On June 14, the New York Yankees became the first team to reach 50 wins, improving to an MLB-best 50-22 following an 8-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. My, oh, my, how things have changed since then, and it might have the temperature rising under manager Aaron Boone's seat.
Once the holders of the best record in baseball, the Yankees are now 54-35, two games back of the Baltimore Orioles (55-32) for first in the American League East. Meanwhile, they're just 4-13 since reaching the half-century mark, and it seems Boone has few answers for the team's struggles.
After the Cincinnati Reds completed a three-game sweep of the Yankees with an 8-4 win on Thursday, Boone refuted questions about his club's confidence. But, aside from saying they needed to play better on "all fronts," he sounded like a manager slowly crumbling under pressure, providing cliché responses similar to those used last season.
"I do sense there are some guys kind of going through it when you're trying to find your way and get that traction going," Boone said via the YES Network. "It's a little bit of a grind right now for a handful of guys—we gotta make sure that, best you can, you weather that storm."
The baseball season is long, and every team will experience ups and downs, though the Yankees' recent downtrend is concerning at best. Meanwhile, Boone's comments might be OK for a team working to find its footing early in the season, but it's July, and New York is going backward, not forward, with seemingly no end in sight.
The Yankees have lost five of the last six series, with the only exception being a four-game split against the Toronto Blue Jays. However, the Reds came to town and quickly erased any potential momentum gained, with a three-game set against their rival and red-hot Red Sox (winners of four straight) looming.
Meanwhile, aside from star Aaron Judge, just about everyone on the Yankees is in a slump.
In mid-June, New York owned an overwhelming +134 run differential. But, thanks to lackluster pitching and a largely punchless offense, it's fallen to +96, fifth in MLB.
Opponents have scored five or more runs against the Yankees in 12 of the last 17 games. New York allowed five-plus runs in only 18 of its first 72 contests.
Conversely, the offense has also floundered. Missing Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo, Judge has picked up the slack, batting .367 with seven home runs and 21 RBI since June 14. However, the rest of the Yankees lineup is hitting a combined .198 (81-for-409) over the same stretch.
After suffering an ALCS sweep in 2022 and failing to make the postseason in 2023, the Yankees were seemingly content to let Boone finish his contract and try again this year.
However, if there isn't a turnaround on the field soon, ownership might pull the trigger on a change, lest another promising campaign slip through the franchise's fingers.
