WHY COLON'S INJURY COULD BE A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

(Photo: Getty)
So, you know what happened by now. Bartolo Colon suffered a strained left hamstring injury covering first base during his start against the Cleveland Indians. This injury hurts the Yankees for the short-term, and maybe even the long-term although Colon says the injury isn't serious.

"I feel good, I just have a little bit of pain," Colon said to ESPN New York through a translator. "I'm on the DL now, but I hope to be back after 15 days. ... After the 15 days, I should be back." We hope he's right, because thus far this season Colon has been the obvious number two starter for the Yankees. But long-term, this injury could probably help the Yankees.

This season Colon has pitched above and beyond expectations, going 5-3 with a 3.10 ERA. He pitched a complete game shutout against the Oakland A's on May 30th, and he pitched eight shutout innings two starts prior on May 18th against the Baltimore Orioles. And in that start against the O's he threw just 87 pitches. He was probably on his way to the All Star game, but even if he misses just two or three starts it will probably cost him a ticket to the desert for the Mid-Summer Classic.

With this injury Colon will be given a chance to rest his arm, which could be a very good thing for the Yankees down the road, considering if he continues to pitch the way he has, he could very well be the number two starter for the Yanks if and when they make the postseason. Remember, Colon hadn't pitched at all last season due to an elbow injury. Colon had stem cell surgery last year and it has raised some eyebrows throughout the rest of Major League Baseball. You can read that story HERE. Casey wrote about it too. Read WHY IS MLB DIGGING AROUND?
The Yankees recalled Hector Noesi from AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre. He started games in the minors, but he has pitched out of the bullpen for the Yankees this season. This year in four games of relief he has compiled 15.1 innings of work while allowing just 11 hits with a sparkling 1.76 ERA. Manager Joe Girardi hasn't confirmed that Noesi will start, he has until Thursday to figure that out. But, that seems like the most likely choice in my eyes.

But, down the road, if and when Colon is continuing to shock the rest of Major League Baseball, and prove the doubters wrong, we could look back to this DL stint and think of it as a blessing in disguise considering he hasn't made 20 starts in a season and hasn't pitched over 100 innings in a season since his Cy Young year with the Angels in 2005.


--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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