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At What Point Do Colorado Rockies Fans Admit Yohan Flande Is… Good?

By Bobby DeMuro

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July 6, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Y. Flande (58) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve been conditioned to think that the lefty is the Colorado Rockies’ long man/emergency starter, but what if we’re getting trolled by a decent pitcher?

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It’s blasphemous to even suggest this amongst Colorado Rockies fans, bloggers, writers, and “experts,” but what if the team has, ya know, a halfway decent pitcher in Yohan Flande?  I get a lot of tweets about Flande not being a big leaguer, and yet the more I see from him, the more I wonder… really?

I’m not talking about an ace; despite his recent success I still maintain he’d be best used as the club’s long man, a la what Christian Bergman did on Friday night against the Mets.

But let’s be honest about Flande; what he’s done this year is impressive relative to what the club asked of him coming into the season (you know, that whole beginning the year in AA thing).  And I can’t help but put Flande up against a few different people: Eddie Butler, Chris Rusin, and 2014’s version of Yohan.

[ Related: Ten Relievers The Colorado Rockies Could Add In September ]

I’m not saying Flande’s a 2016 rotation candidate (well…) and he’s not a prospect (he’s nearly 30, y’all), but I am saying that at some point we should probably discard the preconceptions we have about the journeyman and realize that he’s doing a pretty damn good job.

We did it for Chris Rusin as he’s continued to prove himself this year, and while Flande has a ways to go before getting on Rusin’s level, there are a few things about Yohan’s game that need to be given their proper recognition. Here’s where I’m going with this…

Next: Flande vs Butler

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