I feel great physically and mentally,” Colon said. “I’m ready to go.”
https://soundcloud.com/foxsportssouthchopcast/chipcast-033117
