WHY IT’S COLON’S BIG NIGHT

Tonight will determine what happens next for Bartolo Colon. This is a guy that was considered the Yankees second ace for most of the season, but concerns about durability have risen and now we haven’t seen a win from Colon since July 30^th. Worried yet?

The Yankees are about to go against the Angels who are making a huge push to prove to the Texas Rangers that they have enough talent to take them over and it just may happen, considering Jered Weaver has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League all season. Currently Weaver is 16-7 with a 2.49 ERA.

There’s a great nugget I found in a MLB story by Jason Mastrodonato about Colon. I figured I’d bring it to you. Bartolo Colon as of late has not used his two seam fastball. Now, this is a pitch that’s brought him success in the past, but in recent outings, he really hasn’t used it. Meanwhile, this guy hasn’t had a win since July. So it's a simple fix right? Just go back to the two-seamer more. This is a mystery to me. If you were successful using it before and lately you haven’t been, isn’t it clear what the problem is? If I’m Girardi and Rothschild, I’m letting him know how important that pitch is in his arsenal, for his confidence and for the team. Read Mastrodonato's full piece HERE.

Look, looking at this game tonight it’s simple, The Yankees need to win. Clearly, but more importantly, they need to hit Weaver, that’s a big obstacle. The other side of this is Colon. If that nugget is correct about the two-seam and they lose, it's Colon to the pen. If he uses it and they win, like the Colon of this past May, Yankees will have solved their problem and have a huge shot tonight. Look, for a long time the Angels were the “rally” monkey on the Yankees back. In 2009, we killed that monkey. Now we know we’re superior and to me, it’s a no brainer, being patient at the plate and making Weaver work coupled with a solid Colon performance will bring wins. That's my take.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.