ONCE IS A MISTAKE, BUT TWICE AND BEYOND IS A PATTERN

It sucks to suck, and that's exactly what the Yankees have established. It's dejavu all over again and it doesn't have to be. But the Yankees choose it because they like to suck more than they like to win, apparently. I just twitched violently as I typed that.

Year after year this team is plagued by awful fundamentals. The Yankees manage to lose. Keeping Aaron Boone and the front office in place is a losing strategy. The official box score says the Yankees were charged with four errors but let's be real that was six. One of those errors was miraculously called a hit by the official scorer and the other was saved by George Lombard Jr and Jazz Chisholm should bow down and praise him for saving his butt. This organization does not teach good fundamentals, and they certainly don't expect it out on the field. It's an afterthought for the Yankees as long as they can smash homeruns out of the park.

But that's not serving us well at all. We saw it against the Dodgers in the World Series two years ago and we haven't learned anything from it. Here we are two years later still beating ourselves and we did it against a very fundamentally sound team. That's what makes it worse. It's also what gives us another dose of harsh reality.

Good teams don't just ride a hot streak, they literally outplay everyone else and make inferior teams look stupid. That's everything we see with this Rays team. I've always said Kevin Cash is a good manager, and he is smart. The Rays play fundamental baseball and what makes it worse, they know how to create those pressure situations that make bad teams like the Yankees crumble. The Rays have created chaos, and the Yankees haven't overcome it. The Rays have a manager that knows what he is doing, and what other teams are not doing. He is the opposite of Aaron Boone and we are reminded of it yet again.

In MLB postseason history, only 10 out of 91 teams have ever come back to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games. Coincidentally, the Yankees are the last team to do that back in 2017 but this isn't even a shadow of what that team was. Saying that really makes me miss "the good old days" because at least we weren't THIS tragically pathetic. Anything is possible but it is hard to have faith in this team with no Aaron Judge and weak players like Ryan McMahon, Chisholm and Austin Wells unnecessarily filling in the roster.

The Yankees need to change everything they do and think. It's time to turn things upside down. We've already endured 16 seasons of losses with no championships but Hal Steinbrenner hasn't understood our frustration. I wonder if this is the year it finally clicks and he gets it.....but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Please boys....show us something today. Don't just rollover and get eliminated at home. Please.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

SCHLITTLER DEALS, RICE FEASTS & BOSTON CHOKES

The Yankees beat Boston 9–0 in Game 1, and nothing improves a postseason evening quite like watching the Red Sox run out of answers.

Cam Schlittler was outstanding: 6⅓ scoreless innings, two hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts. Boston couldn’t get a runner past first against him. That’s command. That’s confidence. That’s a pitcher giving his teammates every reason to believe they’re winning tonight.

Then Ben Rice grabbed the spotlight and practically ripped it off the ceiling. Four hits. Two homers. Six RBIs. His fifth-inning solo shot created breathing room; his eighth-inning grand slam sent Boston looking for the exits. What a night for a guy who keeps giving this lineup some serious muscle.

And give Austin Wells his credit. All of it. His second-inning RBI single put the Yankees ahead before this became a blowout. Behind the plate, his successful challenge turned a first-inning pitch into an inning-ending strikeout. Later, his sacrifice fly brought home another run. Those contributions matter, and a monster night from Rice shouldn’t bury them. When Wells delivers, say so.

George Lombard Jr. added three hits and scored twice, while Paul Blackburn’s seventh-inning double play stopped Boston’s chance to make things uncomfortable.

Now comes the test: finish it. Max Fried gets the ball against Sonny Gray in Game 2. Keep the pressure on, keep getting contributions throughout the lineup, and make Boston’s stay in the Bronx a short one.

The Yankees and Boone had a mediocre lineup yesterday that played better than I expected, but they were banking on Cam to dominate and he did.  Tonight, we need to see if Gray will choke in the Bronx like he did when he was on the team.  Gray's better than he used to be... more confident. So... it will be a big test. 

STOP SELLING ME THE 2026 YANKEES. LET THEM EARN IT FIRST.

I love the Yankees. That is precisely why I am tired of being told how much I am supposed to love this 2026 Yankees team.

There is a difference between rooting for the uniform and swallowing every story the organization wraps around the men wearing it. I want them to beat Boston on Tuesday. I want them to win the World Series. But I am not going to pretend that 93 wins erase what I have watched for six months, or that a postseason berth turns every underperformer into a folk hero. A ticket to October is an opportunity. It is not a personality transplant.

The Yankees have won despite losing Aaron Judge for most of the season. That is real. Cam Schlittler and the pitching staff have given fans plenty to admire. Ben Rice has hit 41 home runs. There are players here who have earned their applause, and there is a reason to believe this club can win a short series. But a record cannot make me feel something the baseball itself has not made me feel.

And too much of this Yankee baseball has felt like a sales pitch interrupted by strikeouts.

Look, I'm about to go on a ramble, but that's why you come to Bleeding Yankee Blue, right? There is a difference between winning and believing. I know that doesn't make alot of sense, but let me explain.

We start here. Remember 1996? Derek Jeter hit .314. Bernie Williams hit .305 with 29 homers and 102 RBIs. Paul O’Neill hit .302 and drove in 91. Joe Girardi, the catcher nobody marketed as an offensive savior, hit .294. The club hit .288, scored 871 runs and struck out 909 times. It won the World Series.

Through 161 games this year, the Yankees were hitting .235, with 739 runs and 1,480 strikeouts. They had hit 223 home runs, 61 more than the entire 1996 team. Those are different eras with different league-wide offensive conditions; raw averages alone do not settle which lineup was better relative to its competition. They do tell you what it has felt like to sit through an inning. In 1996, a hit could become another hit. In 2026, you can spend a lot of time waiting for one swing to redeem a parade of empty at-bats.

The ’96 club had imperfections. O’Neill did not hit in that postseason the way he did in the regular season, and Girardi was no slugger. That is the point: nobody needed to pretend they were something else. You knew what those guys brought, you watched them bring it, and eventually they delivered the last win of the year. Affection followed the work.

This 2026 organization seems to want the affection up front. So, in short, stop telling me who to love.

Look, Anthony Volpe was a neat story to initially. Local kid. Homegrown shortstop. It practically wrote the promotional copy itself. Then the games kept happening. In 56 big league games this year, before his August demotion, he hit .240 with one home run. The Yankees handed shortstop to George Lombard Jr. That was an admission, in the language that matters most, that the old plan was not good enough. And thank god they made this decision.

Volpe did decent in Scranton. He hit .264 with an .906 OPS in 37 games, came back when Jazz Chisholm Jr. was hurt, and hit a grand slam in his return. I cheered the hit. I still refuse to be told that one big night settles three years of arguments about his bat. Volpe once again, and predictably, hasn't done a thing since.  Look, the bottom line and the point I am trying to make is a fan can wish a player well and reject the insistence that he is a cornerstone before his performance says so.

That is where the marketing grates. The Yankees can promote a young player. Of course they can. But they cannot schedule a fan’s emotional attachment like a bobblehead giveaway. When the image gets ahead of the player, every commercial, every reassuring quote, every invitation to believe feels less like celebration and more like an instruction to ignore your own eyes. And I think that's what bothers me most about this 2026 team. Much of it is like fake news.

Look at Austin Wells. Wells presents the same problem without the hometown fairy tale. He was batting .186 after Friday’s game. You can tell me about his defense and the demands of catching, and I will listen. You can tell me catching is hard, and I will agree. But you cannot ask me to watch a regular in the Yankees’ lineup struggle to get above .185 and act as though this is a minor aesthetic complaint. Girardi hit .294 for the 1996 champs. Nobody needed a brochure explaining why a hit from the catcher mattered.

The criticism belongs with the people who keep assembling and endorsing the roster, too. Wells did not draft himself. Volpe did not make himself the face of a campaign. The front office and the manager decide how long a bet gets to occupy the lineup and how they explain it to the people paying to watch.

It is my opinion that Brian Cashman has had years to build a club whose weak spots do not keep arriving as familiar surprises. His defenders can point to 93 wins and a playoff berth, and they are entitled to. He also deserves credit for talent that has helped this team survive Judge’s injuries. But that is not the end of the accounting. A general manager does not get graded only on whether enough of his bets hit to reach a Wild Card Series. He gets graded on the holes fans could see coming, on the cost of carrying them, and on whether October exposes them again.

How many seasons are fans supposed to watch the Yankees sell potential where production is required? How many times are they supposed to hear that a struggling regular is close, that a new piece might be the answer, that the next stretch will show what this club really is? Hope is part of baseball. Hope cannot be the entire roster-building strategy of the New York Yankees.

And do not confuse this complaint with a demand for nine .300 hitters. I am asking for a front office to look honestly at its own team, then speak with the same honesty to its fans. When a player is not producing, adjust. When a prospect has not become the star you promised, stop selling the promise as an accomplishment.

Aaron Boone has guided an injury-hit club to October. That matters. Players appear to trust him, and his handling of the staff has helped the Yankees keep winning. He has also made harder lineup choices this year; the demotions and changing roles show he might finally understand how to manage, but for me, I still don't truly see it. My problem is the gap between the action and the public language. Boone’s reflex is to protect his players, reassure everybody, and find the sunny side of another ugly night. I can understand why players appreciate that. Fans who just watched the same failed at-bat for the hundredth time are allowed to find it maddening. Leadership means more than absorbing criticism for the clubhouse. It means making the standard unmistakable.

Joe Torre’s calm felt like control because the club on the field kept backing it up. There was also accountability. Boone’s calm, at its worst, feels like a press conference held in a different ballpark from the game I just watched. There are nights when I want a manager to say plainly what every fan saw: this was not good enough, and the people who keep getting chances must earn the next ones.

That does not mean humiliating Wells or Volpe. It means refusing to treat honesty as disloyalty. When it comes to Boone, there is no accountability. It's called coddling.

Now, Willie Randolph knows what a champion looks like. He lived through the Bronx Zoo, coached the 1996 champions, spent time with this year’s club in spring training, and sees camaraderie and pitching that he believes can carry the Yankees to a title. I respect the firsthand view. He also said his teams were sharper fundamentally.  

The Bronx Zoo was not just a collection of personalities and good chemistry. The 1977 and 1978 Yankees won consecutive World Series. Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Graig Nettles, Ron Guidry, Randolph and the rest did their talking amid the circus by beating the people in the other dugout when the season was on the line. Randolph is entitled to see a resemblance in the room. I am entitled to say that the resemblance is incomplete until this 2026 team does the job.

I also wonder what, exactly, we are being asked to compare. The Bronx Zoo label was born from actual chaos, conflict, talent and championships. This team has an expertly managed image and an offense that can disappear for innings at a time. Calling them equal because they get along and have a deep rotation is like saying a movie poster is as good as the movie. Let me see the ending.

Here's my thing; the uniform is enough reason to root, but it's not enough reason to pretend. Does that make sense? 

I will be there on the couch for the first pitch against Boston. I will celebrate every Rice homer, every Schlittler strikeout, every Lombard play and every unlikely contribution from Volpe or Wells. 

But I am done letting the Yankees tell me that skepticism is a failure of fandom. Loving this team means caring whether the standards match the sales pitch. It means remembering the difference between a player with a great story and a player who has done the job. It means demanding more from Cashman than another clever explanation and more from Boone than another comforting one.

93 wins are real. So is the exhaustion of watching the organization try to sell us devotion to players who have not earned it yet. The 1996 Yankees earned theirs one at-bat and one October win at a time. The Bronx Zoo earned its place in history with championships.

These 2026 Yankees? They have a chance to change the conversation. Good. Let them. But until they do, stop asking me to fall in love with the advertisement. I am watching the games dude. I see everything.

That's my take.

--Robert Casey
Chief & Head Writer, Bleeding Yankee Blue

THE YANKEES LET IT FLY

The Yankees needed a response after Tampa Bay celebrated clinching the division Tuesday night.

They got one.

The Yankees blasted the Rays 9-2 on Wednesday, launching four home runs and making sure this one was never really in doubt.

And Ben Rice was the star of the show.

Rice launched his 40th home run on the first pitch of the game and then did it again later, finishing 3-for-4 with two bombs. He now has 41 home runs on the season.

That's HUGE.

Rice has become one of the most dangerous power bats on this team, and the timing couldn't be better. If he's getting hot heading into October, the Yankees could have a very interesting weapon in their lineup.

Ryan McMahon added five RBIs, including a grand slam, while George Lombard Jr. also went deep.

Gerrit Cole did his part, striking out eight over 5⅔ innings.

But let's be honest—this was the Ben Rice show.

And the Yankees certainly won't complain if he keeps swinging like this.

RODÓN STOPPED THE RAYS. BOONE COULDN’T STOP THE CELEBRATION

For one game today the Yankees looked ready to make Tampa Bay wait.

Carlos Rodón was terrific in the doubleheader opener. He gave the Yankees eight scoreless innings, allowed just three hits and didn’t walk a batter. Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer, David Bednar finished the shutout, and the Yankees won 2-0. It was crisp, decisive baseball. It also required Rodón to be nearly perfect because the lineup managed only five hits.

And Anthony Volpe? 0-for-3. Another empty line on a day when every run mattered. I’m tired of being told to see the player the Yankees hope he’ll become while watching the player standing in the batter’s box. Dude’s not good period. If Boone is making October decisions based on faith in Volpe instead of what he’s producing, fans have every reason to worry.

The nightcap gave those fans plenty more to worry about. Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the seventh and struck out 11. Heliot Ramos finally broke it up with a double, and George Lombard Jr. drove in the Yankees’ lone run. Meanwhile, Taylor Walls helped Tampa Bay build its lead, and Yandy Díaz drove in four. The Rays won 6-1, clinched the AL East, and celebrated at Yankee Stadium. That’s the image fans are left with after a split that briefly felt promising.

Now comes the familiar request to stay calm because the Yankees made the playoffs. Fine. They made it. But October doesn’t hand out runs for regular-season wins, and it doesn’t give a manager extra time to figure things out. Aaron Judge is expected to miss the Wild Card series. The lineup just produced one run and three hits in the game that decided the division. A fan looking at that and feeling uneasy is paying attention.

And that brings me to Aaron Boone. His teams win plenty of games over a long season. I know the number. What I want to know is why, when the pressure rises, I’m supposed to trust him to get the crucial decisions right. A manager is judged by what happens when there’s no comfortable margin left, and Boone has done little to earn that trust from me. Why does Hal Steinbrenner continue to allow Boone to manage this team? How many anxious Octobers does he need to see before he asks whether regular-season success is enough?

Rodón showed what the Yankees can look like at their best. A few hours later, the Rays showed them what it looks like to finish the job. The Yankees still have a postseason ahead of them, but this is a rocky road to get there. Right now, being a Yankees fan feels less like anticipation and more like bracing for the next bump.

SHOULD YANKEE FANS PANIC YET?

The Yankees had this game. Then, almost on cue, they gave it away.

New York jumped out to a 4-1 lead after Heliot Ramos, George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones all homered in the third inning. The kids supplied the power, the Yankees grabbed control—and then everything collapsed.

Arizona scored seven unanswered runs, with Nolan Arenado delivering the crushing blow: a fifth-inning grand slam off Brent Headrick that turned a three-run Yankees lead into another ugly loss. The Diamondbacks won 8-4 and took the series. Once Arenado’s ball landed in the seats, the Yankees never answered. Five Arizona relievers shut them out over the final 6 1/3 innings. 

So, do we panic yet?

Maybe “panic” is too dramatic, but concern is absolutely justified. This is no longer about one bad inning in Arizona. The Yankees are now six games behind Tampa Bay with only seven remaining, and their shot at the American League East is barely breathing. They will almost certainly enter October through the Wild Card door—assuming they don’t stumble even further.

And that brings us back to Aaron Boone.

Boone has won plenty of regular-season games. His defenders will always point to the record, the playoff appearances and the consistency. But managing the Yankees isn’t about piling up victories from April through August. It’s about executing when the pressure arrives.

Boone has repeatedly shown that when a game tightens, his decision-making does too. Sunday was another example. The Yankees had a lead, the inning was slipping away, and Boone entrusted the game to an overworked Headrick, making his 79th appearance. By the time Boone reacted, Arenado had already put Arizona ahead for good.

That is Boone’s greatest weakness, and it will always make him a poor manager in my eyes—regardless of how many regular-season wins appear next to his name. The postseason exposes hesitation, questionable bullpen choices and managers who fail to feel the moment. We have watched that movie before.

The Yankees now head into a four-game series against Tampa Bay. Boone says they need to “kick their butt.” That sounds wonderful. But this team doesn’t need another Boone slogan. It needs urgency, clean execution and a manager capable of staying ahead of the game instead of reacting after it has already been lost.

Should Yankee fans panic?

Not yet. But if this is how Boone and the Yankees plan to handle October pressure, we already know how the story ends.

The dude can't close. Yes, we clinched a playoff spot, but that means nothing if we can't win it all.  The dude's not George Patton... he not even close.

YANKEES WIN BIG—BUT JUDGE’S INJURY CHANGES EVERYTHING

Give the Yankees credit. They are finding ways to win, and Friday night’s 9-2 beatdown of the Diamondbacks was another impressive example.

New York buried Arizona with five runs in the first inning and never looked back. Ben Rice launched his 39th home run and added a triple. George Lombard Jr. drove in three runs, including two on his own homer. Gerrit Cole finally looked like Gerrit Cole again, allowing two runs over six innings while becoming the winningest No. 1 overall draft pick in baseball history.

That is the formula the Yankees need: hit early, pitch well and stop making every game feel like open-heart surgery.

But let’s not dance around the real problem. Aaron Judge is hurt again, this time with a calf strain, and he is headed to the injured list. The Yankees can survive a few regular-season games without Judge. Winning four postseason series without him—or with a compromised version of him—is another story.

I don’t believe this team can win it all without a healthy Judge. Rice, Lombard and the rest can contribute, but Judge is the force that changes an opponent’s entire game plan.

Then there is Aaron Boone. Once October arrives and every pitching change, lineup decision and defensive substitution matters, we already know what happens. Boone overthinks, waits too long or finds some new way to blow it under pressure.

So yes, applaud the Yankees. They are winning, showing depth and refusing to fold. But if Judge isn’t right—and Boone is still Boone—the ending may be painfully familiar.

YANKS KEEP TEARING IT UP

The Yankees are rolling. There, I said it. And now I’m immediately nervous.

New York beat up the Twins again Tuesday night, 8-1, winning their third straight and seventh in their last eight games. Suddenly this team looks dangerous at exactly the right time.

Max Fried was outstanding. Seven innings, one run, six strikeouts and no walks. That’s the Fried the Yankees need in October.

Cody Bellinger stayed hot, going 3-for-4 and launching a two-run homer in the first inning. Then Spencer Jones delivered the knockout punch — a massive 423-foot, three-run bomb in the sixth that blew the game open.

And don’t overlook George Lombard Jr. The kid had two more hits and drove in a run. Heliot Ramos had two hits as well, and the Yankees piled up 14 hits even with Aaron Judge getting the night off.

This is what we’ve been waiting for. Pitching. Power. Young guys contributing. Different guys stepping up every night.

The Yankees are 88-63, they’ve already punched their ticket to October, and right now they’re playing some of their best baseball of the season.

I want to get excited. I really do.

But I’ve watched this team too long to get my hopes up just yet.

Keep rolling. Keep winning. And maybe — just maybe — they’ll make believers out of us.

LOMBARD GOES GRAND. VOLPE GETS ANOTHER LIFE

George Lombard Jr. gave Yankee fans the moment of the night.

With Spencer Jones working a two-out walk to help load the bases, Lombard stepped up and crushed an opposite-field grand slam — the first of his career and the Yankees’ first grand slam of the season.

The kid continues to impress.

Jones deserves credit, too. Two walks, patience at the plate and another contribution from a young player who looks like he belongs.

And Will Warren? Six strong innings, one run and eight strikeouts. Exactly what the Yankees needed.

Then came the news that made me roll my eyes.

Anthony Volpe is coming back.

With Jazz Chisholm Jr. suffering a thumb sprain, Volpe will rejoin the major league roster Thursday. And apparently we're going to force this experiment into second base now?

Why?

José Caballero is already here. He can play second. Let him.

I simply don't care about the Anthony Volpe experiment anymore. He had his opportunity. It was a long time. The Yankees finally sent him to Triple-A, Lombard took over at shortstop, and the kid has brought energy and excitement.

Why are we still trying to manufacture opportunities for Volpe?

At some point, stop trying to prove you're right about a player and just play the guys who give you the best chance to win.

This is the kind of organizational nonsense that makes it hard for me to root for this team sometimes.

Lombard is giving you something special. Don't screw it up.

YANKEES WAKE UP LATE TO LOSE THE SERIES

If Gerrit Cole was looking to set the tone Sunday, he certainly did. Unfortunately, it was the wrong one.

Cole opened the game by serving up back-to-back-to-back home runs to Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado. Three batters. Three bombs. Welcome to the ballgame.

To Cole's credit, he settled down and gave the Yankees seven innings, but when you're chasing the game from the opening minutes, you're playing with fire.

The Yankees eventually woke up. Spencer Jones ripped an RBI double in the eighth, and Amed Rosario helped turn some Padres sloppiness into two more runs. Suddenly, it was 4-3 and the Yankees had a pulse.

George Lombard Jr. doubled, too, and once again the kids showed some fight. That's encouraging.

But encouraging doesn't win divisions.

The Yankees lost 4-3, dropped two of three in San Diego and now head home four games behind Tampa Bay.

September is here. The excuses are gone.

Time to stop chasing games and start winning them.

YANKEES PUNCH BACK IN SAN DIEGO

Every once in a while, the Yankees play a game that doesn't require blood-pressure medication.

Saturday was one of them.

The Yankees bounced back from Friday's brutal extra-inning loss and handled the Padres, 5-1, at Petco Park, evening the series and setting up a pretty important Sunday rubber match.

The fun started in the second inning when Spencer Jones — playing near where he grew up — ripped an RBI double into the right-field corner to get the Yankees rolling. And I continue to like what I'm seeing from this kid.

Then San Diego starter Robbie Ray temporarily forgot that throwing strikes is generally part of the job. The Yankees actually did something we've begged them to do for years: they stayed patient.

Walks piled up, Paul Goldschmidt drew a bases-loaded free pass, and Cody Bellinger eventually made Ray pay with a two-run single. Just like that, it was 4-0. George Lombard Jr. added a sacrifice fly in the third and the Yankees had five runs without hitting a home run.

Imagine that. Actual baseball.

Ben Rice was terrific, going 3-for-3 with two walks and reaching base all five times. That's called being a pain in the ass, and every good lineup needs one.

Carlos Rodón took care of the rest. He gave the Yankees five innings, struck out seven and allowed only two hits and one run — a Manny Machado solo homer. The bullpen slammed the door from there as San Diego managed just three hits all night.

So now it's simple.

The Yankees took the punch Friday night, got off the mat Saturday and punched back.

Now win the damn series.

LOMBARD BROUGHT THE SPARK. NOW WE NEED HIM HEALTHY.

Just when George Lombard Jr. was starting to put his fingerprints all over this Yankee team, Yankee fans got a scare Saturday night.

And it happened on a seemingly harmless play.

During the second inning of the Yankees' 9-2 win over Boston, Lombard checked his swing on a 2-2 pitch from Brayan Bello. Something didn't look right. Lombard grimaced and grabbed at his right knee, prompting Aaron Boone and the Yankees' training staff to come out and check on him.

But Lombard stayed in. In fact, he singled on the very next pitch.

He even came to the plate again in the third inning, but by then the Yankees could see the knee was bothering him. Boone later explained that watching Lombard run down the line didn't look right, so the Yankees weren't taking chances. Lombard did not return to shortstop for the fourth inning and was sent to NewYork-Presbyterian for imaging.

Thankfully, the early news appears encouraging. Boone said after the game that the initial indication was that Lombard's injury was a day-to-day situation, though the Yankees were still waiting for complete clarification.

That's a relief if it's actually true. The Yankees have a way of giving wrong information through Boone, so I feel hopeful, but who knows. Here's the thing, Lombard has become much more important to this team than his numbers suggest. He's changed the energy.

There's an aggressiveness to his game. There's speed, athleticism and confidence. He makes things happen. Since arriving in the Bronx, Lombard has brought a different feel to a Yankee team that desperately needed some life.

Sure, there have been errors. Who cares? Look beyond them. He's a kid. Look at the talent. Look at the range. Look at the way he runs the bases. Look at the confidence. Most importantly, look at the energy that seems to follow him around the field.

This kid can play. That's what makes Saturday night's injury so unfortunate. The Yankees finally injected some young, exciting talent into this roster, Lombard grabbed the opportunity, and suddenly we're talking about his knee instead of everything he's been bringing to the ballclub.

Hopefully this is nothing more than a brief interruption.

But whether Lombard misses a game, a few games or whatever the Yankees decide is necessary, don't suddenly change the conversation about him.

Don't let a few errors define him. Don't forget what happened to the energy of this team when he arrived. And definitely don't give up on George Lombard Jr.

The Yankees have something here. Something special. Now get that knee healthy and get back out there, kid.

The Yankees are simply more fun with you in the lineup.

GEORGE LOMBARD JR. IS FINE. LET THE KID ADJUST.

Can we please stop doing this?

George Lombard Jr. makes a few errors and suddenly people are examining the kid like he's been playing shortstop in the Bronx for five years.

He's 21. He's been here for about five minutes. And quite frankly, George Lombard Jr. has been one of the most refreshing things to happen to this Yankees team all season.

The kid has energy. He has confidence. He has range. He has an arm. He moves like an actual shortstop. And we've already watched him get to baseballs that Yankees infielders weren't getting to earlier this year.

Paul O'Neill has noticed it too.

O'Neill has praised Lombard's natural defensive ability on YES and essentially told everyone to relax about the recent errors. He's talked about the plays Lombard can make, his range and his ability to handle the position.

I'll take Paul O'Neill's eyes over somebody counting errors on a stat sheet after two weeks.

And here's the other thing:

STOP TRYING TO TURN GEORGE LOMBARD JR. INTO ANTHONY VOLPE.

Seriously. Stop. This isn't about Volpe. This is about Lombard. They're different players. Different circumstances. Different skill sets. Different stories.

Every time Lombard makes an error, we don't need a referendum on Yankee shortstops. The Yankees shouldn't panic. The fans shouldn't panic. And Lombard certainly shouldn't start playing scared because everybody suddenly expects perfection from a kid who was in the minor leagues a few weeks ago.

Want to know what young players do?

They screw up. Then they adjust. Then they get better. That's baseball.

One of Lombard's recent mistakes came down to something as simple as glove positioning. That's not some catastrophic revelation that the kid can't field. That's a mechanical mistake.

You fix it. You move on. What you can't teach nearly as easily is the stuff Lombard already has. Range. Arm strength. Athleticism. Instinct. Confidence.

That's the package I'm interested in.

And there's something else about Lombard that doesn't show up in a box score. The Yankees look comfortable with him out there. He looks comfortable being there. There isn't that feeling that everybody is holding their breath waiting for something to happen.

He's playing baseball. Let him. That's what has made Lombard such a breath of fresh air. He's young. He's exciting. He's aggressive. And he carries himself like a kid who believes he belongs in the Bronx.

Will there be growing pains? Of course. We have stated that here at Bleeding Yankee Blue. There damn well better be. He's 21 years old. If we're expecting a finished major-league shortstop two weeks into his career, the problem isn't George Lombard Jr.

It's our expectations. So enough with the panic. Enough with counting every error. And please, enough with the Volpe comparisons. Let George Lombard Jr. be George Lombard Jr.

The talent is there. The confidence is there. The Yankees are behind him. Now give the kid some time. He's going to be just fine. And I have a feeling we're going to be watching him make plays in the Bronx for a very long time.

ALL THE TOOLS ARE THERE. LET LOMBARD COOK.

Let’s state something for the record: since George Lombard Jr. arrived in the big leagues, he has been a breath of fresh air.

Actually, make that a huge breath of fresh air that the Yankees desperately needed. The kid looks like he belongs. He moves like a natural athlete, plays with energy, runs the bases aggressively and — imagine this — actually looks comfortable playing shortstop for the New York Yankees.

 

Since his arrival, the Yankees have been playing better baseball, and Lombard has already found ways to contribute beyond the box score. On Wednesday in Baltimore, for example, he drove in two runs, including the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of a 5-3 Yankees win, not the mention homers, smooth fielding plays, great instincts.

And this is precisely why I have a problem with anyone suddenly reaching for the panic button when the kid screws something up. Because he will screw something up. He's a kid.

Friday night against Toronto, Lombard dropped a foul ball at shortstop. It was an error. It wasn't pretty.

So what?

He's 21 years old.

Back on July 26, before Lombard ever stepped onto a major-league field, I wrote this:

“Will George Lombard Jr. struggle when he gets to New York?

Of course he will. Every rookie does.

Aaron Judge struggled. Derek Jeter struggled.

The difference is those struggles come attached to legitimate upside. They're part of developing a player whose ceiling still looks incredibly high. With Volpe, Yankees fans aren't watching growing pains anymore. They're watching the same movie over and over, hoping the ending changes. It hasn't.”

And that is exactly where I still stand. There is absolutely no comparison between what we're watching with Lombard and what we watched for years with Anthony Volpe.

The Yankees handed Volpe the major-league shortstop job and essentially decided to finish his development in the Bronx. The training wheels were attached while the Yankees were trying to win baseball games. Mistakes became patterns. Patterns became seasons. And eventually Volpe, at 25 years old, was sent back to the minors.

Lombard's situation is totally different. The Yankees drafted him in 2023 and developed him through their system slowly. He earned his promotions. In 2026, he hit .284 with a .411 on-base percentage and .909 OPS in the minors before getting the call.

Then he arrived in New York and immediately looked like he belonged. His first major-league hit was a home run, and he flashed the glove immediately in his debut. As of Saturday morning, Lombard is hitting .292 with a .352 OBP and .790 OPS through his first 48 major-league at-bats.

That's not a finished product. That's the point. Lombard is a kid playing Major League Baseball. There will be errors. There will be bad at-bats. There will eventually be a slump because major-league pitchers have this annoying habit of adjusting to hitters. Then Lombard will have to adjust back. But let me be clear, it will be nothing in comparison to Anthony Volpe. Volpe was not ready and the Yankees forced him down our throats. Lombard? Lombard IS ready.

That's why I don't want to hear the overreaction if Lombard make a mistake. He's going to make rookie mistakes because — breaking news — he's a rookie.   I believed Lombard would eventually grab the spotlight because the athletic ability was obvious. Now we're seeing it.

So, enjoy the kid. Let him play. Let him screw up occasionally. And when he eventually goes 2-for-20 and somebody declares that pitchers have “figured him out,” everybody please remember what we're actually watching. We're not watching Anthony Volpe all over again.

We're watching a 21-year-old legitimate major-league talent learning how to become a major-league star. There is a very big difference.

And right now, George Lombard Jr. looks like he belongs exactly where he is.

YANKS ARE ROLLING. SHOULD WE TRUST IT?

I have to give the Yankees credit. They’re winning. They’re working through the kinks, finding different ways to win baseball games and, dare I say it, actually starting to look like a team instead of nine guys waiting around for somebody to hit a three-run homer.

As I mentioned this morning on BYB, Wednesday night's 5–3 win over Baltimore made it three straight wins, and eight of the nine Yankee starters had a hit. The bullpen picked up Will Warren after he lasted only four innings, and the Yankees found a way to break a 3–3 tie in the eighth.

That's impressive. That's baseball.

And right in the middle of it again was George Lombard Jr.

The kid has elevated this team. I'm not suggesting Lombard suddenly turned the Yankees into the 1998 club. I'm saying his presence has changed the feel of this team. There's energy. There's speed. There's urgency. There's a young player out there who appears to understand that sometimes winning baseball isn't about launching a ball 450 feet.

Sometimes you just have to make something happen. That's exactly what Lombard did Wednesday. With the game tied in the eighth, he chopped a ball and used his speed to beat it out for the go-ahead RBI single. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't majestic.

It was winning baseball. And that's what I love about this kid. Lombard doesn't appear intimidated by the moment. Remember, this is a 21-year-old who was called up barely two weeks ago and homered in his major-league debut. Now we're watching him contribute in meaningful August games.

There's something else happening, too. The Yankees seem to be feeding off that youthful energy. That's important.

Now, naturally, when the Yankees start winning, Aaron Boone looks pretty good. Funny how that works.

When everybody hits, the bullpen gets outs, the kids make plays and the Yankees string together victories, the manager suddenly looks like he's pushing all the right buttons. But I've always believed something about managers:

You don't learn much about them when everything is working. You learn about them when everything stops working. When the lineup goes cold. When the bullpen gets shaky. When you've lost three straight and tomorrow night's game suddenly feels enormous.

That's when managing matters. That's when you need somebody capable of changing the temperature in the room, making the difficult decision, sitting the wrong player, riding the right one and recognizing trouble before it becomes a five-game losing streak.

That's where my concern with Boone remains. Because September is coming. The pressure is going to increase. Every game gets heavier. Every mistake gets magnified. And eventually this team is going to hit another rough patch. Every team does.

So, I say it clearly... enjoy this. I certainly am.

Give the Yankees credit for grinding through the problems and starting to play better baseball. And give George Lombard Jr. a huge amount of credit, because the kid has brought something this team desperately needed.

Energy.

Instinct.

Fearlessness.

But here's the question I can't shake:

What happens when the Yankees stop making Aaron Boone look good? Because eventually Boone may have to make the Yankees look good. And are you as frightened as I am that we're going to find out sometime in September?

GEORGE LOMBARD JUST MAKES THINGS HAPPEN

The Yankees won again Wednesday night, and this one had something we've been begging to see more of: energy, speed and smart baseball.

New York beat Baltimore 5–3 for its third straight win, and George Lombard Jr. was right in the middle of it.

With the game tied 3–3 in the eighth and the bases loaded, Lombard didn't need to launch one into the seats. He put the ball on the ground and busted it down the line, beating the play for an infield single and bringing home the go-ahead run. Speed created pressure. Pressure created a mistake. That's baseball.

Then Jazz Chisholm Jr. added another run by aggressively reading a wild pitch and racing home, giving the Yankees some breathing room at 5–3. Aaron Boone specifically praised Chisholm's instincts on the bases.

And that's what I liked about this win.

It wasn't simply waiting around for somebody to hit a three-run homer. The Yankees made things happen.

And Lombard continues to show something that can't always be measured on a spreadsheet: awareness, hustle and the ability to impact a baseball game.

The kid looks like he belongs.

Keep playing him. This was the best move the Yankees made all season.

THE GREAT VOLPE MISREAD

There comes a point when we have to stop talking about Anthony Volpe as if the breakout is always right around the corner.

Maybe this is simply who he is. And maybe the bigger question isn't Anthony Volpe anymore. Maybe it's how the Yankees evaluated him in the first place. Let's get the current numbers straight, because Volpe deserves that much.

Since being demoted again in August, Volpe hasn't been completely helpless at Scranton. In fact, he put together a seven-game hitting streak through August 14, including a 408-foot home run. Then he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout on August 15.

Fine. But can we please stop acting like getting some hits against Triple-A pitching is proof that the Anthony Volpe experiment is suddenly working? He's 25 years old. He's been a major leaguer since 2023. This isn't some 20-year-old prospect getting his first taste of Triple-A. Volpe is down there because after years of being handed the Yankees shortstop job, he still hasn't established himself as a quality Major League hitter.

In 2026 with the Yankees, Volpe hit .240 with one home run in 56 games. His slugging percentage was just .322. After the All-Star break, things became even uglier: .212/.250/.303. Eventually the Yankees finally did what they seemingly refused to do for years. They stopped protecting the idea of Anthony Volpe and started evaluating the actual baseball player. And that brings me back to something Bleeding Yankee Blue raised months ago.

In May, BYB published HOW YANKEE SCOUTS LOST THEIR WAY IN THE VOLPE RECRUITMENT questioning whether people inside the Yankees scouting operation became so invested in Volpe and his family that objective evaluation may have been compromised. My opinion based on my research by the way. That's not a proven allegation of wrongdoing. But after watching this play out, I think it's absolutely fair to question the process.

Because the Yankees didn't merely like Anthony Volpe. They seemed determined to make Anthony Volpe happen. Remember how this started. Before becoming the Yankees' Opening Day shortstop in 2023, Volpe had played just 22 games at Triple-A.

Twenty-two. Then suddenly he wasn't developing in Scranton anymore. He was the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees. He hit .209 with a .283 OBP his rookie season.

Instead of wondering whether they rushed him, the Yankees doubled down. Then they doubled down again. In 2024, the OPS was .657. In 2025, he hit .212 with a .272 OBP. And in 2026, after returning from shoulder surgery, we got another .240 average, one home run and a .646 OPS before the Yankees finally sent him back down. At what point does "development" become organizational stubbornness?

That's why the Yankee scouting and development operation deserves scrutiny. Not because Anthony Volpe was some ridiculous prospect nobody else liked. That's revisionist history. He was legitimately highly regarded and had tremendous minor-league seasons.

The failure was something different. The Yankees appear to have confused potential with readiness. Good scouting isn't simply saying, This kid has talent. Good player development is knowing when that talent is ready for Yankee Stadium. And apparently it wasn't. Worse, once the Yankees committed to Volpe, they seemingly spent years trying to prove their original decision correct.

Bad offensive season? Be patient. Another bad offensive season? He's developing. Defensive problems? He's working through them. Another prolonged slump? Trust the process.

Meanwhile, other players get a bus ticket to Scranton before their laundry is finished. That is why the favoritism question isn't crazy. I can't tell you what happened behind closed doors. Neither can anyone else who wasn't in those rooms. But I can look at the extraordinary runway Anthony Volpe received and ask a very simple question:

Would another Yankee prospect have received the same treatment with the same production?

That's the question the Yankees should have to answer. And now look where we've ended up. The shortstop the Yankees were so convinced was ready in 2023 is back in Triple-A in 2026, learning second base, while George Lombard Jr. has been promoted to play shortstop in the Bronx.

That's not development going according to plan. That's the plan changing because the original one failed. And yes, Volpe getting hits in Scranton is better than him going 0-for-30. Wonderful.

He's supposed to hit Triple-A pitching. He's supposed to look more comfortable there. The standard can't suddenly become, Anthony made a nice play at second base today.

What are we doing here?

This isn't personal against Volpe. He didn't promote himself in 2023. He didn't write the scouting reports. He didn't put himself in the lineup year after year. The Yankees did. They made him believe he was major league ready. That's why, if this experiment ultimately fails, the Yankees shouldn't simply toss Volpe into the pile of prospects who "didn't work out" and move along.

They should examine the entire process. Who decided 22 Triple-A games were enough? Who was pounding the table that he was Major League ready? Why did his leash remain so long despite years of below-average offensive production? And did organizational attachment to the player make it harder for the Yankees to objectively admit they had made a mistake?

Those are legitimate questions.

Because maybe Anthony Volpe wasn't the biggest failure in the Anthony Volpe experiment. Maybe the failure belongs to the people who were so determined to prove they were right about him that it took four years to consider they might have been wrong. And if that's the case, don't just investigate Anthony Volpe's swing. Investigate the Yankees' evaluation process.

And for my personal opinion? I don't want this guy back in pinstripes. All you have to do is look at how graceful George Lombard Jr. is at short and recognize that we were missing an actual baseball player in the middle infield for 3 years.  It's over.  

It's time to turn the page.  That's it.

GRISHAM, RODÓN & LOMBARD GIVE ME SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT

Well, look at that.

The Yankees won a baseball game Tuesday night, 3–1 over the Orioles, and for once I don't feel the need to immediately locate the nearest wall and bang my head against it.

I'm calling that progress.

And while this wasn't exactly Murderers' Row reincarnated—the Yankees managed only five hits—there were actually several things to like about this one. So yes, I'm going to enjoy it. I don't get to do this nearly enough.

Let's start with Trent Grisham, because apparently he decided the rest of the offense could take the night off. Grisham drove in all three Yankee runs, blasting his 17th homer in the third inning and then delivering the biggest hit of the night, a two-run single in the seventh that broke a 1–1 tie. Even better, that single came after Grisham fell behind 0–2 against left-hander Josh Walker.

That's called a professional at-bat. Remember those?

Then there was Carlos Rodón, back from the injured list and looking pretty damn good considering he hadn't pitched in the majors since June 28. Rodón went four innings, allowed one run on 2 hits and gave the Yankees exactly what they needed in his first game back. The lone damage was a Coby Mayo solo homer.

Was it vintage Cy Young stuff? No. Did I need it to be? Absolutely not. Get Rodón healthy. Get him comfortable. Get him stretched out. If the Yankees are going anywhere meaningful over the next two months, they're going to need this guy.

And then there's George Lombard Jr.

I don't want to get carried away with a young player after a couple of weeks, because we've seen how dangerous that can be around this organization. But the kid keeps giving us reasons to watch.

Lombard went 2-for-4 with a run scored, but the play everyone will remember came with the glove. He ranged deep to his right, planted himself however the hell he could and fired across the diamond to rob Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

Rodón's reaction on the YES broadcast pretty much said it all.

Grunt Baseball here. These Yankee pitchers are WOW'd with what it's like to have an ACTUAL shortstop behind them.  That should tell the Yankees front office everything they need to know.

The interesting part is that Lombard isn't just surviving at shortstop. He's looking comfortable there. Since his August 4 call-up, he's provided athleticism, defense and some life to a lineup desperately needing it.

That's refreshing.

And finally, give the bullpen some credit.

After Rodón departed, Yankee relievers covered five scoreless innings. Yerry De Los Santos earned the win, Fernando Cruz helped escape trouble in the seventh, and David Bednar closed it out for save No. 28. Baltimore finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners.

That's how you win when the offense isn't exactly setting off fireworks.

Pitch. Play defense. Get the big hit. Go home. It doesn't have to be complicated.

The Yankees are now 70–55, they've won two straight, and Tampa Bay lost Tuesday, pulling New York to five games back in the AL East.

Am I planning the parade? Relax. This team still has problems. Five hits isn't exactly something you frame and hang over the fireplace. Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton are still out, and there are plenty of questions surrounding this roster.

But Tuesday night wasn't about complaining. It was about Grisham coming through when they needed him. Rodón returning and looking healthy. Lombard continuing to show us something. And a bullpen protecting a lead instead of lighting it on fire.

That's a good Yankee win. I'll take it. Hell, I'll even smile about it. Just don't make me regret saying that Wednesday night.