The fact that Bartolo Colon drives a DeLorean to the ballpark should have been a tipoff that the unlikeliest Yankee starter had a trick up his sleeve.
After Wednesday night's dazzler against the White Sox, there's no more reason to wonder about the existence of said trick. It's pretty clear that Colon has figured out a way to overcome the constraints of time and space and put a former version of himself on the Yankee mound.
How else do you explain Colon pitching like it was 2002 all over again? He's been a shell of his former self for the last five years, so it is very difficult to understand how he's suddenly returned to form without making the leap to time travel.
In the 3-1 win on Wednesday, Colon struck out six and walked one over eight innings that were as fine as any that the Yankees have seen from a pitcher yet this season. That leads to many more questions for Colon.
Are the Yankees going to win the World Series this year? Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone that day in Dallas?
Will they ever actually finish the Second Avenue subway? Is there some way to reverse history and not let the personal information of Yankees season ticket holders become public?
While we wait for answers to these mind-benders, let's get back to the impressiveness of Colon's performance. He's not just throwing strikes, he's throwing hard and he's doing it deep into the game without any sign that he's not up to the task of carrying the load as a starting pitcher.
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He's totally reliant on his fastball, throwing it on 88 of his 99 pitches, but his velocity and command are so good that he's able to thrive with such a limited palette. Unlike Freddy Garcia, who is getting by on guile, Colon is making his way thanks to talent and that seems like a better way to succeed over the long haul.
We'll see if that proves true, although Colon's already come pretty close to fulfilling the bet the Yankees made on him this off-season. He already knew that, of course, but the rest of us are just catching up.
