Cam Schlittler sets perfect Yankees tone shift with quote after dominating Mariners

The New York Yankees have been waiting for someone with Cam Schlittler's energy to arrive for seemingly an eternity. The fortitude of Gerrit Cole with the public-facing persona of a wrestling heel — and the stuff's not bad, either. Schlittler became the second member of his own four-man rotation to carry a 0.00 ERA through two starts when he polished off 6 1/3 shutout frames (on a pitch limit!) against the Mariners on Wednesday. But it's the flourish with which he concluded his start in the postgame locker room that really showed what a perfect fit he is.

If you were worried about the energy of the Yankees "running it back," we don't blame you. But maybe, just maybe, bringing back so many of the key pieces of last year's team wasn't a mark of complacency, but instead signaled a collective hunger and a shared edge.

We already know Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and, yes, Paul Goldschmidt stood in front of the team after the Yankees had already banked two victories and a series win over the San Francisco Giants and implored them to keep the foot on the gas and go for all three/care every single day about bringing the proper energy. Fans will be a lot less skeptical of the Yankees if they continue to prove they'll control whatever they can control and share the burden all season long of trying not to sacrifice a single game. After all, that's what happens when you tie for the division lead, then get punked out of the playoffs because of it.

In recent seasons, as rivalries of the past have faded and generations have changed, it's plausible the Yankees lost some degree of their special sauce, outspent and out-despised by the Dodgers. But, dammit, they're still the 27-time World Series champions. They're still the club that no one on earth is rooting for. So they might as well sneer a little bit and act like it. This energy was perfectly summed up by Schlittler, ever the troll, in 11 words after dispatching Seattle.

Yankees have uncovered an ace who knows how to channel his opponents' rage in Cam Schlittler

How to put this ... we're thankful Schlittler didn't get bogged down by the World Baseball Classic, but if Team USA had chosen him over Nolan McLean, they would've won the whole thing?

It's April. It's early. It's the perfect time of year to dream on a playoff quartet that features Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón feeding off one another.

While it's still too soon to project who'll take the mound, it doesn't seem like we're getting ahead of our skis to say that this team finally comprehends the importance of never letting their opponent see them sweat, while always making sure to irritate them just enough to catch them off guard rather than lock them in.

And yes, it also helps when you can go 98 MPH two-seamer/93 MPH cutter/86 MPH curveball and make hitters look foolish in three different ways in one sequence. Schlittler isn't the only Yankee who's the perfect combination of skill and sneer, but he might be the ideal spokesman for the newest version of their centuries-old brand.