The New York Yankees are one of the biggest baseball teams in the world because of their rich history. However, they have been struggling in the recent few games, which has cost the bullpen their first series win. The team also has various rivalries because of their winnings and many controversies. One of the teams who have amped up their rivalry with the Yankees in recent years is Toronto Blue Jays. The tension between the teams has increased because both teams have been fighting for the position in American League East division.
The two teams have drifted apart so much that the Toronto star Alek Manoah has publically said that Gerrit Cole is the biggest cheater in the history of baseball. Apart from the public feud, both pitchers have been performing very well on the ground. But looking at how Cole reacts to Alek’s statement, the bad mouth seems to be only from one side. Cole does not get into the debate with Manoah publicly. Moreover, the Yankee is also performing much better than his rival, who claims that he is a fraud.
The Yankees Lost The First Series Of The 2023 Season To The Jays
Despite both the pitchers performing well in the game, New York won Saturday’s game by 3-2. Both the pitchers held good records during the game. Neither of them allowed any runs during their spell of throws. Yankee’s pitcher Gerrit Cole three 5 and 2/3 innings without letting any slugger score. Alek Manoah, on the other hand, pitched seven innings without letting the Yankees score. But Manoah has been highly inconsistent in his performance, making his game against the Yankees his best of the season. However, Cole has been pitching very consistently throughout the season. He has kept a log average of 0.79 so far this year. Although the Bombers lost the next game along with the series to the Jays by 1-5.
Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole, unlike his performance, has been very lowkey in responding to Alek’s statements in public. On many occasions, Cole has said that he does not think about anything outside of the team. “I get all of my motivation from inside this clubhouse,” he said. Chances are that the rivalry action will be back again in a few days. The two teams will meet again next month to play a four-game series against each other.
The NY Pitcher Needs To Prove Himself
Clarke Schmidt is another pitcher on the New York team who has been struggling with his throws. But there are some things that he can do best, and even Gerrit Cole could not replicate. Schmidt’s knuckle curveball has been one of the best this year. When his ball moves all over the place, no batsman in the league has been able to understand it. And that is the whole point of his knuckle curveball.
But despite such great skill, he still has to use a more strategic approach to his throwing. If he can work more on his pitching approach, he will be a better option for the team. But in the meantime, Gerrit Cole has been doing a remarkable job in the lineup.