MLB needs more clarity on sticky stuff, not more scapegoats
MLB insider Jeff Passan joins Tim & Friends to discuss Gerrit Cole s admission of guilt that he s cheating with adhesive substances, wondering how MLB will handle this latest pitching scandal?
Ben Nicholson-Smith | @bnicholsonsmith June 9, 2021, 12:46 PM
TORONTO – Gerrit Cole’s response was telling on a few levels. Asked directly whether he has used a banned, grip-enhancing substance called Spider Tack, he evaded the question entirely.
“I don’t…” Cole began in response to the question from Ken Davidoff of the
New York Post on Tuesday afternoon. After a long pause, he continued.
Derek Jeter’s Hall of Fame induction rescheduled to September; Andújar maximizes his playing opportunities, Donaldson not afraid of retaliation after implicating Cole; Gary Sánchez’s bat warms up in Minnesota.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
NY Post | Dan Martin and Ken Davidoff: MLB is aggressively pursuing an end to the recent controversy of a long-time known fact about the game pitchers like to use substances to get better grips on the baseball. It’s been around for a long time, and clubs have avoided calling out all but the most egregious examples because they all have pitchers using these methods, but recent advancements and the struggles of hitters to catch up to modern pitching has prompted MLB to finally step in.
This could be a problem for Gerrit Cole, who has been one of the marquee pitchers named as a user of these substances. Cole faced the media for the first time since this most recent round of rumors about his involvement in this problem sprang up, and his press conference was . awkward, to say the least. Cole struggled to say much of anything, both in terms of what he actually offered as a retort and how difficult it was for him to seemingly get his mind together