Suddenly, the Yankees look lost. And this is about the time they fell apart last year.

Okay, let's get this over with:

Gerrit Cole hadn't looked this mystified since the last time he motioned for Anthony Rizzo to cover first. 

Bada-boom. 

There. It's done. It's over. Last night, Cole - no longer the Yankee staff ace, but still the Yankee staff face - experienced an old-school whuppin', a trouncin', a thrashin' - (we can throw words on this like wood pallets on a bon fire) - a beatin', a whackin', a wallopin...' He was Frankie Montas, Manny Banuelos, Andrew Heaney, the cast of Lost, the Solid Gold Dancers, the U.S. Congress, the White House reflecting pool, the San Antonio Spurs... whatever.  He pitched 4.1 innings, gave up 9 hits and 5 earned runs. He's now 2-2, with an ERA of 3.62, but but BUT... ignore his first two starts - a magical 12 scoreless innings - and, dear God, you do not want to calculate the ERA. Nope. Stick with the Thesaurus. He's been raked, pillaged, plundered...

And - insert sigh here - we knew this would happen. 

Listen: This isn't Netflix. Sigourny and Charlize are not coming. No superpowered stranger will return to save humanity. This is reality TV, and the cast of Lost is, well, lost.  

The problem: Cole had two great starts, so we ridiculously penciled him back in as Ace. Then came the crash. 

He's now started six games, pitched 32 innings and given up 5 HRs. Last night, the defense didn't exactly help him, but - OMG! - it could have been worse. Every inning, Cole was on the ropes. He doesn't look like the Cy Young starter who once dominated. Honestly, he looks like a guy at the end of those ropes. 

Which brings us to The Question: Can Cole - like Catfish Hunter, Justin Verlander and other greats have done - reinvent himself for a final incarnation? 

Face it: The old stuff isn't working. And if Cole falters, there is no stud pitcher in Scranton ready to replace him. The only replacement might come in a trade - a Cashman trade - need I say more?

Even scarier thought: It's June - when the Yankees last year fell apart. 

It may be happening again.

It's been 23 days since Aaron Judge went out with a fractured rib - (31 since Judge's last HR.) He probably has another month to go. 

It's been 11 days since Trent Grisham tweaked a hamster. Likewise, he's probably halfway to recovery. 

Meanwhile, the Yankees have turned their lineup over to The Martian, Spencer Jones and - mostly - Jose Caballero, playing multiple roles like Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove. Displaced from SS by the enigmatic prodigal son, Anthony Volpe, Cabby's recent OF appearances have been tough. Bad throws. And though he has 17 stolen bases, he's been thrown out 7 times - a 28 percent failure rate. Ouch. (FWIW, Jazz is at 15 percent failures.) 

It's been three days since the Yankees scored more than three runs in a game. Time after time, in critical at bats, they hit first-pitch pop-ups, or take called third strikes - sometimes challenging the call - as Volpe did last night - only to be embarrassed when the entire ball turns up in the zone.

Three straight losses - against tomato cans Cincinnati and Detroit. Three is a speed bump. But four is a streak. Lose tonight - and facing Skrupal for the final game - and history is repeating itself. We all could be standing on the mound, pointing to first. Bada-boom.