(Neil Miller/Sportsday)
A centerfielder named Mookie (the Red Sox’ Betts, not the former beloved Met, Wilson) getting a couple of key hits and scoring two of Boston’s three runs on Jesse Orosco Bobblehead Day in the Mets’ home park wasn’t the only interesting development on Saturday.
Starter Bartolo Colon unexpectedly finished the Mets’ pitching for the day in relief, tossing a scoreless ninth inning while allowing a long double to pinch-hitter David Ortiz and striking out two batters.
Collins’ praise for Colon indicated that his veteran pitcher might be a good candidate to help New York’s bullpen should the Mets reach the postseason.
“Everybody will have a little different situation,” Collins said. “There’s guys you bring in when you need to get a ground ball, if you need a double play, you bring in a sinker baller, if you need a strikeout… Bartolo’s Bartolo. He’s gonna come in, he’s gonna make you swing the bat. He doesn’t beat himself, he doesn’t get out of his game. I think he can pitch in any role you can put him in… I think he can do whatever you ask him to do.”
Yet while that sounded like Colon could be a perfect fit for any situation in a possible playoff scenario, Collins said Colon’s brief 11-pitch appearance wasn’t an October bullpen audition in any way, but rather a chance for Colon to get in some short work while resting some of New York’s other bullpen arms.
“We [simply] needed somebody else to get in there today,” Collins said. “He’s good for [his next scheduled start on] Monday. He was [only] going to throw 15 pitches today. He had wanted to throw [in the] bullpen today anyway and [he] said he could come in late in the game. He started the inning off and I said, “Hey, if you can give me 15, I’ll take it.’”