Bartolo Colon has already done more than you thought he would this season.

No matter how optimistic you are, no matter what the chances Colon could contribute to the 2011 Yankees, he’s already out-performed your wildest dreams.

Entering play Monday afternoon, Colon had made 7 starts, logged 57.1 innings pitched in total, and boasted a 3.77 ERA, a 3.61 FIP, and a 2.91 xFIP. The last number representes the best mark amongst Yankee starters, while the FIP is second only to C.C. Sabathia. Colon has already been worth 0.9 fWAR, second only to Sabathia’s 2.2 fWAR amongst Yankees’ pitchers, and equal to the value Mariano Rivera has provided to this point.

And Colon’s not doing this with luck either, as his strikeout and walk rates are the best of any member of the starting rotation. In fact, Colon might actually be a little bit unlucky right now, as his 14.3 HR/FB rate is pretty well above average (hence the discrepancy between his FIP and xFIP).

At this point, Colon could not pitch another inning and he’d still be one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2011 season in all of baseball, let alone for the Yankees. But far from imploding or signaling that one of the more improbable runs in recent memory will be coming to a close anytime soon, Colon took the mound in Oakland and pitched a complete game shutout against the A’s, his first in 5 years. Colon struck out 6 batters in his 9 innings while allowing just 4 hits and allowing no walks. It was another in a series of masterful performances. Over his 8 starts now, Colon has gone at least 6 innings 7 times and allowed 3 runs or fewer in 6 starts. Even more impressive, he’s gone at least 7 innings 4 times and at least 8 innings 3 times now, while allowing 2 or fewer earned runs in in 5 starts.

There were a lot of snide remarks when the Yankees minor-league contract with Colon was announced this winter. The worst of them regarded the move as an embarrassment, especially in the wake of the team’s failure to sign Cliff Lee. Even the most favorable reactions regarded it as a meaningless move, a chance for Colon to get a look in Spring Training and a signing that carried no risk for the Yankees in the short term. Pretty much everyone made a fat joke at Bartolo’s expense. But now Colon has turned the joke around, because the man we all wrote off of camp-fodder, a washed up former great who fell apart and looked like a fat old scout than a Major League pitcher, is dominating the American League at the moment, baffling hitters and wowing fans with his 2-seasm fastball.

Colon may yet implode. For all we know, today may have been his last hurrah. His body may give out on him under the strain of a workload he hasn’t managed in years and the weight of itself. But even if that happens, Colon has given the Yankees more already than any of us could have hoped for. And yes, he’s proven everyone who said he couldn’t still pitch completely wrong.