When the New York Yankees acquired Gerrit Cole from the Houston Astros, a parade was thrown, with fans believing that the Yankees finally got their man.
Now, after seeing what their investment has produced, highlighted by allowing four runs in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, New York would be better off trotting out Old King Cole to pitch with his pipe and fiddler.
Cole gave up a total of eight runs en route to a 14-0 Tampa Bay victory. Moreover, knowing that pitching is so scarce, New York chose to trade for Joey Gallo from Texas instead of making a move for a part of their roster that has not been playing up to standards, standards set by George Steinbrenner and resulted in consequences if not met.
Moreover, if the great radio host Mike Francesa were still doing Mike and the Mad Dog with Christopher Russo, Francesa would be going on an epic meltdown at how the Yankees have been struggling instead of Russo doing it for the San Francisco Giants, the 2003 video still rings large.
You will have people, however, who will look and say it’s merely one game. Ok, fine, he had a horrible game. Every pitcher does. But are you willing to pull off the hat and talk about how Cole has struggled since MLB cracked down on the “sticky stuff”? Maybe, just maybe, Cole wasn’t only helped by video signals when in Houston?
The New York Yankees thought about the right position when going after Gerrit Cole but may have found the wrong guy.
There is a possibility that Gerrit Cole eventually wakes up and finds his groove for the New York Yankees and proves many people wrong. But so far, the evidence points in the opposite direction, and New Yorkers are certainly not pleased; social media speaks for itself.
Is it me or has Gerrit Cole been absolute trash since the MLB cracked down on pitchers on that sticky stuff? 🤔
— Marlon Sailor (@marlonthesailor) July 29, 2021
New York is still far back in the AL East, and it looks like Brian Cash and Hal Steinbrenner once again swung for the names and got struck out in the process. Meanwhile, much to their chagrin, the rival Red Sox leads the division and has pulled off many comebacks on them. How frustrating is that?
Time is running out for the New York Yankees, and they must find a way to right this ship. As for Gerrit Cole, it continues to be a bleaker situation that can only be fixed if he ups his game. So far, though, that’s not what the evidence shows, and given this town and its expectations, unacceptable.