Back in 2018, Aaron Nola finished third in CY Young voting, and had the attention of every Phillies fan as the next great pitcher in franchise history.
Fast forward to April 13th, 2022, on a sun soaked afternoon versus the rival Mets at Citizens Bank Park, all are witness to yet another head scratching outing, where the righty would once again struggle with command, and New York would capitalize, forcing Nola out after just 3.1 IP.
The 28 year old certainly isn't a bad starting pitcher. In fact, you could make the argument he's top 25 in baseball, but none would publicly make such a statement, as the righty is as erratic from game to game as the recent weather in the Delaware Valley.
Question is, how much longer do you wait to find out what he truly is, or isn't?
"Spring training is over now. The season is here. Real games are real now. The goal is to go out, and pitch deep into games" Nola said, in frustration following Wednesday's rubber match 9-6 loss to Mets.
Phillies manager Joe Girardi was more dismissive of Nola's latest outing; "I think pitchers are going to go through some of this in the first few weeks just because of the buildup...he'll bounce back."
Look to bounce back has been a common saying for some time whenever Nola has a tough outing. If the Phillies are to be contenders again, Aaron Nola must be something he hasn't the past few seasons, consistent.
If you've run out of patience, the trade deadline is August 2nd.