Gerrit Cole Will Be Under Pressure Tonight After Recent Interview Blunder
All eyes will be on Gerrit Cole when he takes the mound tonight against the Twins.
The Yankees ace came under fire on Tuesday when he gave possibly the worst answer ever when asked if he used Spider Tack, which the MLB has said they’ll begin to crack down on.
Gerrit Cole on if he ever used Spider Tack while pitching:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2021
"I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest...If MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation that we can have" pic.twitter.com/2fR1AUeOQX
Cole could’ve saved us the 1:10 long answer and simply said “yes” instead. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone sound as guilty as Cole did here.
"Have you ever used illegal substances on a baseball?"
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) June 8, 2021
Gerrit Cole: pic.twitter.com/Kg3LZK6if5
It’s widely assumed that many pitchers in Major League Baseball use substances to help their grip on the baseball, but it seems like the issue has gotten out of control this season. In what’s been dubbed the “Year of the Pitcher," we’re seeing pitchers across the league putting up eye-popping statistics and we’ve seen significantly fewer runs because of it.
In response to this, the MLB has announced that they’ll begin cracking down on the issue by making frequent checks on the pitchers throughout the game to make sure they aren’t using anything illegal.
Cole will be making his first start tonight since MLB has made the announcement, and after his brutal answer to reporters about Spider Tack, you can be assured that the umpires will be keeping an extra close eye on him.
WynnBET has player props set for tonight’s American League matchup, and they have Cole’s strikeout total set at 7.5 with the over (-150) favored to the under (+115).
+115 odds to fade Cole after that disaster of an interview? I’m all in.
If he has been using substances like Spider Tack this year, we can assume he won’t be using them tonight. Is it going to affect his results? It’s hard to say for sure, but I’ll take the plus-money odds on it at least having an effect on his ability to strike batters out.
Cole started the season off hot, reaching double-digit strikeouts in five of his first eight starts. He's cooled off recently, failing to surpass seven strikeouts in four straight games ahead of tonight's start.
WynnBET has the Yankees set as -190 home favorites with the Twins set at +160 underdogs. The total is set at 8.5 runs.