The last time Bartolo Colon was effective was way back in 2005, so when he showed up to the Yankees and surrendered four runs in his first two innings this season most of us wondered how he could possibly help the Yankees in 2011.
A funny thing happened though. After that first game against those first two innings against the Tigers he turned into a great pitcher, one that lead the Yankees early with a 2.78 ERA in 12 outings before he went down with a groin injury. He was outstanding and he helped turn what was expected to be the Yankees biggest weakness, their rotation, into an early strength.
It wouldn’t last though. After the injury he was still a decent pitcher, but he was just not the same. What had made him strong before, an amazing two-seamer that he was able to spot at will had disappeared. And the pep he had on his fastball was gone.
There has been a big difference, but I wanted to know exactly how big and if the difference was small enough that he could still cont...
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