Video of Gerrit Cole being stalked around LAX airport is a bizarre disaster

Hey, you know Gerrit Cole? Right, the Yankees' typically stoic ace who also happens to get set off from time to time by minor disruptions and the antics of others?

Yeah, well right now, he's going through some injury concerns, and probably isn't in the best of moods. You know what could be a good idea, though? Wandering inches behind him for a minute, two minutes, 10 minutes tops, while continuously prodding him and prodding him and prodding him extra in case he didn't hear you prodding him in an effort to get him to turn around and say hello to a camera. That could be great content.

At the very least, we'll get some incredible pictures of Cole waiting for a bus that we can use.

Cole flew out to Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the leading Tommy John surgeon in the game of baseball. Dr. ElAttrache didn't spot a UCL tear on Cole's initial imaging, but wanted a closer look behind the curtain of his inflammation in order to be absolutely certain about what he was dealing with. Undoubtedly, Cole agreed with the assessment. He's a master of his own right arm. Why wouldn't he want to be thorough before jumping to the Yankees doctors' "rest and rehab" conclusions? When have the Yankees' doctors ever been correct before?

Naturally, though, he seemed quite uncomfortable when the New York Post caught up with him on Wednesday, mired in a state of indecision. A genuine stalker holding a camera, TMZ-style, then begged Cole to deliver a message to Yankees Universe. He did not, and the resulting video/invasion of privacy stinks out loud. You can borderline smell it through your screen.

Yankees' Gerrit Cole stalked by cameras outside Los Angeles airport

"Hey, Gerrit, can you randomly tell me, a weird guy you don't know, that your elbow feels great? What if I ask again? Will you do it then?"

If Cole is down longer than a month or two (and it certainly feels like he might be), the Yankees will have to pivot once more, though Dylan Cease is no longer an option. Maybe this cameraman knows Scott Boras? Five minutes in the room with Blake Snell and he might have the lefty caving and agreeing to some deal, any deal just to shut him up.