Yankees: Gerrit Cole attending All-Star Game shows Astros players are frauds

Oh no! Here come the Houston Astros fans to tell me Jose Altuve owns me and my family. Noooooo!! Is there any possible way I can recover??

Well, yes, it’s simple. I have a conscience! The other Astros players selected for the Midsummer Classic do not. And that’s been further confirmed by New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s presence at the All-Star festivities. Amid the “sticky stuff” controversy, which he’s somehow become the face of!

Why? Because Cole cannot appear in Tuesday’s All-Star Game since he just threw 129 pitches in a win over the Astros on Saturday. He’s just there soaking it all in and paying respect to the voters who sent him there.

As for the Astros? Altuve, Carlos Correa and Michael Brantley won’t be attending despite being selected as All-Stars, and all made their decisions well ahead of the game (before we learned Altuve’s father was in the hospital for Sunday’s win). Ryan Pressly got the nod too, but he’s on paternity leave.

They can tell us all they want about how rest is more important at this juncture or that they want to concentrate on winning a World Series, but we all know the real answer.

The Astros are terrified of being booed on the biggest stage of the summer. They weren’t wrong that they’d be targeted, either. Fans at Coors Field on Monday night booed their mascot, Orbit, into oblivion (Yankees and Dodgers players got heavily booed on Tuesday night as well). Every MLB fanbase still isn’t over the sign-stealing scandal, and rightfully so. The Astros got off scot-free when there were no fans in the stands during the 2020 campaign.

But now they’re facing the music — and it’s not even that bad! — and their players, manager and fans continue to whine about being mistreated. Get over it. Attend the All-Star Game. Isn’t that one of the most tailor-made opportunities to shut the haters up? Isn’t that your favorite thing to do?

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole attending the All-Star Game despite being unable to play shows the Astros are frauds.

If the Astros wanted rest, they still could have attended the event in Colorado and spent time around their peers. Why not? What better way to kick back and relax than to enjoy some fun with the other top stars in the game? Did you not see how captivating the Home Run Derby was? That’s what Cole’s doing!

Altuve said he wanted to rest his knee. Brantley said he’s dealing with soreness on his right side for the last three weeks. Altuve has played 15 of the last 16 games. Brantley has played 27 of the last 30 games. Their excuses couldn’t be more unfounded. Guys like Jacob deGrom, Shane Bieber, Buster Posey, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and others have dealt with/are dealing with actual injuries that are preventing them from playing.

Though Cole isn’t injured, he simply can’t pitch on a few days’ rest after his marathon outing over the weekend. But he’s there representing his team, speaking to the media, hanging out with other players, and showing up for the fans … even if he’s going to be riding the pine.

That speaks volumes. His situation is a little bit different because this is his first All-Star nod as a Yankee. But still, you’d think as many players as possible would appreciate the moment since the sport was robbed of a Midsummer Classic due to the pandemic in 2020. Not the Astros! The only team who had healthy players reject their invites.

This is a clear trend from one team. One team that knows they won’t be well received. One team that continues to play the victim after being found guilty of a significant transgression. One team that continues to point the finger at others and act as if everybody else is wrong for reacting to something that no doubt affected the integrity of the game.

Were others cheating? Probably! But it’s clear MLB found evidence that was too damning to sweep under the rug with Houston. The Astros players who were involved in the scandal simply believe everyone else should “move on” and “get over it.” They’ve heard enough boos! Leave them alone, please. Alex Bregman reading his “apology” from an index card while smirking was enough! That absolves them!

Instead they whine, they deflect, they remove themselves, they play the victim. That should go well for your World Series hopes, right? When you’re faced with the most possible adversity in October against hostile crowds on the road?

They can’t handle the All-Star Game. Sure, the Astros “own” the Yankees. They’ve had better teams for the past four years. But that’s not the point here. We’re not talking about the Yankees. The fans will deflect too and say we’re all sour. We’re not, really. It’s just embarrassing to see the Astros do this over and over. We’re embarrassed as fellow humans. That’s all.

Yankees: Jose Altuve’s walk-off celebration proved he’s been lying

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve's walk-off home run celebration on Sunday afternoon proved he was lying when he beat the Yankees in the ALCS.