Marcus Stroman declined the Yankees when asked if he wanted to pitch Opening Day in place of Gerrit Cole, noting a desire to maintain his current routine and to not alter his pitching schedule.
Safe to say BT did not think highly of the decision.
“Who the hell does this guy think he is?” BT said. “When Gerrit Cole, your ace, is out, and the circumstances completely change and become dire, it’s no longer optional.
“You take that baseball, and that’s it. For him to tell Aaron Boone ‘I don’t want to pitch Opening Day,’ I’ve lost respect for the guy. That’s it.”
BT doesn’t diminish the value of routine, especially for pitchers, but he doesn’t believe this is about scheduling. Either way, he doesn’t believe it is a good look for the new Yankee pitcher.
“I understand a lot of people gloss over the fact that there is an intricate routing that does matter at this level…that’s not the point,” BT said. “He’s deep enough into the spring where his routine is just about defined. He got to 60 pitches yesterday.
“This is not about the routine. I’m calling BS…he’s looking at the timeline, he doesn’t want to start in Houston, because if he does, it takes away his ability to start Opening Day in the Bronx.”
