The Yankees had a day off after taking two out of three from the historically-bad White Sox. Next up, a series against a fifth straight opponent headed home in October.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Yankees.
1. The Yankees’ 10-2 drubbing of the White Sox on Wednesday was a welcome sight and result, even if those who watched the game didn’t find it completely enjoyable as the White Sox led 2-1 in the seventh inning.
After going home run, home run, home run, walk on Tuesday, Juan Soto homered in his first at-bat of the game on Wednesday, and later on, Aaron Judge became the fastest player to 300 home runs in terms of at-bats in history (it was really his 301st home run as he had a home run incorrectly ruled a triple back in 2017). Everyone in the heart of the order homered as Austin Wells went back-to-back with Judge in the eighth inning.
2. Wells has been so good this season. His OPS is up to .773 and it’s .845 since April 23. He has a .938 OPS since July 13, which is the first day he became the everyday catcher with Jose Trevino going on the injured list. It turns out giving a player who has had regular, everyday at-bats his entire life those regular, everyday at-bats leads to improved performance. Who could have known?
3. Wells has solidified the cleanup spot (at least against right-handed starters, as Aaron Boone continues to use Giancarlo Stanton as the cleanup hitter against left-handed starters), but the Yankees still have a leadoff problem. It would be wise to give Wells a run as the leadoff hitter, but wise and Boone don’t exactly go together, so I’m sure we will see more of the Alex Verdugo/Gleyber Torres leadoff platoon, because why wouldn’t you want to give the most possible plate appearances to your two worst hitters?
4. The series win over the White Sox was the minimum acceptable result against a team that is on pace to be the worst in history, but I don’t think any Yankees fan feels any better about the team than they did before they went to Chicago and beat a team everyone beats (the White Sox are 2-26 in their last 28 games). The free fall was put on hold after the five straight wins over the Red Sox and Phillies and the all-out collapse seems to be over for good, but the Yankees have a lot of work to do between now and the 163rd game they will play this season, which brings us to some reader questions …
5. When does “It’s right in front of us!” change to “Where did it go?” – Floyd
I always view “It’s right in front of us” as the Yankees making the postseason since it seems that is what Boone is referring to when he says it. We know the Yankees’ organization goal has fallen from winning a championship to simply reaching the postseason, so it makes sense to think that’s what “It’s right in front of us” is tied to. Boone first used the phrase in 2022 when the team’s 14 1/2-game division lead dwindled down to a single game in the loss column. The Yankees rebounded to hold on to the division, but were thoroughly embarrassed in the ALCS that season. Last season, the phrase made a return, but it quickly went from “It’s right in front of us” to “Where did it go?” The Yankees’ season was over in mid-July after Clay Holmes had the biggest ninth-inning meltdown of his career in Miami and the team never recovered.
When the league went to the six-team format two years I figured the Yankees would never miss the postseason again. I didn’t think they would miss it in the second season of the format. The Yankees aren’t going to miss the postseason this season like they did last season. Their five-game winning streak against the Red Sox and Phillies at the end of July made sure of it. Barring a monumental collapse, we won’t have to hear “It’s right in front of us” again this season, so it will never turn into “Where did it go?” this year, in terms of making the playoffs.
6. Why does Aaron Boone try so hard to be positive about everything, when we, the fans that watch the games see otherwise? – Jim
Boone’s positivity stems from him thinking he is protecting his players, even if his ridiculous quotes and inaccurate evaluations of their performances does more harm overall than good. For instance, Boone thinks if he tells the media Nestor Cortes had “good stuff” after he got pulled in the fourth inning of a start that it’s better for the media, Yankees fans and public to think he’s a delusional clown than it is for everyone to think he’s being hard on his starting pitcher. I don’t know why Boone can’t simply tell everyone that what he saw is what they saw. It’s not like his be-positive-no-matter what persona has worked. The team hasn’t reached the World Series during his tenure, has failed to meet every expectation during that time and is coming off the franchise’s worst season in three decades. Boone hasn’t changed, evolved or improved as a manager in now his seventh season. It’s both worrisome and scary that he thinks what he’s doing is working. He has two division titles in six years, had to play in two wild-card games, lost in the ALDS twice and the ALCS twice and missed the postseason once. He is solely judged by the fanbase on how the team performs in October, which brings us to …
7. Brian Cashman will always be in the Yankees organization, what will it take for Boone to be terminated? – Dave
I had this exact conversation over text message with friend John Jastremski (formerly of WFAN and now of The Ringer) two days ago. To me, I think all Boone has to do is win the division and his option for 2025 will be picked up. You would like to think he would have to at least reach the World Series in his seventh try at it to be the Yankees manager in 2025, but obviously the bar for success is much lower than that for his boss (Brian Cashman) and his boss’ boss (Hal Steinbrenner). Boone’s contract was up after the 2021 season, a season in which the Yankees were favored to win the World Series and instead finished third in the AL East and fifth in the AL and their postseason was one game, and he was given a new contract. Since getting that new contract, Boone endured a second-half free fall in 2022 and was swept in the ALCS after using “highlights” from the 2004 ALCS as motivation from his team. The next year the team had their worst season in 30 years and missed the postseason. This season, the team has played poorly since mid-June and may not win the division and would end up in the best-of-3 wild-card series. If the Yankees don’t win the division and lose in that best-of-3 series, I don’t think his option gets picked up. But if the Yankees win the division or just reach the ALDS (even if they lose in the ALDS), I think it’s a guarantee his option gets picked up for as sad as that is.
8. Why do the Yankees play down to their competition? – Michael
Over the last two weeks, the Yankees went 7-5 against the Blue Jays, Angels, Rangers and White Sox. All four of those teams are counting down the days until Game 162, so their miserable seasons can end. The Yankees should have done much better than they did against those four opponents. August was supposed to be their chance to create separation from the Orioles and give themselves better than a 50/50 chance to win the division. August is now half over and the Yankees have the same record as the Orioles. They have failed to take advantage of their weak schedule.
The Yankees are poor at situational hitting, have an inconsistent and top-heavy lineup, a bad bullpen and a mediocre rotation. They make sloppy mistakes in the field and on the bases and have a manager who puts the team at a disadvantage in late-and-close games. Add all of that together and talent and payroll don’t matter when you’re playing inferior teams.
There is still time for the Yankees to pad the win column this month with the Tigers, Rockies and Nationals on the schedule, it just won’t be what it could have been. “It just won’t be what it could have been” is a good way to summarize the Boone Yankees era.
9. How do we reconcile all the flaws we KNOW this Yankee team has with the reality that it’s also in first place with one of the best records in MLB? – Chris
There is no great team in the majors this season with no clear favorite to win it all. There’s usually one or two teams that are inarguably better than every other team, but not this season. Since June 14, the Yankees are 23-29. For one-third of the season they have played .442 baseball and are still tied for the most wins in the majors with 72. That shouldn’t be possible given how bad they have been for so long.
It’s both good and bad the Yankees are in their position. It’s good because despite their poor play for two months they have the same record as the Orioles and can win the division. It’s bad because while they have played poorly, so have the Orioles, and the entire team, coaching staff, front office and ownership have shown a lack of urgency in their play and management because their standing hasn’t changed. After every loss, Boone and at least one player of his will mention how the team is still in a great position, and it’s because the Orioles have been as a big of a mess as the Yankees. That doesn’t make it OK. The Yankees shouldn’t feel good about themselves and their record because the Orioles failed to run away with the division over the last two months. The Yankees should feel that they failed to run away with the division over the last two months.
10. The Orioles played on Thursday and beat the Red Sox 5-1. The win puts the Orioles at 72-50 on the season, just like the Yankees. But because the Orioles hold the head-to-head tiebreaker (6-4), if the season ended today, they would have a bye to the ALDS and the Yankees would play in the best-of-3 wild-card series. (It turns out the ninth-inning meltdown loss in Baltimore in the last game before the All-Star break was a big deal.)
The Yankees have a much easier schedule from here on out than the Orioles, but with the Yankees going 7-5 against the Blue Jays, Angels, Rangers and White Sox over the last two weeks, it doesn’t matter who the Yankees play, no win is easy to come by for this team, and that holds true for this weekend against the Tigers.
Last modified: Oct 24, 2024
