WASTING A SCHLITTLER GEM

I wrote earlier today that Aaron Boone has a habit of managing high-pressure situations like a guy trying to disarm a bomb with oven mitts. After tonight, that no longer feels like a hot take — it feels more like something you’d submit with supporting documentation.

To be fair, Boone wasn’t the only reason this one went off the rails. The Yankees spent the entire night inventing new and creative ways to waste opportunity. Cam Schlittler deserved a win, or at least a standing ovation, after throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, and casually absorbing a line drive to the leg like it was part of the job description. That should’ve been the story.

Instead, the offense treated run production like it required a premium subscription. Seven hits, seven walks, and only three runs — a stat line that feels less like baseball and more like a missed connection. And despite carrying leads in both the eighth and tenth innings, the Yankees still managed to turn it into a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

From there, it unraveled in familiar fashion. The bullpen blinked, the defense fumbled through its assignments, and in the 10th inning Tim Hill delivered a throw so far off target it may still be clearing airspace over Wisconsin.

So no, the original point doesn’t feel any less valid. Nights like this are exactly why the questions around Boone linger. When the game is orderly, the Yankees look functional enough. But when things get tight, chaotic, and unscripted, it starts to look less like managing and more like a group project where nobody checked the assignment sheet.