Bronx Briefing: Colon, Garcia Solid Surprises For Yankees

By Neil Keefe
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I didn't want Bartolo Colon on the New York Yankees. I didn't even want him on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees or the Tampa Yankees. I thought it was a joke to even give him a minor-league contract and after the Yankees failed to sign Cliff Lee, Brian Cashman began stockpiling a backup plans of arms that were All-Stars a decade ago. I thought it would be a disaster and an embarrassment. So far it's been the opposite.

On Wednesday night, Colon earned his first win of the year in his first start of the year in a strong effort (6.2 IP, 5 H, 2, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR) against the Blue Jays on a night the Yankees bullpen desperately needed a break. After allowing four runs in four innings in his season debut against the Tigers in the third game of the season, Colon has allowed just three earned runs in his last 14 innings (1.93 ERA) while striking out 15 and holding opponents to a .196 batting average.

Last Saturday, it was Freddy Garcia giving the Yankees six shutout innings (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. Garcia no longer has the velocity that Colon has rediscovered, but he kept the dangerous Rangers hitters guessing with a repertoire of off-speed pitches, while heavily relying on his location which was near perfect. While "The Chief" is completely opposite of the pitcher he was in 2001 when he was winning 18 games with a 3.05 for the Mariners, he has learned how to pitch given his age and his arm, and it's something the Yankees' youngsters are still trying to figure out.

In 16 games, the Yankees have gotten just six quality starts from their rotation. Colon and Garcia each have one of those in just one start apiece. CC Sabathia has two and A.J. Burnett and Ivan Nova each have one. A month ago I thought if either of these two made the rotation, it would be a crapshoot every time they took the mound, and I had visions of watching Sergio Mitre and Darrell Rasner and Sidney Ponson struggling and nightmares about the 2008 season happening in 2011. But with the way Colon and Garcia pound the strike zone and don't give away free passes like Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova don't and do, I have enjoyed watching the veterans and former aces maneuver their way through two strong offenses in two starts combined.

It was Aaron Small (10-0, 3.20) and Shawn Chacon (7-3, 2.85) that provided the Yankees with help from the most unusual places in 2005 and led to a division title. While health wasn't much of a concern for the 33-year-old Small and 27-year-old Chacon at the time, it certainly is for Colon, who will be 38 in May, and Garcia, who will be 36 in June. But if Colon and Garcia can stay healthy and continue to provide the Yankees with quality starts, there's no reason they can't come close to duplicating that success of six seasons ago. At least that's what I keep telling myself until the Yankees can get another front-end starter.

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