Bartolo Colon made his case for a starting gig in Boston’s rotation by pitching 5-shutout innings of one hit ball in Pawtucket last night.

Not that he needed to be THAT impressive to get recalled. Barring an injury setback, the portly right-hander was all but guaranteed a return to the majors at some point before May. However, he looks ready to help now, and if the Sox are intent on limiting Clay Buchholz’ innings, they might as well make the roster switch now and find out what Colon has left once and for all.

Personally, I think the Colon signing was a perfect gamble…very little risk, potentially sky-high reward. His performance this spring has done nothing to change that opinion, and I’d rather ride him early in the season than Buchholz.

Of course, that means more time in the minors for the former Lowell Spinner with a no-hitter already on his major league resume. There’s also an argument to be made for finding out what Buchholz can do in the majors over the long haul, and the longer it takes to find out, the longer it’ll take to find out if he can be an asset in the playoffs. I realize that’s putting the cart before the horse, but hey, that’s what bloggers do.

Of course, an injury to someone else on the staff would make this entire discussion moot, but I’m wondering what YOU think the Sox should do…promote Colon and demote Buchholz? Wait till the last possible minute before making a decision on Colon? Send Wakefield or someone else to the bullpen? Maybe send Buchholz to the pen in order to limit his innings?