3 Yankees arguments we’re already sick of before September collapse

2. “You Can’t Blame Gerrit Cole.”

I definitely can!

Just because I’m able to blame other people, too, does not absolve the Yankees’ $324 million ace when he collapses after being faced with the horrors of a slight delay of game.

On Wednesday night in Anaheim, Cole took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning of a must-win game (scary thought) and retired the first batter after a fan fell on the field and wrecked the proceedings. Upset of the century. Unfortunately, Cole then surrendered a single (with an error attached), watched Isiah Kiner-Falefa make a terrible play behind him, and lost the zone to Shohei Ohtani/got burned on a 2-0, center-cut, 96 MPH fastball. Game over. And it’s not the first time.

Cole’s been, by and large, fantastic lately while the Yankees offense flails around him. But in nearly every important Cole start, there’s a moment where the playing field gets leveled and the rug gets yanked out from under him. Austin Meadows in Game 5 of the ALDS. Xander Bogaerts in the Wild Card Game, after the big, bad Fenway bullpen crowd heckled him. During this epic collapse, there’ve been several Cole starts that could’ve stemmed the tide, but didn’t. 3-0 lead blown in Baltimore a few weeks back. 1-0 lead blown to Jackie Bradley Jr. and the Blue Jays. Astros game lost on a JJ Matijevic homer. First-inning implosion against Seattle. All of these would be nice wins to have.

Cole is an ace. But until he secures a World Series for the Yankees, he’s going to get dogged as the pitcher who’s good enough to get you there, but not good enough to tune out the noise. And that’s a fair assessment, no matter what anyone wants to tell you. Isiah Kiner-Falefa blew Wednesday’s game with his defensive blunder. Cole did, too.

1. “The Monty Trade Was Smart. It Was All About October.”

A really smart thing a team can do to show they understand the way sports work is begin to plan for the postseason (and only the postseason) with two months left in the regular season. That type of hubris is almost always rewarded. “Look at these guys! They think it’s over! And they’re … right!” the Sports Gods typically say. They’re always saying that.

The difference between what smart teams do and what the 2022 Yankees did is that, typically, planning for October doesn’t mean sacrificing August and most of September. If the Yankees believed trading Jordan Montgomery for Harrison Bader would benefit them in the long run, that’s one thing — and they might still be correct! Aaron Hicks is unplayable, and won’t be playing much longer.

But if that’s the direction they wanted to go in, they needed to supplement the rotation with an additional arm. Maybe Pablo Lopez, in exchange for Gleyber Torres and Oswald Peraza, the shortstop prospect they refuse to use? Nah. Can’t do that. Peraza is the future, which is the only thing the front office wants you to think matters.

Lopez struggled coming out of the trade deadline (who didn’t?), but has found his footing now. Might be nice, considering Torres is unplayable.

Or maybe Jose Quintana? A small trade? He’s prospered for the Cardinals. Wouldn’t have worked here, though. Never does.

Dealing Montgomery for an inactive Bader also neutered a locker room that was already stumbling as the month of August began. The July Yankees looked a little like the May-June Yankees, but things were starting to fracture on the field. This was a .500 team that month. Including their July 9 collapse in Boston, they were 8-11. Excluding a series with the lowly Royals, they were 5-10. They were already losing their grip on a position of power. Then, their homegrown No. 4 starter was traded away and replaced by nothing. A nebulous idea.

Add in Frankie Montas’ struggles, and you have a picture of a rotation torn apart by second-place finishes and one-step-too-cute maneuvers from a front office that operates like they have the Mandate of Heaven. And they do. Brian Cashman know’s he’s not going anywhere, and so he’s going to take full months off and implant a loser’s mentality where a winner’s mentality once sat.

Making a team intentionally worse with an eye on an unclinched playoff berth is an unforgivable baseball sin. That’s it. That’s all. Book closed.

3 DFAs Yankees need to make to salvage World Series hopes

There's no need for any of these players on the New York Yankees roster. If you think there is, please call us or mail us to explain why.