Pirates

Kovacevic: Cole Train fired up to go the distance

Jul 28, 2016 • 2:10 am

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It was 9:48 p.m. Wednesday night, and Gerrit Cole's arms rose high into the night sky, stark against the Downtown stark against the Downtown cityscape, like a chalk-on-charcoal etching of a heavyweight champ.

What a scene.

What a setting.

And yet, it's funny how probably the overwhelming majority of the 35,483 crammed into PNC Park would have shared this same sentiment in that same moment as the man on the mound: "It's about time."

Those were Cole's first three words to me after his first career complete game provided the undercurrent for the Pirates' 10-1 mauling of the Mariners. He was touched for a run and three hits, whiffing six, walking no one and pinpointing 70 strikes on 94 pitches.

His next few words?

"Honestly, I've been close. I've been close a few times, here and the minors. But I never got it done because I'd always screw something up. I just didn't want to screw this one up."

Small smile.

"Yeah, that's a good feeling, man. A really good feeling. And it's been a while."

All the way back to UCLA, actually. Before Cole blossomed into the nation's top pitching prospect and, ultimately, a no-brainer No. 1 overall draft pick for the Pirates in 2011. Before he rocketed through the system, at least by the Pirates' glacial standards. Before he arrived in Pittsburgh to ace-level expectations and only occasionally satisfied. Before this past year, when, for the first time in his career -- no, his life -- he's been thrown off by injury.

Neal Huntington once told me of how Cole's parents, Mark and Sharon, were among the most diligent and responsible in the baseball sense of any he's encountered. They never allowed their son, at any age, to get misused -- "pitcher abuse" is the industry term, and it's an issue Huntington takes exactly that seriously -- and ensured he took care of himself in every way away from the field, away at school, even now.

And true to that, as well as the "horse" forecasts all around him, Cole grew stronger the more he pitched, blossoming into a 19-8 All-Star last season with a 2.60 ERA, 202 strikeouts and a very equine-like 32 starts and 208 innings.

Call it the Quintuple Crown. He had it all and, at age 24, so much ahead.

Then came January and an inflamed right rib that shut him down after minicamp. Then a spring training in which the rib kept him from any regular repertoire. Then a sluggish April and May in which he failed to top six innings in his first six starts. Then a weird handful of starts in which he was hit hard but mostly survived. And the final kick came with a strained triceps that cost him most of June and July.

He'd never been on a disabled list. Not in the majors. Not in the minors. Not anywhere.

Is it really some mystery as to why he'd been so inconsistent before this?

I brought that up with him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQSSTayQz98

Yep. Nothing more.

This performance was who, at the core, Cole was meant to be.

His ultimate projection, if you will, if that's even fair for anyone of any pedigree, is what's casually called "a horse." It means he's big, he's filled out, he's strong and he's capable of putting up 200-220 innings summer after summer. Think Curt Schilling. Or Dave Stewart. Or going way back, Bob Gibson. You can probably whip up a dozen or more examples, but the list won't be much longer than that. They're a rare breed, the real horses in a rotation.

For all the advancements metrics have made in baseball, above and beyond any sport, there's no cause on which a lifelong baseball man -- whether a GM, a scout, a front-office stats geek, a manager, a coach, and right down to the rank-and-file players -- will concur more universally than on the value of a true "horse" to a team.

Clint Hurdle, whose embrace of philosophies both old and new it outright inspirational, is anything but an exception. He powerfully illustrated as much in his postgame press conference on this night.

I asked Hurdle about Cole's progression, and this was the reply: "I see him working toward being that guy, that staff ace in the league. I see what he's doing to move up. He's still got work to do. But he's working hard to be more efficient, working hard to develop an elite knowledge of the hitters he's facing, especially a stacked left-handed lineup like that."

No kidding. Seattle's lineup had eight left-handed batters, with the heart of the order -- Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Adam Lind -- totaling 57 home runs. The lefties went a combined 3 for 26.

"I think that alone carries a lot of confidence for Gerrit moving forward," Hurdle continued.

And in general?

"He worked all four pitches. He moved the fastball around as well as I've seen. The two-seamer was there all night. The curveball was a factor. Dropped a couple changeups in there. But the big thing is, he goes out there and throws 20 pitches in the first inning, then only 74 the rest of the game."

Yep. After the first, the inning-by-inning pitch count: 6, 7, 15, 9, 8, 6, 9, 14.

"Good outing. Really good outing. He put a foot down out there."

Cole saw it much the same.

"The sinker was really working for me when I needed it. I just felt really good, really strong. And the guys made plays behind me out there. Give them credit."

Some pitchers say that for effect. Cole had ample cause:

And yeah, that last one was David Freese eschewing his inner Cardinal for a behind-the-back flip to Cole's bare hand.

On an ordinary night, that would be the highlight. Or these huge hits:

Oh, for real, an Andrew McCutchen sighting!

With Jung Ho Kang delivering in the same game, it felt almost surreal.

At the same time, what mattered here most wasn't the 10-spot or even the two slumping bats potentially awakening. Cutch and Kang will hit. They've done it forever, and they'll do it again. And even if they don't, the deepest lineup Pittsburgh's seen in two decades will keep digging them out. Offense hasn't been an issue, and it won't be one.

Starting pitching, of course, has been and will continue to be the issue. It might not be solvable, either, especially if Huntington remains under his desk right through the deadline. Francisco Liriano isn't right. Jameson Taillon has been Cole's polar opposite with health. Tyler Glasnow just hit the DL. Jon Niese and Jeff Locke are locked up without a key.

Let's be blunt: Without a rotation, the Pirates are no more than a conditional contender. And if a cavalry comes in any form, it un-conditionally must be led by the No. 45 we just witnessed.

Which he clearly gets.

"We've got a great team, and we know that," Cole said. "You see the way we battle, the big hits, the big plays. We've all just got to do our part."

Or all nine.