NEW YORK - There are two ways to look at the remarkable works of Austin Bibens-Dirkx, the 32-year-old rookie pitcher who toured the minor leagues - all of them, it seems - and several foreign countries as well before getting his big league shot.
You can try to figure out why he might continue to defy the odds and pitch successfully in the majors or you can try to figure out why it might be a timely illusion.
Jeff Banister has no time for the second.
After Bibens-Dirkx smothered the New York Yankees for seven innings Saturday in an 8-1 win, Banister dismissed any notions that the pitcher has benefited from a couple of starts in the sun when it is tough to pick up the ball.