Once it was clear Gerrit Cole was going to miss two-plus months, at minimum, where would the Yankees have signed up for having the second-best record in the AL and being 12 games over .500 one-quarter of the way into the schedule?

How about having that record with Aaron Judge not himself for the first month-plus before his recent surge?

It speaks well of the Yankees. It speaks well in particular to Juan Soto’s acclimation to The Bronx and how terrific the rest of the starters have done in Cole’s stead.

Those starters have been the key to me. There were lots of questions about health, makeup and performance at the dawn of the season. And none of the quintet of Nestor Cortes, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman has missed a start and each has responded with fortitude while carrying the burden without Cole.