VOLPE NEEDS TO FACE REALITY

Maybe this all isn't real. Volpe's like the Milli Vanilli of the Bronx.

Let’s be clear about one thing: if you’ve been coming to Bleeding Yankee Blue since 2010, it’s not just because you love the Yankees (though of course you do). You come for the fire. The fury. The unapologetic Bronx-born rage when things go sideways—and oh boy, are they sideways now.

Look, we get it. Aaron Boone has a borderline romantic obsession with Anthony Volpe. It's less a manager-player relationship and more a Nicholas Sparks novel. Their relationship is strange and uncomfortable at this point in my opinion.

Boone sees a gritty, photogenic kid in pinstripes with the hope he will "break out". But this isn't me watching my 12-year-old pitching for his travel team... it's the major leagues and Volpe got a fast pass while, in my opinion, he really needed more time to grow. Us fans are struggling watching this quote "shortstop" with a .217 average and the range of a traffic cone try to become a major leaguer. It's a terrible experiment.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Volpe is playing bad baseball. Period. His bat’s gone quiet, his glove’s gone soft, and somehow... he’s still starting every day. Meanwhile, DJ LeMahieu—an actual major league veteran who’s paid his dues—is getting benched like he forgot to tip the valet. When Boone was asked about DJ’s reaction to his benching, the skipper admitted DJ “wasn’t thrilled.” No kidding.

Boone says this is "just the situation we're in.” But newsflash: it’s only the situation because Boone made it that way.

He could move Volpe to the bench. He just won’t. And if you ask Boone about sitting Volpe, the excuse? "Well, who else do we have?" Uh, Oswald Peraza, anyone? You know, the guy who actually plays elite defense? Sure, he’s not exactly lighting up the scoreboard either—but let’s be honest, it’s not like Volpe’s batting .320. He’s barely treading water at the Mendoza Line while Peraza is duct-taped to the bench for... vibes?

And let’s not ignore the elephant in the locker room: marketing. Volpe looks good on a billboard. He’s a Jersey kid. Polished, polite, and PR-ready. It doesn’t matter if he goes 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a pop-up to the pitcher—as long as his name moves jerseys at the team store, he’s apparently untouchable.

That’s not baseball. That’s branding. And fans aren’t stupid.

Volpe’s recent comments only confirm what we feared: he’s been completely absorbed by the Yankees’ media machine. Here he is, in The Athletic, talking like a corporate intern:

“I know it might sound crazy, but I feel good... I’m confident we’re getting toward that… I’m really confident every time I step up to the plate.”

Come on, man. That’s not honesty. That’s pre-programmed nonsense. The guy sounds less like a ballplayer and more like a self-help audiobook. Meanwhile, the fans are sitting at home, watching error after strikeout, wondering if anyone in the front office even owns a television.

And now, the worst part: fans are giving up.

I hear it every day: "Casey, why do you even bother? Nothing’s gonna change. They’ll keep running Volpe out there and gaslighting us into thinking he's the future."

Well, maybe. But Bleeding Yankee Blue wasn’t built on shrugging our shoulders and calling it a day. We’re here to rage. We’re here to demand better. Because Yankees fans deserve better.

So we say it again, louder this time: Dump Volpe. Dump Boone. Clean house.

Enough with the coddling. Enough with the optics. The Yankees aren't a lifestyle brand—they're supposed to be a baseball team. Time to act like it.