Yankees Desperately Missed This Ace This Postseason

Fried, in particular, put up about as bad a game as a starter can have, and the short outing by last year's Rookie of the Year doesn't have the same weight as a frontline starter who boasts the highest contract ever by a southpaw, surpassing David Price's seven-year $217 million deal. In Toronto, Fried allowed one run for every year Price got from the Boston Red Sox, effectively knocking the Yankees out of the series before they even had a chance to get going in game two.

For all of Fried's eight year $218 million dollar contract, in his biggest start, he was outclassed by a rookie who threw one pitch. The only reason Carlos Rodon isn't spoken of in the same breath as Fried is that he was bailed out by his bullpen and a majestic home run by Aaron Judge. Rodon followed up Fried's seven-run outing with six runs of his own.

Watching Fried and Rodon make their best attempts at being a one and two in the rotation puts into perspective how great Gerrit Cole has been for the Yankees. He may be one of the best postseason starters the organization has had.

According to Stathead, eight pitchers have started 12 or more games for the Yankees in the postseason. Cole is third in ERA behind Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who has a 2.65 ERA, and Whitey Ford, who sported a 2.71 ERA. Cole has a 2.93 ERA since donning the pinstripes and isn't so far removed from the two former champions. Only these three starters have an ERA below three on this list.

The rest of this list features David Cone, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, and CC Sabathia. Cole, unfortunately, remains the only one without a championship. This is a damning look for Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and the rest of the organization than it is for Cole, though.

Cam Schlittler had a brilliant postseason. The rookie's 1.26 ERA in two starts pales in comparison to Cole's .71 ERA in two outings against the champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Game five of the World Series will always be remembered for the mishaps, but beneath the sloppiness was a Cole start undone by poor defense from a team that can't get out of their way. That immaculate World Series ERA might have been lower if they had done their job around him, allowing Cole to pitch deeper into the game.

The Yankees are in a similar position to the one they have been in since 2010. Watching other teams as they prepare for next year has been the benchmark for the younger Steinbrenner's Yankees, except for one season. If they have any chance of making noise, the organization needs to say a few prayers every night, hoping that by next October, their horse will be ready.

That bad start in the 2021 Wild Card game will unfairly follow Cole, but there aren't many pitchers in the team's history who can say they have never allowed more than three earned runs in a start. Fried allowed seven earned runs in Toronto, and it wasn't until Cole's fourth start with the Yankees that he allowed his seventh. That was over two seasons.

There is a thought among fans that the team has failed Judge. Despite the captain's greatness, his performances in October have been statistically less than commendable, except for this hopefully soon-to-be forgotten 2025. It just may be that the Yankees have failed Cole and Cole alone during this era.

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