Yankees Continue Tumble in Standings

The Yankees came oh so close to a winless week, but their six-game losing streak finally ended Sunday with a victory over the Mets. Honestly, my reaction to that was big deal. This team is a hot mess right now, one win fixes nothing in my eyes because the problems are so abundant, and the manager continues to be an idiot who should be fired. Lets get to it. 

If you truly need an example of how ridiculous it is that Aaron Boone is still the manager of the Yankees, still the man steering this team into the abyss, this comment the other day courtesy of Jazz Chisholm should crystallize things for you.

After the Yankees finished off their embarrassing four-game sweep in Toronto, Chisholm revealed that Boone spoke to the team in the clubhouse and he told them, “We’re the best team in the league. We knew we were going to hit a speed bump, but just block out the noise and go out there when we get back home in New York and just do what we do.”

I’ll assume most of you read that somewhere because it made the rounds on social media, and when you read it, did it leave your jaw resting against your chest? Boone is delusional, he really is, and I find it pathetic that he needs to treat major league players like they’re little kids in need of a pat on the back.

He’s like the team mom in Little League, and I would not be surprised if after every loss he hauls out a bag of orange slices and a cooler full of Capri Sun to pass out to his players. I remember that tradition from when I coached Little League, and sometimes it was the kids’ favorite part of the night. Hey, maybe it’s the favorite part of game night for the Yankees, too.

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And how inspiring was Boone’s message when the Yankees returned to New York - albeit Citi Field and not Yankee Stadium? They proceeded to lose the first two games of the Subway Series to the Mets, doing so in mostly embarrassing fashion.

They won on Sunday. Hip, hip, hooray. I’ll get to that down below. Now the question becomes, will that sweep-avoiding victory turn this sinking season around? I have my doubts based on what we saw in the previous three-plus weeks.

Through Saturday, the Yankees had lost 16 of 22 games which included two separate six-game losing streaks. Since May 28 when they had their seven-game lead, the Yankees have gone 14-21 and they’re now trailing by three games in the division. Yet Boone had the gall to blow smoke up everyone’s ass by saying this is the best team in the league. It’s almost incomprehensible how poorly this team has played, and this dipshit thinks everything is fine.

How bad were things before Sunday? The Mets started Justin Hagenman and Frankie Montas in the first two games and won. The same Mets who were swept by the Pirates last weekend and were outscored 30-4.

I’m always someone who puts the bulk of the praise or blame on the players because they’re the ones who on the field. But my issue with Boone is that he does not put his players in the best positions to succeed, whether through his idiotic lineup juggling, his bullpen decisions, or just his general game management style. He never seems to have a feel from day to day, and sometimes it’s batter to batter.

That, and the fact that the Yankees continue to be one of the most fundamentally challenged teams in MLB which is on Boone and his coaches. Their situational hitting, whether moving runners forward or driving them in when they’re in scoring position, is usually terrible. Their hitters often have no control of the strike zone and swing at pitches out of the zone but then take meatballs right down the middle. The approaches are always flawed and that’s not just the young guys, especially when they’re behind in the count. And on the base paths, as John Stirling famously said last year, “they run the bases like they’re drunk.”

On defense, some of the pitch calling is questionable, the catchers have virtually no chance to throw out base runners, and with guys playing out of position or changing positions so much, rarely do they play a clean game in the field.

There’s just too much shit hitting the fan right now, and it’s really tough to see the Yankees getting it all back together, especially with their starting rotation in tatters and the bullpen overused and running on fumes.

July 4: Mets 6, Yankees 5

➤ Marcus Stroman is not a good pitcher anymore. He’s a disaster waiting to happen every time he takes the mound. But he has now made two starts since his lengthy layoff and in both he gave the Yankees a chance to win. Last weekend they did win, 12-5 over the A’s, and in the opener against the Mets he left after five innings with a 5-3 lead. Seriously, that’s as good as it’s going to get with Stroman these days so I have no complaints about how he performed. Yes, giving up a two-run homer to Juan Soto in the first inning after Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge went back-to-back in the top half really sucked, but thereafter he was fine.

➤ Sadly, the same cannot be said about the bullpen. Wow, what a dumpster fire. Luke Weaver is lost right now, and my greatest fear with him has always been that at some point he was going to revert back to who he’s been for most of his career, and maybe that is happening. Remember, before he came to the Yankees late in 2023 he’d been a stiff, first as a starter and then later as a reliever with a career ERA of 5.14. Something clicked in New York and until the last couple weeks he’d been outstanding in whatever role the Yankees had for him, but maybe the hitters have caught up to him. He pissed away a 5-4 lead in the seventh when he walked Pete Alonso and then served up the game-winning two-run homer to that pest Jeff McNeil.

➤ That felt avoidable, too. Tim Hill had mowed down the last man in the sixth and the first two in the seventh but in typical Boone fashion, he took him out with two outs and no one on base so Weaver could face Alonso, a right-handed hitter. Look, I get the whole platoon thing, but once again, Boone can’t read the god damn room. Weaver has been awful lately. Hill used only 10 pitches to retire three men, so why take him out? Give him the chance to get Alonso, and if he gets on, then McNeil is a lefty and you have a favorable matchup for Hill in that spot. Then give Weaver a clean eighth inning. Nope. Boone brought in Weaver who promptly gave up his third homer in his last three appearances. Since returning from his hamstring injury, Weaver has a 13.50 ERA in seven games, but focusing on just the last three games his ERA is 32.40, six earned runs in 1.2 innings.

➤ Dominguez batted leadoff and had a nice day with two homers - he hadn’t homered since May 21 - and he also drew a walk. The second homer came in the fifth and gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead. The shocking thing was that after Dominguez had four hits Thursday, Boone didn’t sit him down. Hey, that’s progress. In the fourth, Cody Bellinger also homered, but that was the entirety of the Yankees offense, all five runs coming on four homers. They only had four other hits and just two at bats with runners in scoring position, and of course they both resulted in nothing.

What they said in Friday’s clubhouse

• Weaver: “I think at this point I’ve got two options. I can sulk and feel bad for myself, or I can foundationally grind and find a way to just be flat-out better. Flat-out better for myself, for my teammates and for this team in general, for the fans. I don’t want to be too hard on myself, but at the end of the day, I mean, what else is there? I mean, I have to be able to process it and competitively, it’s just devastating.”

• Boone on Dominguez: “I love his at-bats. He’s getting massive results now and hitting the ball incredibly hard, especially the last two days. He’s just getting more comfortable. This is who I feel he is as a hitter. We’ve seen this over the years and had this expectation for him.”

July 5: Mets 12, Yankees 6

➤ This was pretty simple. The Yankees hit three more homers by Chisholm, Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe (yes, Volpe actually did something), but they produced only three runs because they were solo shots. The Mets hit three homers, too, and the result was eight runs because Brandon Nimmo hit a grand slam and Pete Alonso hit a two-run shot off Carlos Rodon, and Alonso hit a three-run bomb off Jayvien Sandridge. Simple math will tell you that with the same three swings, eight runs is better than three. Ninety of the Yankees’ 138 home runs this season have been solo shots which is pretty crazy.

➤ Rodon stunk, and it appears the same thing is happening to him this year as did last year. Remember in 2024, he made six starts between June 15 and July 14, the Yankees lost all six and his ERA was 9.67. Well, here we are again. In his last six starts, the Yankees have lost five and his ERA is 5.34, and that’s only because there was one really good start mixed in when he pitched six scoreless innings against the Reds.

➤ Within 18 pitches the Mets were up 4-0 thanks to two walks, a double and Nimmo’s grand slam. In the second, after the Yankees had gotten one run back on Chisholm’s homer, Rodon gave up an unearned run thanks to yet another awful error by Chisholm. And then in the fifth, Alonso’s two-run dinger put the game out of reach at 7-2.

➤ The Yankees bullpen then threw more gas onto the fire in the final three innings allowing five earned runs among Scott Effross, Sandridge and JT Brubaker, the ultimate terrible trio. During the six-game losing streak, the bullpen has allowed 27 runs (25 earned) for an ERA of 11.25.

➤ And what was the worst part of this? The Yankees lost a game with Rodon on the mound, facing Mets starter and infamous Yankee flameout Frankie Montas. Yes, the Yankees couldn’t beat Frankie Montas who gave the Mets 5.2 innings and “lowered” his ERA to 6.14. It doesn’t get much worse when this bum beats you.

➤ I spoke too soon about Boone screwing around with Dominguez. After his nice night in the leadoff spot Friday, Boone - for reasons only he understands - dropped him to sixth in the order so that Trent Grisham could lead off. Why? Dominguez has been one of their most consistent hitters through all this losing and he has the kind of speed you want on the bases. I just don’t understand why Boone can’t stick to a batting order and let guys get into a groove but again, this is who Boone is.

➤ Can we blame Boone for how sloppy the Yankees were in the field? I’m on a roll, so why not. As I said, he’s not on the field botching plays, but coaching the fundamentals should be part of a manager’s job, and this team continues to fail at the little things that are so important to winning baseball games and it has been a problem for pretty much the entire Boone era. In the first inning Dominguez misplayed the first hit of the game, failing to catch a very catchable ball in left. Then Chisholm was twiddling his thumbs when Wells threw down for a pickoff and Chisholm was 10 feet behind the bag. Then Chisholm had his terrible throwing error that led to the run in the second. And in the seventh, Trent Grisham booted a ball in center that gave an extra base to the Mets.

➤ Of course, this shitty day began with the obvious news that Clarke Schmidt needs Tommy John surgery, so once again, the Yankees can’t rely on him and we won’t see him until 2027. What sucks is that when he’s been healthy, Schmidt has, for the most part, been very good and he was really pitching well this year. Although they haven’t made anything official, it appears Cam Schlittler will get called up Tuesday and be given the first crack at that open rotation spot.

➤ The Yankees also announced the signing of third baseman Jeimer Candelario and sent him to Triple-A, which is where he belongs anyways. Once a top prospect, he’s been mediocre-to-bad his entire career with the Cubs, Tigers, Nationals and Reds. This year he was hitting .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games before he hurt his back, and when he returned, the Reds released him, more willing to eat $23 million than to play him. Apparently, the Yankees think they can fix the 31-year-old.

What they said in Saturday’s clubhouse

• Rodon: “A lot of misses today, and they punished them. Obviously, we fell short again, and the performance by me was very subpar, so I didn’t put us in position to win. I should have been better at my craft, but today, I just wasn’t good enough.”

• Boone: “Right now we’ve gotta prevent runs better. That’s what’s kind of hurt us this week. We’re swinging the bat, we’re putting some points on the board, but it’s been a tough week for us slowing down some offenses.”

July 6: Yankees 6, Mets 4

➤ Bellinger saved this game, plain and simple. It was 6-4 in the seventh and Mark Leiter was doing what he does - pitching himself into trouble. He hit Lindor with a 3-2 pitch, and then Soto hit a sinking liner to left. Bellinger made a fantastic shoestring catch and then threw a bullet to first to double up Lindor. If he doesn’t catch that ball, it’s first and second with no outs and I have no doubt the Yankees would have gone on to lose this game.

➤ And had they lost a game in which Max Fried was handed a 5-0 lead, I might have thrown my computer into the trash and ended Pinstripe People right there. I don’t know if I had it in me to recap another nightmarish loss, but the awful bullpen found a way to hang on, so the newsletter lives.

➤ Wells hit a solo homer in the third, and then in the fourth the Yankees actually manufactured two runs thanks to a Stanton double, singles by Bellinger and LeMahieu, and two productive run-scoring outs. Imagine that. And then Judge hit a two-run homer in the fifth that made it 5-0.

➤ Fried was not great, though. He threw a ton of pitches and after giving up two runs in the fifth, he prevented real trouble by retiring Soto and Alonso which was the biggest moment of the game, at least until Bellinger’s play. Boone sent Fried out for the sixth but he hit Nimmo with his first pitch, his 98th, so Boone yanked him, meaning the bullpen needed to get 12 outs. That felt impossible, especially how it started because Jonathan Loaisiga came in first and sucked, giving up three straight hits that made it 5-3. Fortunately, he induced a double play which scored the fourth run, and then got Starling Marte on a fly ball.

➤ Singles by Goldschmidt and Grisham led to Judge’s sacrifice fly for a big insurance run in the seventh, and after Leiter survived the seventh thanks to Bellinger, Tim Hill and Devin Williams closed it out. Williams benefited from some terrible strike calls by the home plate ump but hey, he was terrible all day so we’ll take those.

What they said in Sunday’s clubhouse

• Boone on Bellinger’s play: “Considering the context of this week and everything, that’s probably our play of the year so far.”

• Bellinger: “It was definitely a tough play; those ones are low and kind of hard to read. But in that moment, I felt like I could go get it. It was going to be a close play. I had a good beat on it, a good jump. I was just glad I was able to get it before it hit the ground.”

• Fried: “We’re still a very confident bunch. It’s nice to get a win after being on a little bit of a losing streak, but that’s the way we want to do it. It’s a good team win. It took everyone to get it.”

We all get a day off Monday from the irritation of paying any attention to the Yankees, but then it’s back to the grind Tuesday as they begin the final week before the much-needed All-Star break with three games at Yankee Stadium against the Mariners.

Seattle is always an underachieving team, one that has made the postseason just once (2022) since 2002. This year they’re puttering along at 48-42 and trail the relentless Astros by seven games in the AL West while holding the last wildcard spot, but they just swept the Pirates and threw three consecutive shutouts. Of course, the Mariners scored only eight runs all weekend themselves. As I said, this is a weird team.

Here are some of the Mariners top players to watch:

➤ C Cal Raleigh: Holy smokes, this guy is having a season and he must be drooling to face the Yankees. He leads MLB with 35 homers, leads the AL with 74 RBI, and his 1.021 OPS trails only Judge. This is a catcher we’re talking about.

➤ LF Randy Arozarena: The former Rays pain in the ass who has had many big moments against the Yankees is second on the Mariners in homers (14) and OPS (.801).

➤ CF Julio Rodriquez: Given all the hype about this guy, he’s still underwhelming as a hitter with a .695 OPS, though he does have 43 RBI and 15 stolen bases while playing elite defense.

➤ SS JP Crawford: Exactly the kind of leadoff hitter the Yankees wish they had as he leads the Mariners with a .385 on-base percentage thanks to 91 hits and 51 walks.

➤ RP Andres Munoz: No one knows who the guys is, but he’s one of the best closers in MLB with 21 saves, a 1.06 ERA and 0.824 WHIP.

The pitching matchups are scheduled to be:

• Tuesday, 7:05, YES: Will Warren (5.02 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (3.40) in the first game where the Mariners will have a big advantage on the mound as Gilbert is one of the best pitchers in MLB and has a 0.954 WHIP in 10 starts after he began the season on the injured list.

• Wednesday, 7:05, Amazon Prime: Cam Schlittler (MLB debut) vs. Logan Evans (2.96). Schlittler is taking the spot of Clarke Schmidt, while Jones, a rookie, has allowed too many baserunners, but he’s been great at preventing them from scoring.

• Thursday, 7:05, YES: Marcus Stroman (7.45) vs. Bryan Woo (2.77) who has a 0.960 WHIP and when he faced the Yankees on May 13 he threw 6.1 scoreless innings. Scoring runs is going to be hard against this team.