While Mets starter Bartolo Colon allowed 3 consecutive HR’s to Angels hitters in the first inning of today’s game in Anaheim, early indications this season were the 17 year veteran still had something or other in his (very large) tank. “At 40, Colon Continues to Defy Time and Weight” declares the headling of Tim Rohan’s Colon profile in Sunday’s New York Times, a piece that somehow manages to avoid any mention of El Barto’s 2012 suspension for PED use (“if he keeps pitching well, he could turn into a New York folk hero: big, fat and sort of fearsome, defying all logic as he keeps winning games”)
Colon does stretching exercises to try to remain nimble. He also keeps a blue foam cylinder, which is used as a massage roller, by his locker. But lately, he has started smacking the roller as loudly as he can on the floor of the clubhouse, or on nearby chairs and tables, in an apparent effort to entertain his teammates.
“Everybody thinks Bartolo’s a big guy,” said Jose Valverde, recently anointed as the Mets’ closer. “I don’t think so. He’s got a lot of muscle. He’s in great shape for 40 years old.
“A lot of players have a stomach,” added Valverde, no slender guy himself. “It’s no big deal.”
“He’s not transitioning to the backcourt or covering a wide receiver,” strength and conditioning coach Jim Malone said. “Pitching is a skill. Obviously, it would be helpful to be in shape. But he knows how to pitch.”