As the playoffs approach for the New York Yankees, there are multiple guys who just haven't played the type of baseball that New York has been hoping for. Unfortunately, at the top of that list is right-hander Gerrit Cole.
There have been times when Cole has looked very good, but over the past four starts, he's been very average, to say the least. That includes his recent outing against the New York Mets, in which he allowed nine hits in 4.1 innings, giving up five earned runs and three home runs. Cole also struck out just four hitters.
This was perhaps his worst start of the season, which comes at the worst time, considering the playoffs are nearly here. Regarding what Cole needs to work on, he isn't beating around the bush and saying that he's throwing the baseball at a high level, which is at least somewhat promising.
Speaking to reporters about it, he understands that this is something he has to figure out and that time isn't necessarily on his side.
"I think it's something that we got to figure out for sure," Cole said, according to ESPN. "And it's just one of those times in the season, I think you got to start making adjustments."
"We were able to adapt last week in-game to respond," Cole said. "This week, we just got bled out, really, and didn't get deep… It's all different offerings, it's different sequences, it's tough to pin down."
While I know this has been frustrating for some Yankees fans, and rightfully so, I also think it's important to recognize that Cole has been one of the better starters in Major League Baseball for much of his career and will be a future Hall of Famer with ease.
This isn't a guy who I would exactly count out, even if he isn't throwing the ball the way everybody expects him to. Perhaps he blows up for the Yankees come October, but I'm willing to take that chance.
Cole has a history of being the best pitcher on this staff and there's no reason to think he can't continue that.
