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

Man, gagging a 15-game lead down to six? That’s a pretty brutal September collapse for the Yankees, but at least they survived and it’s all about who’s hot in October. Now, to take a big sip of hot coffee and check the calendar…WHAT?!

Yes, the Yankees did a September’s worth of collapsing in the month of August, with 31 more games on their schedule left to blow the remainder of their once-hefty lead. Improbably, the Rays now control their own destiny in an AL East race that has seemed done and dusted since early June, with six games left against the Yanks (three on each team’s home turf) out of the next 10.

The first half wasn’t a “mirage”; it was truly special. But a combination of injuries, regression to the mean, regression way beyond the mean, and self-inflicted wounds have left the Yankees gasping for air at the end of a season that was supposed to turn back the clock to 1998.

This unprecedented disaster (truly unprecedented — most teams don’t go from tippy-top to literal bottom) has left fans reeling, manning their battle stations to load the Take Cannon and get to arguing about how you can and cannot feel about what’s taking place.

Are you angry? Don’t be! Or do be, but be angry about something else! Are you complacent? You CAN’T be! Unless you’re being complacent about the player *I* like!

It’s getting nasty out there, and with a full month left in the disaster zone, we’re already so sick of reading these arguments on the timeline.

3 tiresome Yankees arguments people keep making before September collapse

3. “This is Just a Slump! Good Teams Slump!”

Kind of unbelievable this winning argument is stuck in the three-hole, but there are too many insufferable takes to choose from. This puppy got the bottom slot.

Yes, good teams do slump. The baseball season is long. Excellent point, MickMantle07@hotmail.com. But good teams don’t typically go 10-18 in the month of August, which would be the worst winning percentage for a World Series winner ever. Good teams don’t usually go 18-29 after reaching their win-percentage peak at 61-23. If you’ve watched as much baseball as you claim to have, 24-follower Twitter users born in 1958, then you should probably know this is atypical.

What’s happened to the 2022 Yankees is cosmic. It’s rarefied air. Collapses aren’t usually like this, no, but it’s occurring right in front of you! To blindly write this historic cratering off as typical struggles of a playoff-bound team over the course of a long season is denial at its strongest.

The Yankees shouldn’t have gone 18-29 after starting 61-23 without losing, say, their six most important offensive players and two aces. But that’s not what happened! Giancarlo Stanton went down for a month, Matt Carpenter fractured his foot, Luis Severino got (unnecessarily) placed on the 60-Day IL, their best-or-second-best reliever in Michael King was lost for the year, and Anthony Rizzo/DJ LeMahieu battled through nagging issues. Look at what the Rays have overcome! This is nothing. It’s an excuse for slowing down a bit and maybe keeping their head only slightly above water, but it’s no excuse for the free fall.

Or, you know, maybe it’ll all magically turn around tomorrow. It’s still a good team, after all.

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.