Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Through the first four innings of the second of three games in Toronto, Cole’s fastball looked as big as a volleyball. Bluejay hitters owned the heater, in some instances, it looked as if they were swinging off a tee. The fastball was left on the heart of the plate so often, Toronto hitters seemed to have an impeccable swing through the zone. The control and location was also a major issue for Cole. His slider was not fooling hitters whatsoever, immediately starting outside the zone, especially to righties and diving hard.  

     Cole did look much better following the third inning. Locating and mixing his fastball-change up combination to induce some swing and misses. Tonight, was definitely not the Yankees’ ace’s night. It was very hard to watch such a dominant pitcher being overwhelmed so quick and early. I am not in any capacity downplaying the Bluejays lineup, they have power and contact one through nine. It’s quite the scary lineup to face, hell, I get really god dam anxious each time the first six guys slowly strut into the box. That being said, Gerrit Cole is the ace, and being the ace comes with high expectations, not just from immediate teammates, coaches, and managers but from loyal, hard-charging, men and women who bleed and breath Yankees baseball.  

     Now I’ve seen a lot of questions and misdirected or misguided verbal quarrels and anger on Twitter all night from these so called “fans” claiming Cole shouldn’t be starting the Wild Card game, they lost all faith in him to carry this team through such an important game. To those fans I ask, did you become a mental midget overnight, or did you hit your grandpa’s liquor cabinet a bit too hard? Regardless of the game he had, he’s had an even better season, shit, a Cy Young like season, you want your ace on the mound in the Wild Card. The Yankees paid him the big money in order to grind and claw the team to a championship. Gerritt Cole is still one of the best pitchers in the league and top three in the American League at least. To the loose cannon, conclusion jumping, Cole hating, fake baseball fans, keep the faith baby. Cole is a workhorse and always comes back, blood thirsty for a sweet revengeful outing against the next team steps in the box. 

     Aside from Cole, you do have to remember the Yankees have the best lineup in baseball (on paper), when they are hot, they cannot be beat, especially with the vicious and heavy-handed bullpen defending their leads.  

    Now obviously, the Yankees fell short of victory, but they did fight hard to stay within spitting distance of Toronto. Unfortunately, one giant and costly mistake in the outfield most likely derailed any momentum going into the last few frames. Like I said, in the prior paragraph, this team fights and they fought back against a great team to keep the score close and give the Bluejays a run for their money. Corey Kluber will get it going tonight and hopefully stall that dangerous and tenaciously powerful Jays lineup and get back that game in the standings. When it all comes down to it, I ain’t wrong. If you like the content, you can catch me every night in rare form at the start of every game and on through to the end on Twitter where we cheer, laugh, cry, curse, and stress as we watch the game. Go over and follow me @SlingerMosley on Twitter and come shit talk with me. Til next time, I’m Oscar Mike.