These aren’t “tough times” as manager Aaron Boone sometimes refers to them. No, these aren’t just tough times.
The Yankees seem to be in trouble, and if this team wants to get there, they need to start playing like champions.
In other words, we need to wake up.
This team is full of solid, experienced veterans, but they haven’t played like it, and Friday’s 5-3, 10th-inning loss to the arch-rival Red Sox in front of a packed stadium marked a new low in their growing momentum.
The home run he hit off Red Sox pitcher Masahisa Yoshida with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning wasn’t the worst thing that happened, nor was the two-run homer by Sedan Raffaella in the 10th.
The Yankees were 4-14 down in their last 18 games and made what will likely go down as the stupidest play of the year — a double blunder common in high school games — and, to make matters worse, a memorable blunder the day before (more on that below).
After Red Sox first baseman Romy Gonzalez caught Ben Rice’s grounder and tagged out at first for the second out, with runners on first and third and a forced playoff, Anthony Volpe inexplicably slowed down just before reaching home plate to watch DJ LeMahieu run in for the final out of the inning. The younger Volpe ran like he didn’t understand the rules, but the experienced LeMahieu surely knew he was in for a rundown.
If Boone doesn’t want to take the drastic step of removing starters at a time when the team is struggling with personnel issues, maybe it’s time to acknowledge that this isn’t just a “plight,” as he likes to say, and that looking at things in a positive light doesn’t always make things better.
I get it. Getting the press to positively review his players was a winning strategy for Boone.
If this doesn’t work out for Boone, he could still succeed in politics — or even diplomacy.
Boone is expected to explain every mistake and misstep as gently as possible. That works for him — he’s in his seventh season as Yankees manager, making him the longest-tenured manager without a championship — but he can sometimes be too easy on his players, as he was just yesterday.
That may be where we need to step in. A balance is required. A reality check is needed. Genuine honesty is healthy. (More on this below.)
Boone cost the Yankees a base on base on Sunday, but he drew the ire of some fans by almost passing up the apparent nonchalance of Gold Glove reserve center fielder Trent Grisham. (While catching the single, Grisham, normally a fine outfielder, looked like me picking up my 6 a.m. delivery of the Washington Post.) And the next day, Boone continued to suggest that the play was no good because Grisham is talented and plays so effortlessly.
There’s no denying that, but the play was shockingly bad and it was no surprise that it was pointed out.
“I try not to get too emotional about a loss or a win,” Boone explained before Friday’s game. “I’m having the conversations that I think are necessary.”
I’ll give this to Boone. The biggest takeaway is that Boone spoke to Grisham and apparently told him the truth about it. Either way, Grisham got the message, and that’s all that matters.
“We should have made that play,” Grisham told me emphatically.
Boone handled it internally, but after another string of baffling plays, maybe it’s time to try something different.
Running a team requires a series of calculations, and Boone clearly decided long ago to maintain a positive tone when speaking to reporters about his players. Boone is naturally a very kind person (except for the umpires) and is able to see the bright side of any situation, so expressing happiness is not a difficult thing for him.
Now, let’s be real. Since their slump began against Boston three weeks ago, their winning percentage is .222 and it looks like it’s getting worse. In their 11 losses leading up to Friday, they had never led. Not for an inning, not even for a second. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that they hadn’t led in at least 99 innings. That seems about right, given the circumstances.
Meanwhile, Boone on Friday used the word “predicament” to describe the situation over the past few weeks, which is just awful (not a word he would use). I like Boone a lot (and I’m not just being diplomatic), but it’s time someone chose the right words for the situation.
Boone also noted that it’s “unfortunate” to allow home runs because of starting pitchers’ errors, but when major leaguers make mistakes, they turn them into home runs.
Once the most dominant starting pitching staff in baseball, the team has struggled of late, with Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman all declining after impressive starts.
Honestly, there’s not much that could go wrong other than 1) Judge maintaining a Babe Ruth-like pace, 2) Juan Soto not too far off that pace, and 3) Gerrit Cole returning.
Boone talks as if this is just a minor incident, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way.
