Colon Roughed Up in 15-8 Rout of the Yankees

Bartolo Colon had another terrible outing on Thursday night as he got lit up by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 15-8 Yankee loss. Colon only went 3 innings giving up 7 runs.

Find out why this start has signaled the end of Bartolo Colon for the 2011 season.

Yankee manager Joe Girardi has stated throughout this season that we would all know once Bartolo Colon has exceeded his energy and potential in the season once he completely loses his fastball command. Well on Thursday night, his command totally went away during his 3 innings of work. In those 3 innings Colon gave up 7 hits, 7 runs (5 earned), walked 1 and struck out 1.

This start, in my opinion, takes Colon out of the post-season running to start. I believe he and Phil Hughes should be sent to the bullpen. We all remembered what Hughes was able to do out of the bullpen in the 2009 season, especially in the postseason. As for Bartolo Colon, if you think back to the beginning of this season, ask yourselves where did Colon start the season for the Yankees? If you answered "in the bullpen", then you are correct!

Colon made his case from pitching out of the bullpen and was successful from it early on. I believe he can be a great asset out of the bullpen to add depth. A playoff rotation of CC, Nova, Garcia, and Burnett is a great mix of veteran and young talent.

The Yankees begin their final season series with the Red Sox on Friday evening. The Yankees have a great opportunity to play spoiler against their rivals throughout this weekend as the Red Sox are battling for the AL Wild Card against the Tampa Bay Rays and even the Los Angeles Angels.