The Yankees got smacked around by the Braves on Monday night. They are now 60-59 — one game over .500, three games back in the loss column for last place in the AL East and five games back in the loss column for the final AL wild card.
It is not what you want. But the Bombers have had bad seasons before. They have missed the playoffs before. As long as they manage to win 82 games and avoid their first losing season in forever, people will move on rather efficiently. At least from the on-field portion of the debacle. The real damage wrought this year is off the field.
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The Yankees have a colossal credibility crisis on their hands. You cannot believe a single thing they do or say. Because they deceive, they gaslight, they lie, they obfuscate, they spin. Case in point: Manager Aaron Boone’s latest postgame press conference:
Aaron Boone says the Yankees have “probably” made less base running mistakes than most of the league
He says their mistakes just stand out more because they’re in a lot of close and low-scoring games pic.twitter.com/RIYZcDCMFh
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 15, 2023
We do not make many mistakes. But when we do make mistakes, we make them at critical junctures that cost us ballgames.
Look, it does not even matter that Boone is full of it and the Yankees are objectively bad running the bases. Coaches and managers are always argumentative when it comes to discussing their team’s deficiencies. But the fact Boone basically blames the world for acting like the Yankees are bad at something because they only screw up when things are important? It is a slap in the face to anyone who pays attention to this team. And the fans — the paying customers — are at the front of that line.
This Boone chestnut is well down the list of 2023 nonsense, too. This is a team that somehow missed the fact Anthony Rizzo was concussed for two months, after all. And that claimed it was all-in after cheaping out on Randal Grichuk. Not to mention all the other BS that runs together at this point.
The Yankees are almost assuredly going nowhere as long as general manager Brian Cashman and Boone remain employed. We have known that for some time. But the loss of hope is not what makes everything completely unravel. The loss of trust does. And that is where the Bombers are. They don’t win on the field and you cannot take them seriously off it. That is a toxic combination. And one they will not be able to shake anytime soon. If and when things go completely off the rails as summer turns to fall and then winter, remember moments like this one. There are so many bridges that must be rebuilt between the fanbase and the organization. And there is zero reason to have any faith the Yankees know where to start. Or even care to try.
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
