Yankees: No Matter The Spin This Is Really Getting Old And Boring

The Yankees will never have me as one of their media patsies, and there’s no sugarcoating it, no matter how Aaron Boone tries to spin it…

The Yankees offense can no longer be described as sputtering – it’s dead.

They’re a team that should be fun to watch, but no one can convince me to watch them now and over their last twelve games.

As a fan of the Yankees, or any team for that matter, you have to be able to see a hopeful future when things go bad. You hang in there; you wait.

Unless, of course, the team exists to lose, and that becomes the force of nature compelling you to watch, as with the 1962 New York Mets, famed losers of 120 games.

That’s not the case with this Yankees team (yet), but it’s getting darn close as we watch them lose four straight and six of their last ten – with no offense to speak of.

YES, commentator John Flaherty says it better than I – Michael Kay not so much – but here’s their recap following yesterday’s loss 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yankees: Beware – You Are Now Entering The Spin Zone

Contrast that analysis with Aaron Boone‘s take during his meet with reporters following the game.

First of all, note that he never answers the initial question posed to him, which essentially asked what “he can do” that he hasn’t tried to help the Yankees get out of their own way. After that, you can stop the video because the rest of the questions are softballs tossed his way…

Aaron Boone has no answers, and maybe he never did as a manager pulled from the ESPN booth and advertised as a “great communicator.”

Boone mentions he can do “some little things” with certain players, but I can’t help but wonder if all that means is to study and re-study the avalanche of analytics that come his way.

So that, perhaps, he suggests to Clint Frazier, for example, to swing at the first pitch more. Or, to Mike Ford, to get off trying to pull the ball all the time – because the numbers show…and on and on.

Boone can plead with Brett Gardner, who was brought back mainly because of his leadership skills, to take charge in the clubhouse – but Gardner has a myriad of problems himself now, struggling to get over the Mendoza line.

Boone can exchange text with his GM, Brian Cashman, asking for help, but Cashman has no answers either because the depth of the Yankees organization, already ransacked.

Boone’s only recourse and I suspect we’ll see it before week’s end, is to pick on some poor umpire as his scapegoat by charging from the dugout to protest a call – as a reincarnation of his now-famous “My guys are savages” routine.

Inside the clubhouse, however, Aaron Boone is not Bobby Valentine as a get-in-your-face person. He is what he is, and the Yankees (i.e., Cashman) have no choice but to live with it – or cut bait.

The truth of the matter is, though, is that Boone, or any manager, cannot play on the field, and the Yankees, some of whom can no longer be nameless, appear to be mailing it on most days.

Gary Sanchez continues to be the Yankees poster boy for nonchalance behavior. DJ LeMahieu, no matter how you cut it, is a disappointment, and Gleyber Torres is not the athlete everyone thought him to be.

The only Yankees worth their salt are Gio Urshela, who puts on a clinic at third base every day, Aaron Judge, who is replicating his 2017 rookie season, and Kyle Higashioka, who continues to get high marks for his handling of the Yankees’ pitching staff.

The rest deserve a good kick in the butt, but is there to render it?

You can be sure George Steinbrenner would be in the Yankees clubhouse every day, cajoling, criticizing, and reminding his players about the big fat checks he signs for them each month.

And by the way, has anyone seen or heard from Brian Cashman in the last few days…

Here’s What Readers Are Saying…

Mike Harrington Can’t argue with any of your points. They’re boring and painful to watch right now. Usually, on a holiday weekend, I’ll have the game on the tv, or radio streaming to my phone as I grill. On this past weekend, I would check the score occasionally. Couldn’t watch it. It’s truly dreadful when I don’t want to watch the games.

Hubie Mercado I have to agree, the 1990’s mentality will not work with this team and era. Something different had to be done in order to compete with these teams, if not the NY Yankees will not win another WS for the next ten years

Ralph Maffei Why can’t Cashman get us some good young players like the Rays have ????????

Dean JeudyAaron Boone & His Pinstriped Strings

Guy Babineau The Yankees are not a so-so team. Maybe they should look at injury Find some trainers who know what they are doing

Mark Malmut There is absolutely nothing Boone ever says that any layman who understands baseball couldn’t say. You expect more out of a professional MLB manager. It’s time to toss all the analytics and get the team to play hard-nosed baseball. That means getting the coaching staff to drill the players, all of them, on better base running decisions, making contact with the ball and stop trying to yank every pitch out of the park, more time on fielding fundamentals, and hustling down the line on every batted ball put into play. I know all this sounds obvious, but clearly, these are not being done. The players are what they are, but even the best players need very specific coaching on their areas of weakness. Talent-wise, this is a much better team than what we’ve seen over the first two months. The coaching is inadequate and is the easiest thing to address. Author’s Note: Always recommended – Mark is always informative.

John Casale So you can’t watch the team when they’re struggling? You can only watch them when they’re doing great? Part of being a fan is dealing with the struggles of your favorite sports team. We’re 29-25 and fans are acting like we’re 15-39 … Yankee Nation please give me a damn break with this whiny crying “fire everybody and trade everybody” BS. This season is FAR FROM OVER 

I understand the frustration and as a fan, I am concerned too. However, when there are more than 100 games to go and we are only 5 games back in the L column, I really don’t think there is any need to panic. Also, what can Boone really do about this? Sure you can fire him but that will solve nothing and as far as Cashman goes, I don’t get what people want. I feel that he has put a talented team on the field that is capable of winning games. The rest is UP TO THEM  NYY

Elisa Granata- Poitras The Yankees have a few things going on, Just not offensively. Errors are a problem so is pitching. I personally think they are going after the long ball too much. My theory is small ball wins games. They are human beings as well. They do make mistakes.

Mark Anthony Ramirez I would add I think the major reason that offense is down across the board is over analyzation due to the Money Ball method. It was only a matter of time before things would catch up with it. Getting on base is a great idea but you now have an entire generation of hitters who look to walk or hit home runs, which leads to higher strike-out rates. If I were pitching today I would be having a blast eating these fellas alive. Nobody is working on moving runners along by actually hitting. Also, extreme defensive shifts are a huge detriment. So many of today’s hitters are terrible at going the other way. MLB wants to move the mound back and make changes to balance things out quickly. When instead teams should be held accountable for not teaching young hitters how to actually hit. Also, you’re seeing more pitcher injuries because they’re all being taught velocity over movement. It’s a complete mess and what happens when you overcomplicate things and remove the fundamentals from the game. It’s too robotic and there’s no flow. Also the acceptance of guys who barely hit above .200 but walk nearly a hundred times a year. It’s ridiculous. It’s too acceptable to strike out over 150 times a year.

Eric Breeze Didn’t I say this in other words two weeks ago when we saw fans saying analytics and Yankees were going to be in the first place by months end the writing was on the wall a true Yankee fan knew this from the beginning of the season

Ken Walter Getting kicked in the butt by Detroit, now Tampa looking at a sweep. They are leaking oil all over the place. This team sucks. The best thing they do is getting paid. The money is good. Playing well is not a prerequisite to get paid. Thanks, Cashman. Since he signed Stanton, the whole team demeanor has settled into complacency. The players witness everything. Terrible mess.

Ron Leone Cashman has done some good things but a change would be good. Time to GO. We need new blood and new thinking

David J D’Apolito Need to clean house, ie. gm and all coaches as young guys stopped developing when Girardi left

Robert Rosado Herrand Good article this team unwatchable right now. They seem to be just going through the motions. There doesn’t seem to any kind of leadership in the locker room. Boone is in over his head.

Author’s Note

In the interest of a pleasurable read, I’m stopping the publishing of comments, though it hurts to do so as the exchange has been informative.

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