To say the least, it hasnât been a pretty year for the New York Yankees. After starting the season as one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, the Yankees have been brutal over the past few months, sitting at 60-52 and now 4.5 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.Â
Sure, the Yankees are still in the position to make the postseason, but for an organization that has spent as much money as they have and with the bright lights in the Bronx, things need to improve.
Former Yankees players are speaking out
The New York Yankeesâ mental mistakes now carry too much weight to overlook. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have even spoken about them, commenting on Aaron Boone and the rest of the organization.
âThey make way too many mistakes,â Jeter said, per MLB.comâs Bryan Hoch. âAnd you canât get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams. It just doesnât happen. They had baserunning mistakes today â you saw [Trent Grisham] getting thrown out at home plate. You canât continue to do it. You have to clean it up.â
Jeterâs comments are more than fair, and Rodriguez had some stuff to add to that. He noted that if anybody made any mistakes when he was there, theyâd be on the bench.
âIf any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench,â Rodriguez said. âI see mistake after mistake, and thereâs no consequences.â
Will New York wake up after Derek Jeterâs remarks?
Whether this was calling Boone out directly or just hoping the New York Yankees players will respond, itâs not great that two of the best players to ever lace them up in Pinstripes are saying these types of things.Â
However, Boone, as always, had some comments for them. He added that he understands theyâre the Yankees and they need to win games, but he questioned the remarks they made.
âLook, weâre the Yankees,â Boone said. âWhen we lose games, if itâs in and around a mistake, that criticism is fair game. At the end of the day, we have all the pieces to be a really good team. Thatâs on me and all of us to get the most out of that.â
âI would disagree a little bit with the accountability factor, but the reality is, weâre focused every day on being the best we can be,â Boone said. âThatâs how we have to do it. But I understand when it doesnât happen, or we donât have the record that I think we should have, or certainly people think we should have â that comes with the territory.”
Are Aaron Booneâs days in New York numbered?
Some believe the New York Yankees will move on from Boone after the season. Whether it happens or not remains to be seen, and while it might not be fair in some sense, considering there are other flaws on the roster, things will ultimately fall on him.
âThere are no excuses. You have to play better,â Jeter said. âIf you donât play better, you are not going to go very far.â
The New York Yankees are the New York Yankees, and they expect to win.
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