Division Series – Kansas City Royals v New York Yankees – Game 1 / Luke Hales/GettyImages

Was Gerrit Cole’s difficult Game 1 due to the Yankees’ long layoff and the abnormal nine days between starts he had to guard against? Sure. That’s what people looking for excuses tend to think.

But Cole knows that any answer other than, “I didn’t look like myself and I didn’t get it done” would be unacceptable to Yankee fans. Because he is a Yankee fan, today, tomorrow, and forever.

He’s also a Yankee in October, which means he got bullied by Yuli Gurriel in Saturday’s playoff opener against the Kansas City Royals. Once Gurriel induced a Cole laugh by flicking his bat at a high heater and fouling it off during his fourth inning marathon at-bat, it was easy to see that the plate appearance wouldn’t end well for the home club. MJ Melendez’s home run a few pitches later surprised no one who’d watched the first hour of the game.

Cole’s curves were sluggish. His fastballs were occasionally sizzling, but typically center-cut. His three swings-and-misses — mostly to Kyle Isbel — told the story of an ace seeking clarity.

And now, if this series is extended long enough to merit an additional Cole appearance after a back-and-forth Game 1 victory, the Yankees will be worried about something they couldn’t bring themselves to give a second thought to entering the series, with so much other uncertainty across the board.

Not nervous yet? Cole’s first start of the ALDS induced this tweet, one of the scariest short poems in the English language:

Yankees’ Gerrit Cole struggled mightily in ALDS Game 1 vs. Royals

That, alone, should be enough to give any fan pause (though, yes, Holmes was awesome in the opener).

Cole isn’t going to give any lip service to conspiracy theories or sleep deprivation or simulated games. He’s going to own his struggles, and he’s going to tell fans and the gathered media that he’ll be sharper next time.

And he probably will be. The Yankees still have enough offensive firepower (theoretically) to weather a few undesirable storms. They certainly did on Friday night.

But the bottom line is, without Nestor Cortes, with Holmes growing crucial, with Luis Gil on the road and with Marcus Stroman being replaced by Duke Ellis, the Yankees didn’t want to think about their ace. Now, they have to. Add it to the weight of this series.