ASTRO LOGICAL
Cole gives defending champs big boost
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Yankees are 0-for-2 in their pursuit of Gerrit Cole. Come October that could haunt them.
Consider this: At the All-Star break last season, the Astros were 60-29. Since then, they’ve added two aces in Justin Verlander and Cole to go along with their first World Series championship.
No team has repeated as World Series champs since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.
It isn’t just Verlander who said the Astros are the team to beat.
Ex-Yankees catcher Brian McCann said he believes it is true because of the outrageous starti ng pitching t he Astros have. There are three who have started Opening Day — Verlander, Cole and Dallas Keuchel — plus Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton and a loaded bullpen.
Adding Cole, 27 is a difference-maker because he adds to the mindset that this is a new battle.
“He’s a top-of-the-rotation arm, a power arm. He knows what he’s doing,’’ McCann told The Post on Thursday. “We’re extremely excited to have him.
“The guys we have in this locker room want to be great,’’ McCann said, noting the pitchers arrive at 5 a.m. to do their weight lifting. “When you have that mindset, it’s very easy to turn the page and get ready for next season, and I think we’ve all done that. We had our time to enjoy it, but now that we are down here in camp, it’s time to try to do it again. There’s something special here.’’
The Yankees drafted Cole out of high school in 2008, but he decided to go to UCLA.
“I was just really sold on going to college, it was better for my development,’’ Cole said.
The Yankees targeted him again this offseason, with the Pirates looking to trade him, but it was the Astros who got the deal done in mid-January.
“That’s really out of you’re control. You’ve got to keep your expectations tempered,’’ Cole said of all the trade rumors he has had to live with for so long. “At various points, it’s impossible to ignore it.’’
No more rumors, just go out and pitch f or t he defending world champs.
“This is why everyone puts the uniform on: to go out and compete and win,’’ the big right-hander said. “When you’re with a team that has as much talent as we have and has had as much success as we have, it’s real easy to buy in and just try to win the game. When the volume gets turned up, every player loves it.
“It’s a special vibe here,’’ Cole added. “The hellos are genuine. The hugs are genuine. It’s not like you can’t get that on other clubs, but you can just see it and feel it here. When we get in the room and have a meeting, the manager is not walking around the room preaching to everybody. Everybody is kind of sitting down, the same level. There’s an atmosphere that just fosters that unselfishness, which ultimately is what separates you in mean- ingful games.’’ That, and pitching. One reason teams don’t repeat is that it is so difficult for a staff to pitch into November then come back the next season. When you add an ace, that helps lighten the load. Add two, and you’ve really got it going.
The Astros also encourage their pitchers to use secondary pitches — that way when a fastball is needed, it explodes on the hitter. All that should help Cole, who surrendered 33 home runs last season. Cole is a workhorse and struck out 196 batters over 203 innings in 2017. He owns a lifetime 3.50 ERA over 127 starts and has a similar repertoire to Verlander.
Cole is looking forward to the big AL matchups, pitching at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. He said the Yankees and Angels have two of the best pitching mounds in baseball.
“Playing in Yankee Stadium, playing in Boston, playing in some of the powerhouses of the AL East, I got a little bit of a taste for that, you want to play in those places as a player, for sure,’’ Cole said.
Minute Maid Park is electric, too. This is the best landing spot for Cole.
“They’re World Series champs. What more can you say?’’ Cole said.
The pitching-rich Astros have put themselves in perfect position to repeat.