Sox sign Bartolo Colon

Minor league deal. I like it! No risk and potential for minor rewards. In the next several weeks Colon's got to show that he can be far better than he's been the past two seasons if he wants to leave Fort Myers on the 25-man roster. But if he is in any kind of shape to pitch every fifth day (and how couldn't we have serious doubts about that) it would allow the Sox to be more cautious with young Buchholz.

I think the only real concern here is if you're the dude in the clubhouse who stocks in the in-game snacks. Because that job just got a whole lot more difficult. Colon's rapidly expanding waistline aside, when healthy he has a rubber arm and he's only 34 (staggeringly). It's been a rapid decline for Colon over the last two years: A Cy Young in 2005, 10 starts in 2006 with a 5.11 ERA, and then in 2007 19 starts with a 6.34 ERA. Red flags abound, but I like it. Low expectations, zero risk, and unlimited potential for unintentional newspaper headline comedy. For example, 'Yankees hammer Colon,' 'Colon ripped by Rays,' 'Colon battered by Blue Jays,' and, the pièce de résistance, 'Royals get a taste of Angels' Colon.'