Just stop, Bondy. Just stop.

I haven’t done this in a long time and they should be taking over Deadspin soon, so it’s time to hack up a piece of bad sports journalism in honor of Fire Joe Morgan.

Filip Bondy of the Daily News thinks it would be a good idea to move Bartolo Colon to the bullpen.

After introducing the situation….

That talk is wrong. If Burnett is truly, foolishly an untouchable in this situation, then it’s time to look next at Bartolo Colon. No long-range good can come from pulling the plug on one of the two young starters who are a big part of the near and distant future. The Yanks have very little invested in Colon, or his prospects.

Pay attention to that last sentence. If the Yankees have so little invested in Colon, which is true, why would they worry about protecting his arm? They’ve already gotten more out of them than they could’ve imagined and I think they’re probably sticking to the “ride him into the ground” plan, which is exactly what they should do.

It’s easy to fall in love with Colon, if only for his experience. He has 14 years under his belt, plus five postseasons and a Cy Young six years ago. After four successive lousy seasons, his fastball has both speed and bite again. If you just look at his stuff, you put him up there with Burnett, behind only CC Sabathia on the team.

Yup. And he’s shown the ability to pitch 5+ innings almost every time out there. I also “fall in love with Colon” because he’s been pretty damn effective all year. He’s had a few blips, but what pitcher doesn’t?

But Colon, 38, hasn’t been all that wonderful recently. Since May 30, Colon has made it through seven innings only once. Since July 2, his ERA has climbed from 2.88 to 3.31. He’s 2-3 since July 7, even though the Yanks have averaged nearly five runs per game in support over his last seven starts. In the pitch-count era, he is requiring too many deliveries per out, sapping the bullpen.

True he hasn’t been going too deeply into the games, but in his 10 starts since then, Colon has pitched into the 6th six times. He also has a 2.41 K/BB in that time frame to go along with a 3.38 ERA (3.84 FIP). So, yeah, he’s pitching just fine. Why should he be moved from the rotation?

SNIP

But this becomes a no-brainer, once Burnett is officially spared and the current AL standings are considered. The Yanks are way ahead in the wild-card race and will make the playoffs. They don’t need Colon for that.

They don’t need the guy who’s been their second or third best starter for the entire year to make the playoffs?

They don’t need Colon for that. And once the postseason starts, they may well use only three starters – Sabathia, Burnett (don’t ask us why, but there’s no point in arguing anymore) and Freddy Garcia

I’d say there’s a non-zero chance that Burnett gets left off the playoff roster entirely. And even if he doesn’t there’s no way the Yankees give a start to him over Colon, Ivan Nova, or even Phil Hughes at this point.

It is always hard to trust Garcia, because our eyes keep telling us that batters should be killing him. Garcia, however, has shown no sign of fading. During the same span that Colon has lasted seven or more innings only once, Garcia has accomplished the feat five times. He has had only one or two poor outings this whole season. Garcia is really the Yanks’ No. 2 guy right now. He’s doing it with smoke, mirrors and remarkable touch.

How does this serve your point at alL. Bondy? Bartolo Colon should be sent to the bullpen because Freddy Garcia has been pitching well?

If the Yanks go to a fourth starter in the playoffs, they can choose then between Nova and Hughes. That’s when Girardi ought to pick between them, not before. How many times can you demote Nova, without cause, before demoralizing the 24-year-old pitcher? As for Hughes, 25, a great deal of patience and $2.7 million have been poured into his comeback efforts. This is no time to quit on him, a year after an 18-win season, just as Hughes has come around again with three successive solid starts.

Or they could just stick with the six man rotation a little longer, especially since Gracia’s finger is hurting and CC Sabathia could use a bit of rest considering a) the innings pace he’s on and b) the big lead in the standings. Again, hardly any of this has to do with Colon, and Bondy completely ignores the fact that the Yankees don’t HAVE to start Burnett in the playoffs. Just because they’re running him out there every five/six days does not mean they’ll start him in the playoffs.

Colon goes Wednesday. That should be that, barring an injury in the rotation. He can be the long relief man, go three or four innings if necessary. In a way, that’s what Colon has been doing already.

Only it’s not what he’s been doing. At all. It’s also worth noting that the Yankees–like most teams–tend not to have relievers do a lot of multiple inning work like that.

We should all take a minute to be glad that this guy doesn’t run the Yankees or have input on their decisions. Colon hasn’t been brilliant like he was in the beginning of the year, but he’s been more than acceptable in the starting rotation. Right now, he’s in line to start game two or game three of a playoff series and Bondy wants to take him out of the rotation? I don’t even…

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