Balky hamstrings, Spider-Tack, Billy Crystal, ill-timed ceremonies…Yankee Stadium sound effects?
The first four of those are, notoriously, things Gerrit Cole has linked to over the last year as items that have affected his performance, and on Tuesday, he noted the fifth as an issue as he spoke at Yankee Stadium prior to his scheduled start against the Jays tomorrow.
Specifically, Cole had an issue with the siren the Yankees play in two-strike counts – the Death Star’s Imperial Alert siren from Star Wars – because it made it hard for him to hear the PitchCom signals in his Opening Day start.
“It’s an interesting sound,” Cole said.
Perhaps, to quote Cole on the Opening Day ceremony tip, that issue was an “unforeseen circumstance,” but he also said he plans to use PitchCom again on Wednesday night.
He also plans to be better than he was on Opening Day, at least at the outset where he allowed three runs before recording an out and lasted just four innings before reaching his pitch count limit.
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"Overall, my mechanics are in a good spot. I just had a lot of adrenaline and just kind of spun my tires there for a minute,” Cole said of that outing. “Maybe find the rhythm and the tempo to just kind of stay within myself a little better."
Cole threw 68 pitches last Friday, but he is unsure what his pitch count will be Wednesday.
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