It is now 13 games through the New York Yankees' season and with that comes some early season overreactions. Baseball presents more of these than perhaps any other sport due to the 162-game schedule. I know, this season isn't 162 games, but you get the point.

Because of the long, strenuous schedule, even the game's best are bound to go through multiple slumps and struggles throughout the season. The New York Yankees and their fans are always subject to criticism and overreactions. That remains the case in 2022, as the Yanks are 7-6 to begin the season.

3 Yankees Overreactions

1. Gerrit Cole is no longer an ace

Gerrit Cole was signed to a nine-year, $324 million deal in December of 2019. With that contract, there came massive expectations for Cole. He began his Yankees career by finishing fourth in the AL Cy Young voting in his first season in 2020. Cole followed that up with a second-place finish in the Cy Young voting last season, along with making the AL All-Star team. Despite the success, he's had his struggles with the Yanks. The MLB's cracking down on the usage of spider tack and other substances particularly affected Cole for a few weeks. After bouncing back, Cole laid a dud in the AL Wild Card game.

That start has seemingly carried over to this season, as he has a 6.35 ERA in three starts.Those struggles were glorified in his most recent start against the Tigers. While only two runs ended up crossing the plate, it was the shortest start of Cole's career, failing to make it out of the second inning. So why should the Yankees have trust in him? His track record. It's as simple as that when examining his accolade-filled career. Sure, Nestor Cortes Jr. is pitching the best of anyone in the Yankees rotation at the moment, but he's not the ace. The ace is still Gerrit Cole and will be unless these struggles carry into the summer and the All-Star break.

2. Contract situation is affecting Aaron Judge's play

Before the season, Aaron Judge and the Yankees negotiated on a potential contract extension to which came no success. Judge is in the final year of his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent. The two sides seemed to be pretty far apart in discussions, with Judge even saying he'll entertain free agency in the offseason. To the naked eye, Aaron Judge's stats are unappealing a few weeks into the season. In 13 games, the star outfielder is slashing .255/.340/.404 with just one homer and two RBIs.

His underperformance has been a large contributor to the Yankees' offensive struggles. With the lineup not being as deep as in years past, the stars on offense have a larger burden to carry in 2022. Judge is the epitome of this, and he's not done well, yet. On paper, his stats don't look appealing, but the signs still show Judge is elite. His seven barrels are tied for second-most in the majors so far. Judge's average exit velocity is 93.5 MPH, sixth in the league. These numbers suggest he's still hitting the ball and hitting it hard. It's only a matter of time before Judge's numbers start going up, as a hot streak is right around the corner.

3. Aroldis Chapman's closer role in jeopardy

Aroldis Chapman has now been the Yankees closer for six seasons since re-signing with the team in 2016. The writing seems to be on the wall that this season will be his last in pinstripes. In addition to entering free agency, Chapman is 34 years old. The Yankees also have the perfect in-house replacement option in youngster Jonathan Loaisiga. In 2022, Chapman has yet to give up an earned run in 5.1 innings while striking out seven. It hasn't come without the annual criticism though, after a notable blunder against the Blue Jays. Chapman was unable to even get an out, as he walked all three batters he faced.

Thankfully for the Yankees, Michael King came in and managed to get out of the inning unscathed. When things go wrong for Chapman, things go very wrong. When those instances occur, it's always about his control and location, leading to walks in bunches. It's become an increasingly common trend, as Chapman had his worst season in pinstripes in 2021. Despite these areas of concern, Chapman remains one of the league's best and the Yankees' best option. If last season's inconsistencies pop up again, Loaisiga should be looked at. Until then though, Chapman remains the Yankees' best closer.