Yankees call meeting after embarrassing Red Sox loss but Aaron Boone gets same bad results
NEW YORK — Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked prior to Saturday’s game if he feels like his messaging is still landing with his ball club.
“Yeah, I would say it’s getting through,” Boone said, curtly.
After Friday’s 8-3 loss to Boston, in which the Red Sox scored seven runs in the first two innings against rookie starting pitcher Jhony Brito, Boone called a team meeting. In front of his team, Boone acknowledged the reality they’re facing: The Yankees are in last place and fading fast from the wild-card chase. He reminded them that they needed to keep preparing as they have and to think about why they started playing baseball in the first place. “Because it was fun and you were probably pretty good at it,” Boone told them.
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Rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe told reporters after Friday’s game that he didn’t think the Yankees were having much fun, and who could blame him? The Yankees have now lost seven straight games after Saturday’s 8-1 defeat. The Red Sox are now 7-1 against the Yankees this season, outscoring them 48-19 in those eight games. But prior to Saturday’s clunker, Boone said his team’s morale is good, which makes him believe the Yankees could mount a comeback in the standings.
“We’re OK,” Boone said. “We’re definitely wearing it. It’s not fun going through this. I feel like we’re OK and I feel like a turnaround is coming.”
Luis Urías. Grand Slam Specialist.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 19, 2023
With Saturday’s loss, the Yankees have won one series since July 1, a three-game sweep over the lowly Kansas City Royals. They’ve lost 10 series and split three since July 1. In order to complete a turnaround, the Yankees would have to undergo a complete metamorphosis into a team they haven’t been for 123 games. A reasonable expectation to make the playoffs in the American League likely requires at least 90 wins. To get to 90 wins, the Yankees would have to finish the season 30-9. The 1998 Yankees, which won a franchise-high 114 games and will be honored on Old Timers’ Day next month, finished with a .704 winning percentage in the regular season. Reaching 90 wins this season requires a .769 winning percentage. If you’re the betting type and think that’s happening, save your money for football season.
But Friday’s closed-door meeting was a chance to inject some confidence into the room. It was conveniently timed for the night before Cy Young Award candidate Gerrit Cole took the mound. A Cole gem could give the perception that Boone’s inspirational words made a difference. But the Yankees no-showed half a day later.
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Red Sox second baseman Luis Urías, who entered with a sub-.600 OPS, hit a grand slam off Cole in the second inning to give Boston a 4-0 lead. It wasn’t a poorly executed pitch, but a slider down and away was sent 404 feet into the visitor’s bullpen. Because of how poor the Yankees’ offense has been all season, it felt like the game was over then. And it was. For the third time this week, the Yankees finished a game with fewer than five hits. They had just two: an Aaron Judge solo home run in the sixth inning that broke up Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford’s no-hitter, and a single by Greg Allen in the seventh inning.
This was the 49th time this season an opposing starting pitcher went at least six innings and allowed two or fewer runs against the Yankees’ offense. New York is now 9-40 in these games. But Boone still has faith.
“Because,” Boone said as his voice grew. “That’s what we do. We have no other choice. I don’t not think a turnaround is coming. So we’re just going to get to work and I know it’s a boring answer for you guys, but we got to try and come win a ballgame tomorrow and expect when we walk in those doors, today’s the day. That’s how we look at it. That’s what we are. We’re sick animals in a lot of ways, right? It’s a grind in the sport. We got to come ready to go tomorrow and fight our way through this. And through this, you reveal you find out about people and you get your character revealed and you’ve got to keep showing up and when you’re taking your lumps and it’s not easy, that’s what we continue to do. And we will continue to expect to turn it around.”
The Yankees’ offense is so lost that in the second inning with the team down 4-0, Isiah Kiner-Falefa tried bunting for a hit with Giancarlo Stanton at first base. Kiner-Falefa popped out to catcher Connor Wong and Stanton was doubled off first. Boone defended the decision, saying it was the right call because third baseman Rafael Devers and first baseman Justin Turner were playing back, but in actuality both defenders were in on the corners, possibly anticipating a bunt.
Here's where Devers and Turner were lined up before the pitch was delivered.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) August 19, 2023
Kiner-Falefa said the scouting report showed Crawford had difficulty throwing to first base, which is why he attempted bunting. But predetermining Crawford would mishandle a bunt isn’t good strategy; he had just two errors this season, one on a pickoff attempt and one on a comebacker that he short-armed to first base. But it ultimately didn’t matter. Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Harrison Bader were a combined 0-for-13 with seven strikeouts. Saturday was the third time in the past four games that the Yankees did not get a runner to third base.
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Cole, one of the few positives for the Yankees this year, had his worst start of the season, allowing six runs in four innings. His ERA jumped to 3.03 on the season and Saturday’s outing may ultimately hurt his Cy Young Award chances, especially if Toronto’s Kevin Gausman continues excelling and leads the Blue Jays to a playoff berth. The Yankees are now 5-8 in the past 13 games started by Cole, a result that just can’t happen for a team with championship aspirations.
“I don’t recall experiencing anything like this before in my career,” Cole, who once pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, said when asked how he’s feeling about the state of the team. “How you handle adversity and how you get through this is ultimately how you get judged.”
The Yankees are in desperation mode but nothing is seemingly working. They’ve tried different lineup combinations but have gotten similarly poor results. They’ve used openers instead of traditional starting pitchers. They’ve called a team meeting. Fan discontent is at an all-time high. Meanwhile, the front office hasn’t called up prospects such as Everson Pereira, who hit a mammoth 476-foot home run on Saturday with the Triple-A team, to try and create a spark or, if anything, try something different. The Yankees don’t have anything to lose at this point because he would retain his rookie eligibility for next season. And, at this point, giving fans a sneak peek at what they may be able to look forward to in 2024 is better than worrying about 2023, because the Red Sox have effectively ended any hopes of a turnaround the Yankees claim is coming.
“There’s high expectations when you put this uniform on,” Boone said of Yankees fans’ outrage. “We feel the same frustration but we’re also tasked with in the arena every day of having to go get after it and that’s where we have to keep our focus. But I certainly understand that anger. It’s no fun going through it.”
(Photo of Gerrit Cole after allowing a two-run homer to Connor Wong in the fourth inning: Wendell Cruz / USA Today)
