Aaron Boone maintained confidence in his team amid their recent skid. His statement makes very little sense.
The New York Yankees, once again plagued by injuries, have lost four straight and seven of their last 10. In the aftermath of Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the rival Boston Red Sox, the Yanks are now 39-33 and 5.5 games behind Baltimore for second place in the highly competitive AL East.
Aaron Judge continues to miss time after injuring his ankle against the Dodgers a couple weeks ago. That is only the latest and most prominent in a long line of setbacks New York has faced this season.
Even so, the talent on the roster is undeniable. The Yankees, per usual, have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. So why isn’t the team performing?
Well, if you ask manager Aaron Boone… the team is performing (???).
Aaron Boone sticks up for New York Yankees despite team’s horrid play
What?
Aaron Boone appears to be encouraging the right mindset in broad strokes: don’t get too high or too low, keep battling at the plate, and the wins will follow eventually. And sure, that’s the approach every team should have — especially if that team wants to compete at the highest level.
The Yankees have the personnel to compete at the highest level. This group is a championship aspirant. But the results aren’t there right now and no, the team isn’t playing well. The Red Sox held the Yanks to one run Sunday night; it came in the first inning. The Yankees went scoreless for eight straight innings to finish the game, which capped off a series sweep.
Boone has always gone to comically extreme measures to support his players. He has no problem getting tossed from a historic quantity of games if it means his players are fired up and available to play. But positivity and supporting your players can only go so far; sometimes genuine introspection and self-criticism is necessary. The Yankees have to play better and it’s Boone’s job to light the fire underneath them.
The MLB season is the longest in American professional sports. It’s natural for a team to undergo lulls over the course of 162 games, especially when injuries are involved. It’s way too early for the Yankees to panic, but the group has to deliver results in the win column. Moral victories don’t count in the standings.