One-Man Band

You know, when things get crazy and out of hand, and it seems like things are about to totally implode on themselves, it's really nice to know that the Mets have this force of nature that can go out there, toy with his opponent and calm everyone down. That's what Bartolo Colon did last night.

I really have nothing particular to say about this whole Sandy Alderson/Matt Harvey/Scott Boras dog and pony show except to say that this whole thing smacks of a meddlesome agent and a player trying to please everyone but when push comes to shove, does anyone really, seriously think Harvey is not pitching in a playoff game? The Mets need to get there first but let's be real here. This will straighten itself out.

In the meantime, all the off-the-field insanity was quietly and efficiently shoved to the side by Bartolo Colon. In pitching the Mets' first CGShO of the season (and I believe their first since Zack Wheeler did so in this same building last year), Colon basically quieted everyone. He shut up the media that was too busy ripping Harvey a new asshole to pay attention to the game, and he also shut up everyone who keeps writing him off and assuming he's done. By all logic, I suppose, he should be done but what the hell. At age 42 and in the kind of shape generally reserved for people like David Wells or John Kruk, Colon keeps on getting the job done. Combine this start with the two he had previously (and the one-inning relief appearance), Colon is now up to 25 consecutive scoreless innings and has provided some much-needed stability at a point in time where the younger pitchers are sort of running out of steam a little bit. With Colon, there's no innings limit, there's no pitch count, it's just go do it, big guy and on Saturday night, he did just that.

The Mets offense clubbed around Brad Hand for 7 runs by the 2nd inning which was more than enough for Colon. Colon had things under such control that by the 6th inning, he'd decided to have a little fun and when Neanderthal infielder Justin Bour hit a tapper up the first base line with 2 outs (which represented solid contact against Bartolo), Colon delivered the showstopping play of the year with his now-legendary behind-the-back flip to 1st base.

Colon, then, finished off his 7-0 CGShO in 100 pitches and without breaking much of a sweat. In his last outing, he hit 100 pitches at the end of the 8th inning against the Phillies, with a 3-0 lead and ended up getting pulled in favor of Familia. This time, after making it through 8 innings on 90 pitches, Colon needed no such help. At this point, Colon now should be considered not simply for the rotation should the Mets maintain their lead and make the playoffs, but could you imagine him as a swing guy coming out of the bullpen for a few innings? He's shown that he clearly still has what it takes to make a difference here and he could really bring some order into absurd situations. That's both on and off the field.