DAVID CONE JUST EXPOSED THE YANKEES’ BIGGEST PROBLEM

There comes a point when “trust the process” becomes an excuse for not having a solution. David Cone appears to have reached that point with the Yankees.

During Saturday’s miserable 4-1 loss to Toronto, Cone pushed back on the philosophy we’ve heard repeatedly around this team: keep hitting the ball hard, keep putting together good at-bats, and eventually those hard-hit balls will start falling.

Cone’s point was simple: That’s not enough anymore. Thank you, Coney.

The Yankees aren't playing for exit velocity points. Nobody gets half a run because Statcast liked the contact. You have to actually score. And these Yankees simply don't.

Since Aaron Judge went down, the Yankees have averaged only 3.3 runs per game and scored just three runs over their last 27 innings. Saturday they managed four hits — all singles — against seven Toronto pitchers. Their only run came when Spencer Jones singled and George Lombard Jr. eventually knocked him home.

One run. That was it.

And this isn't a cute little slump anymore. The Yankees have been one of baseball's worst offenses since Judge went down. That's why Cone's criticism matters. When Plan A isn't working, your manager's job is to find Plan B.

Move runners. Change the lineup. Manufacture something. Create pressure. Demand better at-bats. Get angry. DO SOMETHING.

Instead, Aaron Boone gives us the same corporate Yankee word salad. Good swings. Good process. Hard contact. Eventually they'll fall.

When, Aaron? November?

This is exactly why I don't believe Boone is the right manager when things get difficult. When Judge is launching baseballs and the Yankees are scoring six runs, Boone looks fine. But when the offense disappears and the players start pressing, he doesn't seem capable of changing the temperature of that clubhouse.

Boone doesn't motivate. He waits.

And then there's Michael Kay. I like Michael, but enough already with explaining why things aren't quite as bad as Yankee fans think they are. We have eyes. We see the scoreboard. At some point, defending the process starts sounding less like analysis and more like selling the company line.

Cone didn't do that. He challenged the philosophy itself.

The Yankees don't need somebody telling them their hard-hit percentage suggests better days are coming. They need runs. They need urgency. They need somebody in that dugout who understands that August baseball doesn't care about expected statistics.

This pitching staff continues giving the Yankees opportunities to win, and the offense continues wasting them. That's not bad luck anymore.

That's Brian Cashman's roster. That's Aaron Boone's clubhouse. That's the Yankees' philosophy.

David Cone finally poked a hole in the analytics balloon. Stop telling us how hard they're hitting the baseball and start explaining why nobody can get a runner home.

Because right now, I don't see a manager solving the problem.

I see Aaron Boone waiting for the problem to solve itself.

And that may be the biggest problem of all.

THE MACHINE IS A CHAMPION!

How great is this?

Congratulations to DJ LeMahieu, who in his first season as manager of the Royal Oak Leprechauns just led them to their first Northwoods League championship.

And they certainly earned it.

Royal Oak had to fight just to get into the postseason, clinching its first Northwoods League playoff berth during the final week of the regular season. From there, the Leprechauns got hot. They beat Madison 6-1 to win the Great Lakes Division championship, setting up Thursday night's title game against the St. Cloud Rox.

Then they finished the job.

Behind terrific pitching, Royal Oak beat St. Cloud 3-1 at Joe Faber Field in Minnesota to capture the championship. It was the perfect ending to an incredible postseason run—and an incredible first year in the dugout for LeMahieu.

And I absolutely love this for DJ.

Yankee fans remember what LeMahieu was when he first came to New York. He was everything you wanted in a baseball player: quiet, professional, prepared and incredibly intelligent. No nonsense. No excuses. He simply understood how to play the game.

Apparently, he understands how to manage it, too.

LeMahieu was hired in May to manage a collegiate summer team filled with young players trying to develop and take the next step in their baseball careers. Royal Oak specifically wanted DJ's experience and baseball knowledge around those kids.

A few months later, they're champions.

That's not an accident.

His Yankee career didn't end the way any of us wanted it to, but that should never erase what DJ LeMahieu was at his best—or the respect he earned while wearing pinstripes.

Now he's taken that baseball knowledge into the dugout, helped guide a bunch of young players through a championship run and added another chapter to an already terrific baseball life.

The Machine is now The Manager.

And in Year One, DJ LeMahieu is already a champion.

Couldn't happen to a better baseball man.

--Alvin Izzo
BYB Yankee History Contributor

CASHMAN BUILT IT. BOONE CAN’T FIX IT.

The Yankees lost to Toronto 4-1 Saturday. Four hits. One run. Two runs over their last 27 innings. Read that again.

This isn't a slump anymore. This is an offense with a missing-person report. And even the one run deserves some context. Spencer Jones led off the second with a single, stole second, and George Lombard Jr. brought him home with an RBI single to left.

There it was. 1-0 Yankees.

Enjoy it. That was the entire offensive highlight reel.

Cam Schlittler gave them 5 1/3 innings of one-run baseball and struck out seven. Once again, Yankee pitching kept them alive while the offense showed up carrying pool noodles instead of bats. How many games are these pitchers supposed to win 1-0?

And then there's Aaron Boone. What exactly is he managing? Where are the adjustments? Where's the urgency? This offense keeps disappearing and Boone keeps showing up afterward with another explanation.

Enough. You're the manager. Manage. But this goes higher. Brian Cashman made his deadline moves, shuffled the furniture and supposedly improved the Yankees. So I'll ask the obvious question:

Did Brian Cashman actually make this team better? Because it sure as hell doesn't feel like it.

Toronto used seven pitchers Saturday. Seven. The Yankees countered with four singles and one lousy run. That's embarrassing. This is August. The Yankees aren't supposed to be "figuring it out." They're supposed to be gearing up for October.

Instead, we're wondering where the next run is coming from. That's why Yankee fans should be entering panic mode.

Blue Jays 4. Yankees 1.

Cashman built it. Boone manages it. And right now, this thing looks broken.

COLE DESERVES BETTER... AGAIN

The Yankees lost 3-1 to Toronto Friday night, and once again, the story wasn't complicated: they couldn't score.

Gerrit Cole gave them six strong innings, allowing two runs — only one earned — and kept the game exactly where an ace is supposed to keep it. The Yankees rewarded him with one lousy run, a Trent Grisham solo homer.

That's becoming a serious problem. We have  talked about it all last week. The Yankees have scored just one run over their last 18 innings and two runs or fewer in nine of their last 14 games. This isn't April. It's August. You don't stroll into October hoping the offense eventually wakes up.

Meanwhile, Aaron Boone found another battle to fight — with an umpire. No one cares Aaron, you're a fool.

Boone was ejected after arguing a low strike called on Luis García Jr. Was it low? It certainly looked that way. But here's my question: maybe Boone should worry a little less about winning arguments with umpires and a little more about winning baseball games.

Getting tossed isn't managing. Screaming at Vic Carapazza doesn't drive runners home. Somebody needs to explain why this lineup continually disappears.

The sixth inning was a mess, including the scary collision between Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Lombard Jr. near third base that resulted in Guerrero being evaluated for a possible concussion. Nuts.

But none of that changes the biggest problem. The Yankees scored one run. Again. Cole deserved better. The pitching staff deserves better. Us fans certainly deserve better.

October is coming.

You can't win if you don't hit. And apparently, no amount of Boone yelling at umpires is going to change that.

 

LOMBARD & PITCHING CAN'T DO IT ALONE

The Yankees lost 1-0 to the Seattle Mariners Thursday afternoon, and there really isn't some complicated explanation for what happened. They didn't score. Again.

Four hits. Zero runs. 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. It was already the seventh time this season the Yankees have been shut out. And this is becoming a very real problem.

Wednesday night, the Yankees exploded for 10 runs and everybody got to smile and pretend the offense had finally awakened. Then Thursday arrived and somebody apparently unplugged it again.

Max Fried was excellent. Returning from injury, he gave the Yankees five strong innings and allowed exactly one run, a solo homer. The bullpen did its job after that. The pitching staff gave the offense eight innings to find one lousy run. They couldn't find it.

What exactly are these pitchers supposed to do? Throw a shutout every night and then hit for themselves?

That's what concerns me as we head toward September and hopefully October. Playoff pitching gets better, not worse. You cannot continually ask your pitching staff to be perfect because your offense disappears for entire games.

Look, George Lombard Jr. has been an incredible addition, but he can't do everything. The defense. The instincts. The athleticism. The energy. It seems like every night we're watching this kid do something that reminds us what shortstop is supposed to look like.

But here's the problem: George Lombard Jr. cannot save the Yankees by himself.

He's a rookie. The Yankees shouldn't need a kid who just arrived in the major leagues to become the spark plug, defensive savior and offensive answer for a supposedly championship-caliber team.

Lombard is doing his part. The rest of this lineup needs to do theirs. Because eventually another beautiful Lombard play doesn't mean much when you look up at the scoreboard and it still says:

Yankees 0.

And then there's Brian Cashman. Remember the trade deadline? Remember all that talk about improving the roster? So where exactly is the improvement?

The Yankees added Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos, but weeks later I'm still waiting to see how Brian Cashman's deadline made this team significantly better. Ramos pinch-hit Thursday and grounded out. He's now 2-for-25 as a Yankee. I'm not blaming Ramos for the entire offense. But when evaluating a trade deadline, the question is pretty simple:

Did Brian Cashman make the New York Yankees better? Right now, I'm having a difficult time seeing it. Once again, we're watching the Yankees approach the stretch run hoping injured players return, hoping the offense becomes consistent and hoping the pitching can continue carrying an enormous load.

That's not roster construction. That's crossing your fingers. Thursday was the perfect example. The pitching was good enough to win. Again. The offense wasn't. Again.

George Lombard Jr. has been terrific, but he can't drag this team into October by himself. At some point the established hitters have to hit. The deadline additions have to matter. And the front office has to stop expecting everything to magically work itself out.

October is getting closer. And you know what doesn't work in October?

Zero runs.

IT'S NOT OFTEN THAT I AGREE WITH AROD, BUT IT JUST HAPPENED!

Ten years ago yesterday, August 12th, 2016, Alex Rodriguez played in his last game as a Yankee against the Rays. Oh how I look at that and think about the irony. Now he just sits back and talks about them and the strategy the Yankees should've taken to chase down the Rays in the AL East.

It's funny because he's been doing a lot of talking lately. I don't always agree with him. His idea that the Dodgers are good for baseball this week is one I don't agree with. However, the idea that the Yankees should've gone "all in" at the trade deadline I do agree with. If you missed it, check it out HERE. 

"The issue that you have with the Yankees, it's a tale of two stories," Rodriguez said. "They have the best pitching in baseball. They've collected some of the best pitchers, and by the way they haven't even been healthy all year but this is a championship-caliber pitching staff. I would've loved to see an extra arm or two because the by-product of not having a good offense, especially without Aaron Judge, they're pretty much 30th in every offensive category. What's gonna happen is you’re gonna play in a lot of tight games, you're not gonna blow anyone out. That means you're gonna tax your bullpen. You're gonna be the belly of your bullpen most of the year, and by the time September comes, their arms are gonna fall off. So that's my biggest concern."

We have wasted so many good, productive years in Judge's career. Next year he will be 35 and let's be honest, he's had some gnarly injuries. That's not going to get easier for the Yankees to manage. He's not going to be the young spring chicken anymore. Our starting pitching hasn't been this strong in a long time. Why waste that with an anemic offense that doesn't show up when Judge is out? It's even worse considering Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton are still out with their own injuries. It's like they are giving up without actually selling off the team.

Why not go "all in" as Rodriguez said and get some impact bats and upgrade your weaknesses that clearly aren't working? If you aren't going to sell, then don't just stand pat and make Band-Aid fixes! Cut the dead weight! Cutting Anthony Volpe wasn't enough. George Lombard Jr. getting his promotion needed to happen (it just wasn't an option not to), but they should've done more than just that. They needed to upgrade Austin Wells too!  That line from Brian Cashman about having "limited options" at catcher was a load of crap! Our rivals did it. That doesn't fix the Yankees but it sure is an addition by subtraction just getting rid of Wells who can't even hit his weight.

The Yankees needed to do more. They needed to be hungrier. The rest of these teams are looking at our starting rotation wishing they had it. They are envious for a moment, and then they realize all their offense has to do is 'keep them in the game' because they are likely to win those close games because our bullpen is not at the same level. A one run lead isn't as hard to protect for our rivals as it should be. You can't just rely on your starting pitching....the offense and bullpen need to also execute.

As Rodriguez said, "It's amazing how the whole fan base knew exactly how this was going to turn out and it did." That shouldn't be okay. That shouldn't be accepted and swept under the rug. Judge deserves more. The team deserves more. The fans deserve more. We deserve a front office with balls. We deserve a change from the top down. 

What a disgrace.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

ANOTHER YANKEE RALLY & MORE LOMBARD MAGIC!

The Yankees won again Tuesday night, beating the Mariners 4-1 for their third straight comeback victory.

That's the good news.

The other news? Can we please stop making “comeback” part of the nightly game plan?

Ryan Weathers deserved better than another night of waiting around for the offense to show up. He carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth and stretched his scoreless streak to 23 innings before Randy Arozarena finally got him with a solo homer. Weathers went 5.2 terrific innings, and the Yankee bullpen was spotless again.

And yet, there were the Yankees, trailing 1-0. Again. Thankfully, the bats eventually received the memo. In the seventh, Ryan McMahon delivered a two-run single and Trent Grisham followed with another two-run knock. Just like that, 1-0 became 4-1, and the Yankees had another win.

I love the fight. I love three straight comeback victories. But eventually, how about throwing the first punch? You can't keep spending six innings wandering around offensively and expect to flip a switch every night. Score early. Give your pitchers a lead. Maybe even make a game comfortable once in a while.

Crazy concept, I know.

But the moment I can't stop thinking about wasn't a hit.

It was George Lombard Jr.

In the first inning, a ground ball up the middle ricocheted off the second-base bag and changed direction. Lombard adjusted instantly, grabbed it with his bare hand and fired to first for the out.

Beautiful.

And here's what made it so impressive: it wasn't showboating. It was instinct. Lombard didn't barehand the ball because he wanted a highlight. He did it because his baseball brain immediately told him that's how the play had to be made.

You can't teach that. You can practice footwork, throwing mechanics and positioning. You can take 10,000 ground balls. But that internal clock — seeing something unexpected happen and reacting correctly without hesitation — is something special.

Lombard has it.

And I'm going to ask the question because every Yankee fan watching that play had to think about it:

After all the errors, misplays and routine grounders that somehow turned into adventures, do you think in a million years Anthony Volpe makes that play?

Come on. We've spent years being told how “elite” Volpe is defensively. Now we're watching Lombard play shortstop, and seemingly every game there's another defensive highlight. Great range. Smooth hands. Difficult throws made naturally. And now he's barehanding a ball that ricocheted off second base like somebody forgot to tell him the play was supposed to be difficult.

We're getting spoiled. Actually, maybe we're not. Maybe this is simply how a Yankee shortstop is supposed to operate. What was Yankee management doing force feeding Volpe on us? What a waste of time!

There's a difference between being told someone is an elite defender and watching someone whose instincts practically jump through the television. Lombard doesn't look frantic. He doesn't fight the position. He just plays it.

That's what makes this kid so impressive. The Yankees won 4-1. Weathers was terrific. McMahon and Grisham delivered. The bullpen did its job.

Three straight comeback wins. I'll happily take them. But tonight, maybe score before the seventh inning. And please, keep hitting the ball toward George Lombard Jr.

I want to see what the kid does next.

THE YANKEES JUST FOUND $2.6 BILLION. CAN THEY FIND BETTER BASEBALL PEOPLE?

Well, folks, we found Hal Steinbrenner.

I was wondering where the hell he’s been. Turns out Hal hasn't been hiding. He's been doing deals. Big ones.

Yankee Global Enterprises just announced a $2.6 BILLION financing agreement with Apollo Sports Capital, consisting of credit and equity designed to refinance existing debt and help fund future growth. And before Yankee fans start dreaming about what $2.6 billion could do for the baseball team, stop right there.

This isn't about fixing the Yankees. Of course it isn't.

Apollo gets a seat on the Yankee Global Enterprises board. The Steinbrenner family maintains full control. Hal remains managing general partner and MLB control person. So, everybody relax.

Nothing important for us fans is changing. That's actually the funniest part of this entire story.

The Yankees can negotiate a complicated $2.6 billion financial transaction with a company managing roughly $1 trillion in assets, but somehow changing the baseball leadership apparently requires an act of Congress. Think about that. These guys can sit across a conference table from some of the biggest financial minds on Earth and hammer out a multibillion-dollar deal.

But finding somebody better to run the baseball operation? Nope.  And that's really where the New York Yankees are today. Actually, scratch that.

This isn't really about the New York Yankees anymore, is it? Nope. It's Yankee Global Enterprises.

It's the Yankees. It's YES Network. It's Legends Hospitality. It's AC Milan.

It's investments, partnerships, financing, equity, debt restructuring and “strategic opportunities.”

George Steinbrenner built the Evil Empire. Hal Steinbrenner apparently built Berkshire Hathaway with pinstripes. And look, I understand business.

The Yankees are a gigantic global brand. They're supposed to make money. They're supposed to grow. They're supposed to make smart financial moves. Fine.

But here's my question:

When does somebody make a smart BASEBALL move?

Because that's what Yankee fans need to understand about this announcement. This isn't Brian Cashman getting $2.6 billion to rebuild the roster. This isn't the Yankees announcing they're going out and finding the brightest baseball executives in the sport. It isn't an investment in accountability. And unfortunately, it doesn't come with a complimentary new manager.

It's business. And apparently business is booming. Baseball? We'll get back to you. That's what drives me nuts about the modern Yankees.

Money isn't the problem. Branding isn't the problem. The Yankees are a freaking cash cow.

They have the resources to chase the best people in baseball. They should be stealing brilliant executives from other organizations. They should have the best scouts. The best developers. The best coaches. The best manager.

This is the New York Yankees. Why are we constantly settling? Why does Brian Cashman seem to have lifetime tenure? He's complacent. Why does Aaron Boone survive season after season while the organization keeps preaching patience, process and whatever the corporate buzzword of the month happens to be? He's no good.

Meanwhile Hal says this Apollo partnership will help Yankee Global Enterprises pursue “strategic opportunities.” I've got one.

FIX THE DAMN BASEBALL TEAM. There's your strategic opportunity.

Because the Evil Empire really is back. It's just not the Evil Empire we grew up with.

George wanted October. Hal wants EBITDA. EBITDA is basically Wall Street-speak for measuring how profitable the business operation is.

George counted championships, at least publicly. Hal counts earnings out in the open. That's the difference.

George's Evil Empire terrified Major League Baseball because everybody knew he would spend, scream, demand results and do whatever he believed was necessary to win another World Series. Hal's Evil Empire looks increasingly like a diversified global investment portfolio that happens to own a baseball team in the Bronx.

And Yankee fans? We'd just like somebody in the organization to remember that the entire reason this empire exists in the first place is because generations of people fell in love with the New York Yankees.

So congratulations to Hal Steinbrenner and Yankee Global Enterprises on the $2.6 billion deal. The empire is growing. The portfolio is expanding. The money machine keeps humming.

Now maybe somebody can check under the couch cushions and see if there's enough left over to buy some accountability on our actual baseball team. Because apparently that's the one thing the richest damn empire in baseball still can't fix.

SO THIS IS WHAT "F'ING ELITE" IS NOW? COUNTING CLEAN PLAYS?

I’m trying to understand what world I’m living in.

Anthony Volpe is in the minor leagues. He’s now playing second base. And somehow, we’ve reached the point where we’re literally counting the number of plays he fields cleanly as proof that he’s adapting.

Are you kidding me? Greg Joyce of the New York Post wrote this: "Volpe played second base Saturday night at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, his first game at a position other than shortstop since 2021, and cleanly fielded all three balls hit to him."

I need you to think about this for a second.  This is the same Anthony Volpe that Aaron Boone once called “f’ing elite.”

Elite?

If Volpe were truly an elite shortstop, he’d be playing shortstop for the New York Yankees. Period. Instead, George Lombard Jr. has the job in the Bronx, while Volpe is in Scranton learning another position and we’re apparently supposed to get excited because he handled his chances cleanly.

According to the New York Post, Volpe is getting work at second base as the Yankees explore ways to increase his versatility and potentially create another route back to the majors.

Think about how insane that sentence would have sounded two years ago.

We went from “f’ing elite” to “maybe second base works.”

And that’s what gets me. This isn’t about rooting against Volpe. I want the kid to figure it out. But can we stop pretending this is anything other than a massive fall from where the Yankees told us he was?

We’re watching a former starting shortstop play second base in Triple-A and counting the clean plays.

One clean play. Two clean plays. Hey! There’s another one! What are we doing here? This is the New York Yankees, not instructional league. Maybe Volpe eventually figures it out. Maybe second base becomes his way back. Who knows... to be honest, I'm done with this stupid experiment.

Spare me the victory lap because he fielded a few baseballs cleanly in Scranton. “F’ing elite” was the standard. Now we’re counting clean ground balls.

THIS IS PATHETIC.

ENOUGH WITH THE MINI-GAMES. JUST PLAY BASEBALL

Maybe I'm showing my age here, but I'm getting tired of watching baseball games turn into something that feels like a night playing Borderlands 3 on the Xbox One.

If you've played Borderlands 3, you know what I'm talking about. You're moving through the actual game, trying to accomplish the main objective, and suddenly there are these little side missions and mini-games distracting you from what you were doing in the first place.

That's basically what Major League Baseball has become.

Pitch clock. Batter clock. Warnings. Violations. Who looked at whom? Was the hitter ready? Was the pitcher ready? Did the umpire warn him? Did somebody take too long getting to first base? Can we trick the pitcher into starting his motion? Can we manipulate the clock?

Enough already.

The object of the game is to win the damn baseball game.

And lately, the Yankees seem a little too interested in winning the mini-game.

José Caballero has become the poster child for this stuff. He's constantly pushing the pitch-clock rules to the edge, trying to use timing to his advantage and testing exactly what he can and cannot get away with. And now we've reached the point where Aaron Boone is once again arguing with umpires over how the rules are being enforced.

In Saturday's 5-4 Yankees win over Atlanta, Caballero was hit with another pitch-clock violation. Boone defended him afterward, arguing that Caballero hadn't received the warning he was supposed to get before the violation was called. Caballero eventually walked anyway, but the situation still became another production.

And that's where I'm lose interest. Could Boone technically have a point about how the rule was enforced? Sure.

Could Caballero technically have a point about how MLB has handled the enforcement of his routine Maybe. I don't care anymore.

That's the problem. We're spending way too much time debating the technicalities of the mini-game instead of talking about baseball.

This isn't what I want the Yankees focused on. I don't want them trying to outsmart the pitch clock. I don't want Caballero trying to squeeze every possible advantage out of when he looks at the pitcher. I don't want Boone spending half his night screaming about warnings and seconds and interpretations.

Beat the other team. Hit the baseball. Catch the baseball. Throw strikes. Run the bases. Score more runs than the other guys.

That's baseball.

Look, I'm old school. I understand the game has changed. Analytics aren't going anywhere. The pitch clock isn't going anywhere. Baseball wants games moving faster, and that's fine. But there's a difference between adapting to a rule and becoming obsessed with exploiting it.

Caballero has made this pitch-clock routine part of his game, and MLB has clearly noticed. The league hasn't simply ignored it, either. His timing tactics have created controversy before, and enforcement surrounding his behavior has already become a story this season.

At some point you have to ask: Is all of this actually helping the Yankees win? Because that's the only question I care about.

It's like spending 25 minutes playing some ridiculous side mission in Borderlands 3 while forgetting you were supposed to be saving the damn planet. Congratulations. You figured out the mini-game.

Meanwhile, there's still an actual game to win. And that's what bothers me about the Yankees sometimes. This organization has become fascinated with finding tiny advantages. Matchups. Percentages. Rest schedules. Pitch counts. Clock manipulation. Every little analytical edge gets dissected like somebody at MIT is trying to split an atom.

Sometimes baseball isn't that complicated. And with Caballero, I'm officially tired of the pitch-clock act. He's an energetic player. He's aggressive. He brings an edge.   But this?

It's annoying now.

When your little battle with the pitch clock starts creating distractions for yourself, your manager, the umpires and even the hitters around you, maybe it's time to stop trying to prove how clever you are and get back to playing baseball.

The Yankees don't need to outwit the clock. They need to outplay the opponent.

Because nobody gets an extra win in the standings for winning an argument with an umpire.

There isn't a column for Pitch Clock Gamesmanship. Forget the side missions. Forget the mini-games. Put the controller down and stop screwing around with the clock.

Just play freaking baseball.

SOX ON FIRE, YANKEES ON EDGE!

Almost 4 months ago, the Boston Red Sox fired Alex Cora and it looked like Boston was done for. All of Yankee land was laughing as we enjoyed looking down at Boston all the way at the bottom of the AL East. They were deflated, we were in first place and that what we want to see. 

My how times have changed. Since then, the Yankees have lost heavy hitters in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger. Add in pitcher Carlos Rodon and it is doomsday. The Yankees have been trying to tread water and the Red Sox literally lit a fire underneath everyone and went on winning streaks of 26-3 and 32-5 while the Yankees continue to stagger and stumble. Now the Yankees are literally feeling the Red Sox breathe down the necks. Suddenly a slip to third is very possible.

And I sit here and hate it all while being in amazement of George Lombard Jr and be pleasantly surprised at times by Spencer Jones. Those bright moments have come too late though because we are now as uncomfortable as it gets. What was once a 15 game lead over the Red Sox is now down to a game and a half.

I always say never underestimate the Red Sox. You never count them out....ever. They just reminded us of this. Months ago it looked like a minimum of a first Wild Card spot was likely. The American League is curiously weak compared to the National League. If the Yankees couldn't catch the Rays, we would at least have the first Wild Card spot. But....that the reality is, that might not be what happens here.

Not unless the Yankees start playing like their hair and asses are on fire! Rodon should be back soon, and Judge is progressing. Hopefully we also have Bellinger back by the time we see Boston again but that's not a guarantee. No doubt our injuries have hurt us, and we are missing our star power but both teams feed off of their starting pitching. The Red Sox have still found a way to win with a lineup that is not exactly loaded with big names or contracts.

The difference between these two teams is heart. The Yankees have shown we have that recently, but we need more of it to get us to the finish line. This is going to be a dog fight to the very end, and it's not going to be easy. 

Just in case you need a reminder.....NEVER underestimate the Red Sox.....EVER!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

STANTON IS FINALLY RUNNING, BUT DO THE YANKEES REALLY NEED HIM RIGHT NOW?

We finally have a little Giancarlo Stanton news, and this time it involves something other than swinging a bat.

Stanton has reached one of the more important stages of his recovery from a right calf strain: running.

Aaron Boone said Stanton jogged in the outfield Friday and has started easing into some baserunning work. That might not sound like some gigantic breakthrough, but with Stanton, it matters. Hitting has never really been the biggest concern during this rehab. It's whether that calf can hold up when he has to actually move.

Running the bases puts a completely different kind of stress on the body. Stanton has to accelerate, stop, turn, push off and react naturally without worrying about protecting that calf. That's the real test, and that's why the Yankees have been waiting to see him reach this point.

There is still no firm timetable for his return, and quite frankly, I'm not losing sleep over it.

Do the Yankees really need Stanton back right now? No. Look at what this team has been doing without him, especially this past week. They're playing good baseball, they're producing offensively and they're finding ways to win. That's what matters.

I'm not saying a healthy Stanton can't help. Of course he can. When he's locked in, he can still change a game with one swing. But the Yankees shouldn't be rearranging everything or rushing him back just because his name is Giancarlo Stanton. If the current lineup is clicking, let it click.

Stanton needs to prove he can run the bases, recover the next day and eventually handle everything that comes with playing in an actual game. Until then, there's really no reason to get overly excited about a few jogs in the outfield. So, we'll see what happens.

For now, at least we finally got a little update on this dude.

He's running. The Yankees are winning. 

In my opinion there's absolutely no reason to rush anything.