Self-proclaimed fatigue keeps Gerrit Cole from taking the mound against the Phils.
Tuesday night, the Yankees won on the road, outslugging the Philadelphia Phillies in a 7-6 victory that ended in 12 innings. The Bombers have won four in a row since acquiring Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has homered twice in two of the three games he has played for them. But the win and Chisholm’s performance should have been overshadowed by news that came a few hours before the game. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole didn’t start because he was experiencing arm fatigue.
Cole didn’t want to pitch Tuesday night, which tells you he is soft, and why it reflects the Yankees’ country club atmosphere where there is zero accountability. Cole let his team down. There’s no other way to say it. Unless he has a serious injury, he should have been out there. Period.
Could you imagine David Cone, CC Sabathia, or David Wells not pitching because of fatigue? Cole needs to understand that every player experiences daily fatigue from grinding. Heck, every worker does. I work at FedEx, and at the warehouse, I have to throw box after box almost every night. My back hurts, and I feel like I have a concussion at times. But I work through it because I am responsible to my employer and colleagues.
Apparently, Cole doesn’t get that. But can you blame him? Why should Cole or anyone not want to play through injuries when there’s no urgency to win?
If George Steinbrenner had been alive and functional, it’s hard to believe Cole wouldn’t have been on the mound Tuesday night. But Hal Steinbrenner shows no urgency of winning. He handcuffed Yankees GM Brian Cashman to make a deal that would affect the luxury tax, and guys like Cole don’t feel the need to pitch through fatigue. Without accountability, players can do what they want and follow their own program rather than focus on winning. That’s why Cole got away with what he did on Tuesday.
Fatigue? Cole has started seven times since being activated from the injured list. There’s no reason for him to be fatigued. Even if he is, Cole needs to suck it up. The Yankees should have told him to suck it up.
It’s hard to see Cole as a winner. If he were playing with the Yankee dynasty teams and had pulled that stunt, his teammates would have ostracized him, and he would have lost credibility. But he won’t suffer consequences. The media is too soft to call him out, and even Yankees fans won’t say much if anything, mainly because the Yankees won.
In Cole’s place, emergency starter Will Warren made his Major League debut and, not surprisingly, struggled, allowing four hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.
But there’s a larger question: Who’s to say there won’t be a next Yankee who decides he doesn’t want to play? It’s why I believe Cole created a Pandora’s box situation, and the Yankees are to blame for allowing that.
