THESE ARE THE GAMES WE NEED TO WIN RIGHT NOW

Let’s stop sugarcoating it: games against the Red Sox are must-wins. Period. End of story. Doesn’t matter how many cupcakes you beat up on—if you can’t take care of your biggest rival, you’re toast. And thanks to Aaron Boone and the clown show running the Yankees’ front office, that’s exactly the mess we’re in. Bad analytics, dumb decisions, and a steady stream of “don’t worry, guys” from a manager who’s clearly out of his depth. Not to mention, the worst fundamentals training on the planet for a major league club, and we show it every night... when the Yankees need to look sharp, they look like a circus act without the tent.

By the top of the second inning, fundamentals had already packed up and left the building. Three errors—three!—in one inning. It was eye-gouging baseball, the kind of stuff you’d expect in an amateur beer league, not at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees now sit at 73 errors on the year, one of the sloppiest defensive clubs in the league. That’s their identity now—bad defense, bad decisions, and no accountability. And against the Red Sox, who lead the majors in errors themselves? Somehow New York managed to look worse. That’s almost impressive.

Of course, Boston’s rookie Roman Anthony took full advantage, driving in three runs and hitting a ninth-inning homer that turned Yankee Stadium into a library. Luke Weaver gave up the go-ahead RBI double in the seventh, because of course he did, and the Red Sox walked away 6-3 winners, snapping New York’s five-game win streak.

Meanwhile, Boone sat there like a man who just got lost on his way to the postgame presser. He’ll ramble, he’ll smile, he’ll talk about “fighting through” and “bouncing back,” but the guy is clueless. Utterly clueless. His team keeps tripping over themselves in the most important games of the season, and his response is the same recycled gibberish every night.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. at least had the guts to admit the obvious:

“I felt like tonight was one of those nights that we beat ourselves.”

Translation: “We played like garbage, and nobody wants to admit it.”

Here’s the kicker: the Yankees’ (69-58) loss drops them to just a half-game ahead of Boston in the Wild Card. Half a game. And they’ve now lost six of seven against the Sox this season. That’s not a rivalry—that’s a beating.

If this is what Brian Cashman and Boone call a “plan,” then it’s one hell of a blueprint—for another year of being losers.

Do better.