Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.
The richest pitcher of all time faced perhaps the most challenging opponent of his career—the New York media—on Tuesday. “Have you ever used Spider Tack while pitching?” the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff asked the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole. Or, in other words: Have you ever cheated?
Cole paused. “Um, I don't—I don't know,” he said. “I don't know. It's—I don't know quite—I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest.