Cone combines the old-school mentality of baseball with the new-school knowledge of analytics. He can be smart and funny. He has mastered what he once did on the mound, changing speeds. YES’s head of production and programming John Filippelli describes him as “unpredictable.”

“He’s as good as there has ever been, in my mind,” Filippelli says.

Cone’s angst has faded, but there is a lingering question: Is there more for him to do in the game?

Two years ago, he interviewed for a job as Yankees pitching coach, and while general manager Brian Cashman told him he didn’t have the necessary technological experience, it is hard to believe — considering Cone’s Cy Young awards, his five All-Star appearances, his five World Series rings, his time as an MLB Players Association rep and his knowledge of sabermetrics — an organization wouldn’t want him to run its team, dugout or pitching staff.

“He could be a general manager, a manager, he could obviously be a coach,” Filippelli says, “There isn’t any aspect of the game that he couldn’t work in and excel.”

According to a report by the New York Times, five women will serve as the on-air broadcast team a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays on July 20, marking the first time an all-women team has handled the entire broadcast for a Major League game.

Orioles radio play-by-play announcer Melanie Newman will be on the call for the game, with MLB.com writer Sarah Langs serving as the color analyst. Alana Rizzo will be the on-field reporter, with Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner anchoring both pre and post-game coverage.

The all-female commentary team will be serving on a prominent matchup, as the Orioles and the Rays will be playing in the MLB Game of the Week on YouTube. While female commentators have become commonplace at both the major and minor league levels, this marks what is believed to be the first time an all-female crew has called a game at the Major League level.

Why are Don Orsillo, Mark Grant, Jesse Agler and Tony Gwynn Jr. left to cross fingers that directors, producers and camera crews in road markets deliver the right vantage point at the right time to cleanly call games for one of the most anticipated seasons in the history of the franchise?

For a minority of teams, the answer rests with baseball’s COVID-19 protocols that require teams to reach the 85 percent vaccination threshold before restrictions loosen.

MLB spokesman John Blundell said this week that once that number is met, the league is “encouraging home clubs to make accommodations for visiting club broadcasters” while “it is up to the individual club to determine how those broadcasters travel to (and) from the visiting ballpark.”

The Padres are one of seven teams short of the standard, MLB confirmed.

Padres CEO Erik Greupner said his team is “right at the cusp” as it waits on a player or two to reach that 14-day mark after second shots. The situation remains fluid, though, because players come and go on the 26- and 40-man rosters.

Greupner emphasized MLB protocols, to the club’s thinking, are the main obstacle standing in the way of in-person, road coverage.

“The last thing the Padres are going to do is pinch a penny when we could be sending our broadcasters,” he said. “We’re not going to do that.”

That sounds like Agler and Gwynn could be headed out soon. But why is regional rights holder Bally Sports, under the umbrella of TV giant Sinclair, saying it’s possible none of the broadcasters among its 16 MLB markets will return this season?

Fair question. The unspoken answer, without much doubt: The company that shares revenue and expenses with teams it covers saves a blizzard of bucks across the fiefdom.

Why not roll the dice to learn if it can get away with a subtle dilution of the product without stirring up too many hornets? Go ahead and dip a toe in the water to see if viewers notice or care. If there’s no squeak coming from the wheel, maybe it’s a long-term cost savings opportunity?