ABSTRACT:

ARLINGTON – David Cone looks you in the eye and tells you he isn’t hurt and you are left without any other option but to believe him because he has never been a very good liar.

That, however, doesn’t explain why he has been spanked in two of his last three starts. Nor does it give a reason why Joe Torre is contemplating skipping the heart and soul of his rotation for a start.

I the 36-year-old Cone isn’t hurt, could he be fatigued? Have the dog days of August drained life from Cone’s fastball, removed the teeth from his slider and robbed his splitter of movement? …