IS IT TIME TO HIT THE PANIC BUTTON ON GERRIT COLE?

The Yankees did something remarkable on Tuesday night—they gave their supposed ace a nice lead in the first inning as they kicked off a three game set against the Detroit Tigers. And what does Gerrit Cole do in return? Throws five walks in 46 pitches and found himself out of the game before the close of the second inning. Oh and with those walks, he gave up two runs, sounding the alarm for Clarke Schmidt to come in and bail him out after 1 and 2/3 innings. Is it time to hit the panic button on Gerrit Cole? Let's take a closer look.

Source: FRANK FRANKLIN II/AP

According to The Daily News prior to the game on Tuesday evening, "The Bombers have grand designs of a great season and to get there they need an ace. They need the Gerrit Cole they signed on for the next seven years to lead them back to the World Series after a 13-year drought." Not sure that Cole is that guy. 

Last week I tweeted, "Does Cole even enjoy pitching? He just seems so angry and anxious." I stand by that statement. If Cole felt that the wait in between innings was too long, why not go down to the cages and throw some pitches? If he is cold, wear something warmer. This is baseball. Baseball is played through three seasons which include extreme cold and heat. It is part of the game. And guess what it is your job to be out there performing at the highest level. You are a leader, act like one. 

Last season was a strange one for Cole. "He came out early in 2021 as the best pitcher in the league and then became the poster boy for pitchers using illegal sticky stuff on the balls in June when MLB decided to enforce their own rules more stringently. He adjusted and regained control of his season, only to catch COVID after the All-Star break. He got back on track and then whether it was a tight hamstring or the workload (181.1 innings pitched after just 73 in 2020), Cole went into the AL Wild Card game with a 6.35 ERA over his last four starts," reported the News. 

And on opening day of 2022, Cole was anxious to get out there and pitch; dismissing the fanfare of ceremonial first pitches. He just wanted to get out there. What he needed to do was chill out, just absorb the atmosphere and remember why he is playing this game.  

Perhaps what Cole needs is to practice some sort of meditation, release some anxiety and find some outlets to get out his frustrations. He may need an outlet to control his emotions. For me it's running, but running is not my full time job. Baseball is Cole's full time job; he may need another way to adjust and reset himself before taking the field. If not, I am hitting the panic button, because Cole does not have control of his emotions. And without control, he is not good for himself or his team. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof