Bartolo Colon threw 38 consecutive strikes last night

April 19, 2012 by Mike Axisa 42 Comments

Bartolo Colon pulled a Hiroki Kuroda last night, shutting out the much-hyped Angels over eight innings. More impressively, he threw 38 consecutive strikes from the fifth through eighth innings. Thirty-eight! Here’s video if you don’t believe me. Colon had no problem pounding the zone with the Yankees last year, but sheesh, this is excessive. Bartday was my favorite day of the week in the first half last season, and now the Oakland faithful get to enjoy the fun.

JohnC

Can see this entry filled with posts bashing Cashman for keeping Garcia instead of Colon. Let the fun begin
BronxBombers98

Too bad there aren’t that many Oakland faithful to enjoy it.
- jsbrendog
  
  it’s a shame how far that franchise has fallen. at the same time it’s not like billy beane has been able to instill any confidence in them. is the owner really that cheap/poor that he doesn’t even want to keep his top young talent before they’re even through arbitration?
  - GardnergoesYardner
    
    What are you talking about? He brought the franchise back to glory by picking up three mediocre players, installing them in unfamilar positions and roles, and just getting really lucky (not because he had AL MVP Tejada or AL Cy Young Zito). They won 20 games in a row! They’re legends!
    
    #Moneyballhasruinedcasualbaseballfans’mindsforever
JAG

I realize that’s just how its counted, but it seems kind of disingenuous to me to count hits as strikes. I mean, sure, I guess they didn’t get called out of the zone, but a strike is good for the pitcher, and a ground-rule double doesn’t seem like it should count for that.
Annie Oakley

But God forbid we keep him over an over the hill junkballer and an overhyped kid. He was brilliant for us last year until he ran out of gas. Manage him better and that won’t happen again. We’ve really got one reliable starter who hasn’t been so reliable thus far. Nova’s our only hope for a #2. Our hopes of a decent 1-5 rotation hinge on Pineda and Andy.
- jsbrendog
  
  o a k t a g
  - JobaWockeeZ
    
    Why? Because someone doesn’t have a Cashman is t3h godz comment? It makes it oaktag?
    - jsbrendog
      
      because no one would have chosen a 38-39 yr old who hadn’t pitched in 4 or more years at the major league level, had a random unheard of treatment that “magically” fixed him and then showed he couldnt keep it up for a full season over freddy garcia who has a consistent track record and has proven he is what he is and will give you what he gives you. colon may have “upside” but the risk is much much much greater and assuming that “managing him” means he will miraculously repeat his performance with absolutely zero reasdon to believe he will other than WELL I THINK HES THE BEES KNEES!! is the worst type of flawed thinking and revisionist history. i thought there was a higher level of discourse and thought.
      
      the over the hill junkballer and the overhyped kid are the two 95% of teams would have chosen to keep. for fuck sake just look at the team who signed him. there was ZERO interest in colon until the a’s signed him only because they traded everyone else away!
      - Cris Pengiucci
        
        Well stated, but we must also remember that when Freddy was signed, neither Kuroda or Pineda were on the team. Starting rotation was CC, AJ, Hughes, Freddy and ???(I’m sure I’m forgeting someone). I’d personally prefer the higher liklyhood that Freddy lasts the season over the chance that Colon pitched well and remained healthy in that situation.
      - Now Batting
        
        Dude what are you smoking? Garcia had stunk for five years until last year. His track record was no better than Bartolos. He carries the same amount of risk. In the AL East I’ll take the guy who throws 95 mph 2-seamers that move like crazy over a soft tosser. I’ve never understood why people prefer Garcia and why Bartolo was left off the postseason roster.
        
        http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        You don’t understand why he was left off the playoff roster? He had a 6.00 ERA from mid-August on.
        
        Now Batting
        
        I can’t pull the numbers up on my mobile but I recall both Garcia and Colon having lousy numbers in September.
        
        Kosmo
        
        Garcia 7.36 ERA
        Colon 5.96 ERA
        in September
        
        jsbrendog
        
        i know people hate on era+ but im lazy and don’t feel like going to fangraphs but freddy was basically league average overall since 2005 except, oddly enough, for his year in philly. that is actually the only year he wasn’t basically league average or better his entire career.
        
        his performance in 2011 was most likely a fluke, as was colon’s. based on common sense you take the guy who has been doing it for the past 10 years and expect him to regress to the mean, being league average, and install him in your 5th starter role instead of the guy who hadnt done jack shit in 4 or more years and was fat and faded like a boss. it is a composite assessment.
        
        http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garcifr03.shtml
        
        jsbrendog
        
        plus, whatever you’re smoking must have made you forget tha whle freddy was being a league average pitcher for 6 years (minus his yr in philly) bartolo was eating donuts and entire buffets during that same stretch from 05-10, while not even playing baseball the year prior to last.
        
        Now Batting
        
        He didn’t throw more than 60 innings in any of those years besides 2010, where he had a 4.64 era. He hasn’t had a consistent track record or proven he is what he is (your words).
- JohnC
  
  God forbid we don’t rush to judgement after just 2 or 3 starts and in barely 2 weeks into the season
Elan

What’s crazy is the first ball at the end really could have been called a strike as well.
http://www.healthinsuranceindepth.com/ notsosmart

What were Colon’s demands of the Yankees anyway? Did he want a 2-3 year deal?
Mykey

Cue the, “Oh my God Cashman why the hell didn’t you keep him!?” comments. Anytime you get a chance to make a commitment to a 39 year-old pitcher who looks like Diego Rivera and struggled down the stretch last season rather than get 2 coveted arms in one off-season, you do it.
- jsbrendog
  
  WHY TEH HELLZ DIDNT SUXOR CASHMANG KEEP THE GUY WHO HADNT PITCHED IN 4 YRS OVER THE YOUNG GUY WITH POTENTIAL (albeit very little left at this point) OR THE WASHED UP CONSISTENTLY AVERAGE OR ABOVE FOR THE PAST 5 YRS OLD GUY!!11!!!1!1!!1
  
  he couldnt even finish a whole season so we shouldve given colon a 3 yr contract!!!1 instead of that over the hill garcia!!! colon is only 39, he can pitch for 5 more years!!!
  - Steve
    
    Hilarious and original spelling meme aside, you’re playing awfully fast and loose with the “consistently average or above for the past 5 years” phrase.
    
    2007: 1-5, 5.90 in a strong 58 innings
    2008: 1-1, 4.20 in 15 innings
    2009: 3-4, 4.34 in 56 innings
    2010: 12-6, 4.64 in 157 innings
    2011: 12-8, 3.62 in 146.2
    
    http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garcifr03.shtml
    
    To say he’s more durable than Colon is accurate, but to intentionally misrepresent the statistics is either ignorant or disingenuous. If he is what he is than what he is an injury-prone 5th starter at best who has thrown over 150 innings once in those vaunted last 5 years and over 100 innings just twice. O A K T A G
    - jsbrendog
      
      yes, i am aware of this. therefore why i didnt mention it in my above “real” comment. this was the fun one. but i am glad that someone is there to fact check meif i get out of hand. i wouldnt want it any other way.
      
      ::internet high five::
infernoscurse

cashman is a moron for trading montero
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  The virus is spreading. Cue “We shoulda traded Hughes when he was worth something.” Substitue Joba. Bring up Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps. GO!
  - jsbrendog
    
    not trading hughes and joba for santana? cashman you suck
DM

I wanted both Garcia and Colon back. I think Colon signed the day after the Pineda trade/Kuroda signing. He was still in play to come back to the Yankees if either deal had fallen through. I thought Colon simply ran out of gas last year after not pitching much in previous seasons. I’m not surprised at him looking good again after a rest. He would’ve been a nice, cheap sign to run out out there until he breaks — or the AAA guys were ready.
Dummies Playing With Balls (formerly Rainbow Connection)

I would have been ok with Colon coming back. I was surprised they didn’t bring him back.
42isNotMortal

38 consecutive strikes? That’s one way to get ahead of hitters.
Robinson Tilapia

This post is like throwing underhand to the “Cashman Failed” crowd.
Alex S

The way our starting pitchers had pitch, if we have Bart, he would have been our best pitcher so far. Our pitching staff is awful right now. We need Andy and Pineda in a hurry. I prefer to see DJ Mitchel and David Phelps starting games for us instead of Freddy or Hughes. Cashman get rid of these 2 please, trade them or release them now…
- jsbrendog
  
  sigh.
Tim Goetz

“Boy Susan you just can predict baseball can you?”
10 days ago I thought the Yankees had one of the best starting pitching line ups in the game. Now I’m not so sure.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  We can proactive make fun of it to try to keep it at bay but, in the end, there is nothing you can do to stop the SSS flood. You can only seek shelter from it.
Nick

LETS HEAR IT FOR BLOOD SPINNING! We all saw what the blood spinning surgery did for Colon. He went from eating entire pigs in the Dominican to being a lights out Yankee pitcher. We should have kept him because the arm was like Superman’s. He did hurt his leg because he’s fat, but obviously that would have healed. Bad move by Cashman. On a positive note, A ROD also got blood spinning done on his arms AND his legs. Look for 50 AROD HOMERS thanks to BLOOD SPINNING! Steroids is for the birds, LETS HEAR IT FOR BLOOD SPINNING!
Now Batting

The sarcastic homer posts are becoming increasingly more annoying and frequent than actual homer posts.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  You do realize you are posting on a Yankee fan blog, right? There is a certain level of fandom one must possess to take this step that goes slightly beyond the norm.
  
  I cannot understand for the life of me this idea of “homer posts” being something undesirable. Just because someone isn’t throwing all their frustrations into a blog comment, it doesn’t mean they don’t have opinions or aren’t a discriminate fan of some sort.
  - Now Batting
    
    You misunderstood me. I’m ok with people having “homer posts” (for lack of a better word) for the reasons you laid out. The people who make the super sarcastic posts intended to make fun of “homer posts” and think they’re funny are what’s getting annoying.
    - jsbrendog
      
      don’t read em. problem solved
      - Now Batting
        
        You realize you have to start reading it before knowing if it’s sarcastic?
        
        BigDavey88
        
        Oh, poor you.