Could the Yankees be done before April?

Over the years, Yank fans have learned to skillfully decipher bits of franchise lore. For example: 

Whenever the Yankees claim to be "all in" on a free agent, it means they will finish 2nd in the bidding war. (See HARPER, Bryce; MACHADO, Manny; SOTO, Juan; et al.)

Whenever the Yankees tout a no-name prospect for the opening day lineup, it means he is a goner. (See DURBIN, Caleb; FLORIAL, Estevan; ESTRADA, Thairo; et al.)

Whenever a Yankee star goes for an MRI, it means kiss him goodbye. (See COLE, Gerrit; GIL, Luis; COLE, Gerrit. et al.) 

Welp, here we go again... 

In case you missed it, everything we feared could happen - everything we should have expected to happen - it's happening. Remember those high hopes for 2025? That was last week's delirium. Today, across the Yankiverse, we can foresee a season that looks a lot more like 2023 than anything over the last 12 months. (And, in case you blocked it out, we missed the 2023 postseason.) 

Today, one week before the Ides of March, we should beware what's coming. 

Gerrit Cole is getting an elbow scan. For his second straight spring. 

As if to drunkenly ignore the looming sense of dread - a cloud that quickly enshrouded the Yankiverse -  the YES team last night performed courageous happy talk duties on Will Warren's solid spring. Whoopie. And let's not forget Carlos Carrasco! And Allan Winans! Great pickups, Cash. Once again, ahead of the White Sox.

Listen: We can keeping shaking the 8-Ball into next week, but whenever we turn it over, the same message appears:

SIGNS SAY YOU ARE FUCKED. 

I have always argued - often from an unlit bunker - that the New York Yankees historically present a bellwether icon for the state of America. When the Yankees win, the country soars. When they lose, it disassembles. (See VIETNAM; BANKING CRISIS; IRAQ WAR; et al.)  

Last fall, believer it or not, the Yankees actually won something: The AL pennant. They reached the world series. Then, kaboom. That journey ended so horrifically - so embarrassingly -  that it left us traumatized and blind. Despite the success, all we remembered was pain. 

Then, over the winter, we couldn't outlast the Mets in a bidding war - something that, throughout American history, was unthinkable. And today, we all know the reality.

These days, nothing cannot not happen. 

So, Cole will get an MRI. Add him to the list of things we have lost: Our best lefty hitter. Our righty DH. Our best young starter. The guy we hoped would claim 3B. A host of bullpen lug nuts. Positive memories of October. A sense of hope...

Nope. We're limping through March as if it's late August, and we're desperately awaiting a bus from Scranton. The YES happy talk brigade is on Full Gush Mode. The courtiers will be in denial. But the Yankiverse knows. It's happening.