There was a sound of the table hitting something, although it was an open hand, not a clenched fist.
There were some curses.
There were multiple reads of “It’s in front of us,” which has been a consistent mantra in the face of adversity over the past few seasons.
After one of the most frustrating games of the season in a frustrating and frustratingly long streak of poor performances, some of the traits of a frustrated Aaron Boone were on display.
The Yankees were outplayed in every way by the Mets on Wednesday in the Bronx, continuing their slump by losing 22 of 32 games, and Boone seemed to air his frustration on the stage after the game.
“Nobody in that f**king room has higher expectations than us,” the coach said. “We’re pissed. We’ve got to play better. Enough is enough. It’s very frustrating to go through this, but we know we’re fighting like hell. We’ve got to make sure we go in with the right level of intensity and willingness to fight, because nobody’s gonna get us out of this except for us.”
He was asked what message he had for fans who have witnessed similar mid-season slumps for two consecutive seasons.
“There’s nothing I say that means anything,” Boone said. “We have to do it. I know we can. I know we can get out of this, but that’s all I can tell you right now.”
He has consistently referred to this string of poor performances, which has been going on for about six weeks, as a “streak of poor performances” or a “slump.”
Asked whether such a steep decline over such a long period still qualifies as “long-term,” Boone expressed frustration.
“I can’t define it, but we’ve got to play better,” Boone said, his voice rising. “The game is in front of us. We’re a really good team, but we’ve been playing really badly lately.
“I’m not going to define ‘this or that,'” he said, putting his hand on the table. “We have to go win, and we’re out there. We see teams around us struggling. We know we have to be better. We’re angry. We have a lot of pride. We have high expectations.
“So I don’t care about ‘stagnant performance’, ‘poor performance’ or ‘recent performance’. I just have to play better in the remaining games.”
