THE YANKEES DEMAND LOYALTY BUT WHEN WILL THEIR LEADERSHIP DELIVER ACCOUNTABILITY?

Ya'll have some explaining to do. I mean, how many times are Yankees fans supposed to watch the same ending before the people running this organization admit the script needs to change?

Another October is over. Another opportunity is gone. Tampa Bay swept the Yankees out of the ALDS, extending a championship drought that now stretches across 17 seasons. And the questions reach well beyond one lineup, one pitching change or one injured superstar. They reach the people responsible for deciding what Yankees baseball is supposed to look like.

Hal Steinbrenner. Brian Cashman. Randy Levine. Aaron Boone. Different responsibilities. Different levels of authority. The same obligation to answer for the product.

Yankees fans deserve a team that looks prepared when the season is on the line. They deserve players who understand situations, coaches who correct recurring mistakes and executives who can recognize when their own approach needs to change. That is a reasonable expectation for any organization. For the Yankees, it should be the starting point.

And now some of the people who wore the uniform are asking the same questions.

The criticism is coming from inside the Yankees family

Anthony Rizzo spent four seasons in the Bronx. After this year’s elimination, he offered a blunt assessment on Ross and Rizzo Unfiltered:

“Like we just keep doing the same every year and we don’t win. That’s insanity.”

Rizzo acknowledged the talent in the lineup while questioning why the results against strong competition keep falling short. That distinction matters. A roster can look impressive and still expose serious weaknesses in how an organization assembles, prepares and deploys it.

CC Sabathia went straight at the culture.

“No disrespect, but they don’t know what that standard is.”

During an October discussion with Dellin Betances and Chris Young, Sabathia described the influence of veterans and former Yankees who once made the organization’s expectations tangible. He questioned whether that standard was still being maintained. The conversation also addressed preparation and Boone’s tendency to defend his players.

Those are serious concerns from someone whose credibility in that clubhouse was earned through performance, toughness and leadership.

Alex Rodriguez, meanwhile, called for an organizational rethink on FOX:

“There has to be a philosophy change.”

Importantly, Rodriguez explicitly stopped short of demanding firings. His criticism concerned the Yankees’ baseball judgment, defensive priorities and uncertainty across several positions entering an elimination game. You can disagree with his preferred solution. You cannot reasonably dismiss that diagnosis as a fan yelling from the cheap seats.

Then came Joe Girardi.

“There are things that happen and you wonder, ‘Is someone saying anything?’”

Girardi pointed to Austin Wells’ baserunning mistake and Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s costly throw during the postseason. He also defended Boone’s work under difficult circumstances. His comments were a warning about accountability and repeated fundamental failures, rather than a straightforward demand to replace the manager.

That nuance strengthens the larger argument. These men do not need to agree about Boone’s future to recognize that something in the organization needs attention.

The mistakes have become too familiar

Go back to the fifth inning of Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.

Aaron Judge dropped a fly ball. Anthony Volpe made a throwing error. Gerrit Cole failed to cover first on a grounder to Anthony Rizzo. A five-run lead disappeared in an inning that became an unforgettable exhibit of baseball breaking down at its most basic level.

Now move forward to Game 2 against Tampa Bay in 2026: four Yankees errors, with defensive mistakes and catcher’s interference helping turn the game against them.

Every player makes mistakes. Great players make mistakes in enormous moments.

But recurring failures demand more than reassurance. They demand an examination of preparation, positioning, instruction and consequences. When similar problems survive from one postseason to another, the organization has to explain what it changed and why those changes failed.

Fans should be able to see the correction.

Jake Bauers deserves an honest examination

Watching Jake Bauers become the 2026 NLCS MVP for Milwaukee should make the Yankees uncomfortable. The former Yankee helped drive the Brewers past the Dodgers and into the World Series.

But there is an important fact here: New York did work with him.

Reporting in 2023 documented swing and approach adjustments during Bauers’ time in the Yankees’ system, including changes to his bat path. The organization identified something worth developing and invested instruction in it.

The Yankees subsequently traded him to Milwaukee for prospects Jace Avina and Brian Sánchez. His later success does not automatically prove that trade was indefensible when it happened. Player development is uneven, and no team gets every decision right.

Here is the question Cashman should have to answer: How well does the organization recognize which improvements will last, and how effectively does it carry promising developmental work into sustained major league production?

Bauers’ success makes that question worth asking. Claiming the Yankees never helped him would let the front office dismiss the criticism with an easy factual correction.

The stronger argument demands an explanation of what they saw, why they moved on and what they learned.

Players have questioned the instruction before. The concerns predate this October. In 2023, former Yankees minor leaguer Ben Ruta offered a devastating assessment:

“There is no baseball being taught there anymore.”

Ruta criticized a developmental emphasis he believed rewarded selected measurable outcomes while neglecting broader baseball instruction. His account represents one former player’s experience, rather than a complete audit of the farm system. Still, it raised a question the Yankees should welcome being tested: Are their players learning how to win games, or mainly how to improve the measurements the organization values?

Sonny Gray also publicly questioned the fit between his abilities and the Yankees’ instruction. In 2019, he criticized their emphasis on a slider he described as “a s----y spinning pitch.” Contemporary analysis challenged parts of his recollection using pitch-tracking data, so his explanation should not be treated as the final word on his struggles. But it remains a documented example of a player saying the prescribed approach did not suit him.

Good coaching requires adapting instruction to the person receiving it. An organization should be confident enough in its methods to recognize when those methods need adjustment.

Boone’s responsibility cannot disappear behind his popularity. The Yankees hired Boone without previous coaching or managerial experience. That was their choice, and they own it.

Years later, however, his original résumé is a weaker argument than the work fans can now judge for themselves.

Does his team execute? Does it respond to mistakes? Does it enter difficult situations prepared? Does his leadership produce observable improvement?

A manager can care about his players, maintain their trust and still fall short in enforcing standards. Public support has value. So does knowing when support needs to include a hard conversation and a changed expectation.

It would also be inaccurate to describe the entire coaching operation as having no experience. The more useful demand is that the Yankees demonstrate that their instruction works.

Fans are entitled to ask why basic problems remain visible after years of opportunities to address them.

Randy Levine’s record includes a lesson in how to alienate a player

If Levine wants to discuss organizational standards, his handling of Dellin Betances’ 2017 arbitration case belongs in the conversation. After the Yankees won, Levine publicly criticized the position taken by Betances’ representatives. Betances said the experience left him feeling attacked:

“They take me in a room, trash me for about an hour-and-a-half.”

Levine also praised Betances as an elite setup man, but his decision to continue the dispute publicly helped turn a completed salary proceeding into an unnecessary confrontation. That episode is an older example, and it should be identified as one. It nevertheless illustrates a leadership failure worth remembering: winning a negotiation does not excuse damaging a relationship with someone whose work you depend on.

The Yankees should bring the same energy to examining executive mistakes that they bring to defending executive decisions.

Hal owns the outcome. Steinbrenner has said, “I don’t believe I should have a $300 million payroll to win a championship.” Fair enough. Then demand better results from the people spending it.

A large payroll is a resource. Turning it into a balanced, prepared team is management’s job.

Hal does not have to imitate his father’s temper. He does have to establish expectations that carry consequences. He chooses who leads baseball operations. He decides whether continuity remains justified. He has the authority to require an independent examination of development, coaching and roster construction.

Backing your employees can be admirable. Continuing to back an approach without demanding convincing evidence of improvement becomes something else.

The public record cannot tell us every private conversation Hal or Levine has had. Fans can judge whether the organization’s actions are producing the promised standard.

The Yankees need changes people can see

A serious response would begin with clear responsibility: for player development, defensive preparation, baserunning, roster balance and the correction of recurring mistakes.

It would include baseball voices empowered to challenge Cashman’s assumptions. It would judge coaches by their ability to teach and improve players. It would examine departures such as Bauers without pretending every successful former Yankee represents a scandal.

And it would require ownership to explain why the people entrusted with solving these problems are still the right people to do it.

Fans should not have to choose between loving the Yankees and questioning their leadership.

That love is precisely why the questions matter.

Rizzo is questioning the repetition. Sabathia is questioning the standard. Rodriguez is questioning the philosophy. Girardi is questioning the accountability.

The men running the Yankees should be answering them.

The championship history belongs to the franchise.

The responsibility for what happens next belongs to its leadership.

BAUERS THRIVES & PROVES THE YANKEES FRONT OFFICE IS CLUELESS

Jake Bauers spent Wednesday night fighting off Blake Snell. Brian Cashman should have spent it fighting off indigestion.

Eleven pitches. A two-run homer. A seventh-inning lead change at Dodger Stadium that helped Milwaukee beat Los Angeles, 6–2, and move within one win of the World Series. Two nights earlier, Bauers worked a 12-pitch walk ahead of Christian Yelich’s two-run single. Apparently, somebody forgot to tell him he was supposed to be disposable.

Watch those at-bats. That is a skilled hitter working. Recognizing pitches. Protecting the plate. Refusing to surrender an at-bat because the pitcher has better credentials.

The kind of baseball you’re supposed to teach.

Which brings us to the Yankees, an organization that can explain a player’s limitations in seventeen different statistical languages but too often struggles to help him overcome them.

Bauers hit .202 with a .279 on-base percentage, a .693 OPS and 12 homers in 84 games for New York in 2023. The reason? Boone's inconsistency with the lineup.  It still exists today.  There were legitimate problems. Nobody needs to pretend otherwise. The question is whether the Yankees saw problems worth solving or they were just clueless on how to build up players. I say it's the latter.

Here’s his 2026 answer: .266/.389/.484, 26 homers, 86 RBIs. Sánchez added 12 homers and a .771 OPS.

That’s an enormous improvement for Bauers: 110 points in on-base percentage and 180 points in OPS over his Yankees season.

Funny how much better a hitter looks when he keeps reaching base.

And Gary Sánchez? Remember him? Before he became everybody’s favorite punching bag, he was supposed to be the future of the Yankees. In 2016, he hit .299 with 20 home runs in just 53 games. That excitement wasn’t invented by a marketing department. The kid could hit baseballs into next week.

He became a two-time All-Star and a Silver Slugger winner. Those accomplishments happened in pinstripes, too. That makes the eventual breakdown more frustrating: the Yankees had already seen what he could do.

Sánchez’s batting average this season certainly doesn’t scream superstar. But Milwaukee is getting useful offense from him while Bauers has become a major threat. A contender has found room for two former Yankees to contribute in October.

Somehow, the Brewers managed to survive the discovery that their players weren’t perfect.

Here’s my problem with Cashman’s operation: too often, it feels as though the Yankees acquire talent, identify the flaws and wait for the player to arrive at his own solution. When the solution doesn’t come quickly enough, the organization moves on with another explanation about roster construction.

Where is the accountability for making the player better?

We cannot see every coaching session. These numbers don’t prove nobody in New York worked with Bauers or Sánchez. But they absolutely justify asking why another organization is getting value the Yankees couldn’t sustain.

And before somebody calls this hindsight, remember Texas.

Nathan Eovaldi went 5–0 with a 2.95 ERA in the 2023 postseason. Aroldis Chapman posted a 2.25 ERA across nine playoff appearances. Jordan Montgomery was there too! Three former Yankees, both helping the Rangers win a championship.

Different departures. Different circumstances. Same irritating television experience for Yankees fans: watching familiar faces help somebody else finish the job.

No, every former Yankee doesn’t become a star. But how many of these October reminders does this front office get before its judgment becomes the story?

Development requires patience, instruction and a plan that changes when the player needs something different. You don’t get to take credit for identifying talent and then shrug when somebody else figures out how to use it.

Bauers stood there Wednesday night and made Snell keep working until he got a pitch he could punish.

That takes skill. It takes confidence. It takes the willingness to stay in the fight.

The Yankees’ front office ought to try it.

THE SECOND PLACE YANKEES

Ya'll are gonna say it, "Robert Casey is a Yankee hater." Nah bitches, I'm just a realist. You could see it in Boone's eyes before the Brewers series, and then I knew it when they lost game 1 to the Brewers and I wrote LET'S HOPE BOONE'S INCOMPETENCE DOESN'T REAR IT'S UGLY HEAD the next day. By the way, the most popular post of the weekend. Why? Cause I know what I'm talking about. I'm a Yankee fans through and through... but I also know good leadership when I see it.  And Boone? He's a pawn. Clueless in everything he does and this is the start of it. I mean sure, we'll have some nice runs this season, but even if we make the playoffs, this idiot will find a way to ruin the party... because the man is not competent. 

The Yankees look unbeatable when life is easy. When the weather is warm, the home runs are flying, and the entire operation looks smooth and polished. The lineup card writes itself. The starters cruise through six innings. The bullpen slams the door. Cameras catch Aaron Boone leaning against the dugout rail with that familiar relaxed grin and goes into the gap while postgame interviews are filled with phrases like "things are clicking." Anybody can manage that version of the Yankees.

That’s the dirty little secret nobody in the organization wants to admit. Boone is perfectly functional when everything is humming. But baseball seasons are not measured by how a manager handles smooth sailing in May against mediocre teams. Seasons are defined by tension, adversity, injuries, slumps, ugly losses, and moments where a clubhouse starts feeling pressure crawl up its spine.

That’s where real managers separate themselves. And that’s where Boone repeatedly falls apart.

This is something Yankee fans should keep watching closely because it has become one of the defining patterns of the Boone era. Ever since he became manager, the Yankees have shown the same personality flaw over and over again: when things get hard, the team gets worse mentally. Boone cannot manage adversity because he doesn’t know how to confront it. Write that down. Remember it. Because every season eventually circles back to the same ugly truth.

The sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers wasn’t just a rough series. It was a full psychological autopsy of a Boone-managed baseball team. The scores tell part of the story: 6-0, 4-3 in ten innings, and another 4-3 walk-off collapse. But honestly, the scores undersell how bad this looked. The Yankees didn’t resemble a championship-caliber team getting edged out by another contender. They looked fragile. Tight. Undisciplined. Mentally exhausted the moment the games became uncomfortable.

Game one was humiliating. Three hits. Three. Against a Milwaukee pitching staff led by Jacob Misiorowski, who carved through the Yankees lineup with the confidence. The Yankees went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, which under Boone has become less of a temporary slump and more of an organizational philosophy. And Boone’s response? Predictably passive.

 If you read social media, the papers, many questioned the lineup construction and Boone’s refusal to make aggressive bench moves earlier in the game. Struggling hitters stayed in while scoring opportunities evaporated inning after inning. Boone managed the shutout the same way he manages almost every offensive collapse: by staring into the distance and hoping the problem fixes itself organically.  The YES Network crew kept repeating that the Yankees were “just missing” pitches, but eventually “just missing” becomes your identity.

And that reflects leadership.

Because when a team constantly looks tense, emotionally fried, and fundamentally sloppy during difficult stretches, that is not random baseball luck. That is culture. That comes from the dugout. Boone has spent years trying to manage the Yankees like a motivational speaker trapped inside an analytics department. Smile a little. Clap a little. Tell the media the process is good. Defend obvious mistakes. Pretend every loss is just part of the marathon. But there’s a massive difference between staying calm and refusing to confront problems.

The Yankees under Boone still make the same mental mistakes they made years ago. They run the bases poorly. They lose situational awareness defensively. Hitters press the second momentum swings against them. The bullpen starts pitching scared. And Boone keeps standing there with the same expression of detached optimism while the game slips away in real time.

Game two was peak Boone baseball compressed into ten innings of frustration.

The Yankees had opportunities to steal the game, but every key moment became another example of poor execution mixed with questionable management. Boone’s handling of the bullpen immediately drew criticism. Fans and analysts questioned why Tim Hill was handling such a critical extra-inning situation instead of a higher-leverage arm.

Then came the play that perfectly summarized the entire Boone era. Hill fielded a comebacker in the tenth inning and attempted to force the lead runner at third instead of simply taking the guaranteed out at first. The throw struck the runner, everybody was safe, and the inning exploded into chaos. It was the kind of little-league sequence that leaves fans screaming at televisions because the fundamentals were so painfully obvious.

And here’s the important part: fans blamed Boone immediately because they no longer trust the Yankees to execute basic situational baseball under pressure. That matters. When a team repeatedly looks unprepared in key moments, people stop viewing mistakes as isolated incidents. They become symptoms.

The failed play also destroyed Boone’s defensive flexibility. Because no out was recorded, he lost the ability to intentionally walk William Contreras for a preferred matchup against Jake Bauers. Contreras then delivered the walk-off sacrifice fly while the Yankees slowly walked off the field looking emotionally shell-shocked yet again.

Afterward Boone did what Boone always does after these losses: calmly explained the process, praised the effort, and acted as if fans should ignore the obvious emotional collapse unfolding on the field. But vibes are not leadership.

Strong managers stabilize teams during adversity. Boone’s Yankees unravel during adversity. That is the defining characteristic of his tenure. When pressure increases, the Yankees get sloppier. Hitters chase more. Fielders rush plays. Pitchers nibble instead of attacking. The dugout energy becomes strangely passive, like everyone is waiting for Judge to rescue them with a three-run homer.

Then game three happened, and honestly, by that point the collapse felt inevitable.

Another 4-3 loss. Another late-game disaster. Another walk-off. David Bednar gave up the ninth-inning homer to Brice Turang, but even before the pitch left his hand, the entire game carried the emotional tension of a car with failing brakes rolling downhill.

Boone was criticized again for sticking with Bednar despite previous warning signs. He should have been. Fans questioned why the struggling reliever continued handling the ninth inning while better options existed. 

This has become another Boone trademark: managing spreadsheets instead of managing the actual human beings playing baseball games.

Even Carlos Rodón’s outing reflected the larger issue. Rodón walked five hitters and hit another in only 4.1 innings, yet Boone seemed slow to react, further draining a bullpen that was already wobbling by the end of the series. Everything felt reactive instead of proactive. The Yankees constantly looked one step behind the game.

And by the end of the sweep, the numbers became impossible to ignore. The Yankees had fallen to 1-8 against teams with winning records during that stretch. That is not meaningless noise. Contenders beat other contenders sometimes. Boone’s Yankees looked incapable of handling competitive baseball once the games became tense and uncomfortable. That’s the most damning part of all this: none of it felt new.

This is the same movie Yankee fans have watched for years. The Yankees beat weaker teams, pile up regular-season wins, and everybody starts talking about chemistry and vibes. Then they face real resistance and suddenly the flaws burst through the walls. The offense tightens up. The fundamentals disappear. The bullpen management becomes chaotic. Boone sounds less like a manager and more like a corporate spokesperson delivering damage control.

The Milwaukee sweep didn’t expose a temporary slump. It exposed a personality problem that has followed the Yankees throughout Boone’s tenure. The team looked mentally soft. Over-reliant on stars. Poorly disciplined. Unable to adjust once adversity arrived.

And after all these years, the same question keeps returning: If the Yankees always look this rattled when things get hard, what exactly is Boone bringing to the table besides calm postgame interviews and optimistic clichés?

Because championship managers are not judged by how they handle easy nights in May when everything clicks. They are judged by whether their teams can survive chaos without mentally collapsing.

And right now, Boone’s Yankees still collapse the second baseball starts getting hard.

JUAN SOTO TROLLS US AS THE OFFERS PILE UP!

Listen, Yankees fans, we’ve seen this movie before. Other teams splash cash, make big moves, and we’re left making excuses like, “Well, we’re saving for the right guy.” The right guy is staring you in the face. His name is Juan Soto, and if Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t channel his inner George Steinbrenner—stat!—this could go down as yet another humiliating chapter in the “post-George era” of mediocrity.

According to NJ.com’s Yankees beat writer Randy Miller, Soto is officially the hottest commodity in free agency. He’s got five teams throwing money at him and the Phils are interested: the Yankees, Blue Jays, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, and Dodgers. Yeah, the usual suspects.  

But here’s the kicker: Soto wants a 15-year deal worth more than the record $700 million Shohei Ohtani got last year from the Dodgers. Oh, and Soto isn’t here for any of that deferred money nonsense that Ohtani agreed to. Nope, Soto wants his cash upfront, like a man who knows his worth—and honestly, respect.

Let’s be real. While the Yankees are hopefully putting together a competitive offer, you know who else has their checkbooks wide open? Steve Cohen and the Mets. That guy is like the Monopoly Man on steroids. Reports suggest Cohen isn’t playing games:

“We’re going to find out,” Cohen said. “It’s either going to be yes or no, there’s no in-between, time will tell.”

Translation: Cohen is ready to back the Brinks truck up to Soto’s house, and Hal Steinbrenner better wake up before the Yankees get lapped by the Mets. Could you imagine? The Mets getting Soto while we re-sign someone like Jake Bauers for “depth”? No offense Jake.

Negotiations with Soto are entering their next phase, with offers getting "increasingly more serious" over the coming week. The timing? The Winter Meetings in Dallas from Dec. 9-12. If the Yankees don’t step up and close this deal by then, fans might riot. Or worse, start wearing Mets hats. I kid, I kid, I can't stand the Mets... they're just the Mets.

Oh, and the Red Sox? Those guys just upped their offer to Soto on Tuesday, which means Boston is very much in play. Imagine Soto slugging homers over the Green Monster while Yankees fans are stuck debating the wisdom of another “high upside” bargain signing. It’s sickening.

Meanwhile, Soto is out here trolling us all. On Tuesday, he posted a video on Instagram, standing at a podium and making it look like he was about to announce his new team.

Juan Soto just post this on his IG 😂 #JuanSoto pic.twitter.com/7yaTICFTCM

— Mike Rodriguez (@mikedeportes) November 26, 2024

 

Instead, he announced a partnership with Celsius energy drinks. Are you kidding me? He played us all like a fiddle. And you know what? Damn you, Juan Soto!

This isn’t just about money—it’s about legacy. George Steinbrenner would have already closed this deal by now. He would’ve offered Soto $750 million, a private island, and a lifetime supply of pinstripe pajamas. Because in the Boss’s world, winning was everything.

Hal Steinbrenner has a chance to prove he’s cut from the same cloth. Land Soto, and suddenly the Yankees are back to being the Evil Empire, feared and respected across baseball. Let him slip away to the Mets or the Red Sox, and it’s another black mark on an organization that’s already been too cautious for too long.

The Yankees need Soto. Not just because he’s 26 years old, a generational talent, and the missing piece to a lineup desperate for star power. But because failing to get him sends a clear message to the rest of the league: the Yankees aren’t who they used to be.

Hal, if you’re reading Bleeding Yankee Blue (and you should be), remember this: You’re not just signing a player—you’re saving the Yankees’ soul. Don’t let Cohen, the Red Sox, or those smug Dodgers beat you to the punch. Pull the trigger, make the deal, and let’s bring Soto to the Bronx. Anything less is unacceptable.

If we don’t get him? Don’t be surprised if fans start chanting “SELL THE TEAM” in April. You’ve been warned.

RUMOR: AN UPGRADE THE YANKEES COULD USE IS IN MIAMI

Will the Yankees make a trade for a pitcher that most likely could use and he plays for the Miami Marlins?

It's way too early to say, but this is a name you are probably not familiar with, but a guy that can definitely help this Yankee team.  No, it's not a hitter, but if this move is pulled off correctly, he will help for sure. His name is Tanner Scott.  Inside the Pinstripes writes that this idea originally came from Joel Sherman:

"New York Post's Joel Sherman posed a hypothetical deal for the Yankees involving sending young slugger Jake Bauers to the Miami Marlins for fireballer Tanner Scott.

"MLB Trade Rumors has Bauers pegged for $1.7 million in his first year of arbitration, plus he has three years of control," Sherman said. "That is the profile of a player that fits the Marlins. But do they like his potential upside? Bauers just turned 28 last week, yet six organizations already have brought him in, including heavily analytical groups in Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Seattle, and The Bronx. There is clearly something in his metrics that teams like..."

A few things: Scott is a lefty. Scott has great fastball velocity and has a 2.31 ERA in 74 outings and he's just 29 years old.  

The Yankees are looking for make some moves to improve this team.  While this is just an idea, it's a good one as far as I'm concerned.  Something the Yankees should absolutely consider.  November's coming... there is every indication the Yankees will be busy this off season. Let's hope.

BOONE: YANKEES RELATIONSHIP WITH ESTEVAN FLORIAL IS "COMPLICATED"

I feel like we have suddenly dumbed down to a social media relationship status. I bet Estevan Florial does too, and if by some miracle he doesn't, well he should.

I knew the writing was on the wall before the season started when we wrote THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR ESTEVAN FLORIAL. He had potential that the Yankees loved, but no clear path to the big leagues and his trade value was tarnished. I hated to see the Yankees stash Florial down in Triple-A while they started useless dead weight like Aaron Hicks before finally releasing him in May. Holding onto Hicks for so long was a huge mistake, and now we get to wonder if hiding Florial was also.

Here we are in September and the writing is still on the wall. Florial won't get a shot, and Aaron Boone knows it too. He just won't come out and speak the truth. He won't say anything right now, especially if it could mean saving his job even though he sucks at it. He was asked by reporters why Florial wasn't called up when Hicks was released, and this was his weak answer:

"Yeah, he definitely deserved it. I don’t think any of us would question his talent and it’s been good to see him go out and really put together a strong season," Boone said HERE. "Look, he’s been in the conversation honestly for a long time now because he has had a strong year. Some of it’s been complicated by not being on the 40-man anymore."

I stand by what I said before, WEAK. Weak manager, weak puppet, weak everything so this shouldn't surprise anyone. The Yankees could've given him a shot. The lack of a 40-man roster spot is just hot garbage because Willie Calhoun, Jake Bauers and Billy McKinney were non-roster outfielders who were added to the 40-man roster. Boone's "it's complicated" answer is just hot garbage.

Don't be fooled by it. Florial's one stand-out weakness this season has been his strikeout rate. His .280 average, 24 homers, 69 RBI, 23 steals, and 63 walks in 94 games were all upgrades for the Yankees, especially when you compared his stats with what the Yankees were doing every game. They didn't love his 30% strikeout rate. I don't love it either, but if the guy in your system is succeeding in Triple-A, why not give him a shot? Only answer is they gave up on a 25-year-old kid. They didn't believe in him.

They didn't believe in him. That's all it comes down to. Instead, they believed in Hicks for 8 years and held onto him for so long stupidly. This organization has no intelligence or logic. I don't think Florial was the answer to our prayers, but he could've helped more than Hicks and that I am confident in.

Florial will be a minor-league free agent at the end of the season, and he will sign with another team. This new team will give him more of an opportunity than the Yankees ever did. When he gets that new opportunity, I hope he succeeds and shoves it in the Yankees face. He deserves it.

Florial will be "the one that got away" all because the Yankees screwed up. That's the truth, Boone. It's not complicated.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

THE YANKEE BRIGHT SPOTS IN AN ODD SEASON

There aren't a lot of highlights this season. The Yankees are riddled with injury, they are just not playing well. Boone's a Bozo.  It's just disappointing to be a Yankee fan.  Look, you still have to root, and let's be clear about something; when I rip on my team, I rip on my team because I want success out of my team.  I don't hate my team, I'm frustrated.  But make no mistake... I love my New York Yankees. Always have since the day I saw Ron Guidry strike out 18 to now.

With all the uncertainty, one thing IS happening.  Guys that have not had many chances are getting chances and are stepping up big time. I really love what I have seen from Billy McKinney and Jake Bauers. I'm a fan of both.  And two pitchers are actually really making a jump and a difference for this team. They are getting opportunity and they are running with it.  Those guys? Randy Vasquez and Jhony Brito. The New York Post writes:

"...a few young arms have answered the call.

After Randy Vasquez was effective in a bulk role following an opener Friday night, Jhony Brito was better on Saturday, albeit in a 3-1 loss at loanDepot Park....

rookies Vasquez and Brito, who both have chances at significant roles for what the team hopes will be a run at a wild-card spot.

Brito followed up Vasquez’s 3 ²/₃-inning, two-run performance by relieving King in the third inning and tossing five innings of one-run ball."

The rotation's struggling... don't forget. Cortes is out again, Rodon is down.  Ian Hamilton and Michael King have struggled. It's really not fair to Gerrit Cole.  Cole's been amazing, but it's clearly not enough for this team. We need more, that's why Vasquez and Brito are going to be really important down the stretch.

Bottom line, when opportunity knocks, take it.  That's what these young arms are doing.  Let's hope they make the difference, and we can snag a wild card spot. It's literally the only thing we have right now!

Let's go!

TYPICAL YANKEES SAVING ALL THEIR OFFENSE FOR ONE NIGHT

Source: Associated Press

The Yankees haven't necessarily come back to life but for one night, their offense surged against the South Side Chicago White Sox. In typical fashion the Yankees couldn't score runs for their ace and Cy Young applicant Gerrit Cole in Monday's match up with one of the worst teams in the league. But the next night, they found their bats and took an early lead against ChiTown. The up and down Yankees are hard to watch and even more difficult to love.

Source: Jamie Sabau/Reuters

"The Yankees were held hitless through the first 5 1/3 innings on Monday, stranding 13 runners on base while recording one hit out of 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position," reported the Associated Press.  NJ.com added, "The Yankees were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, stranding 13 runners on base. Factoring in Sunday’s infuriating loss to the Astros, this is the first time since April 2016 that the Yankees have stranded 12 or more base runners in back-to-back games." But as if they read the headlines or had a come to Jesus moment in the clubhouse before game time Tuesday, the Yankees woke up and hit the ball.

The Yankees took a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning against the White Sox in Tuesday's contest. They strung together a combination of hits, sacrifice flies and strong base running to climb back into the fans' graces. And interestingly enough the Yankees, the players themselves, have this weird vibe that they are still in it. 

“There’s a lot of talent this clubhouse and it’s no secret that things haven’t really been going right, things haven’t really been going our way,” Jake Bauers said. “At some point, everything’s gonna turn around, we’re gonna get hot, we’re gonna win some games and September is gonna come around. We’ll be right in it,” reported NJ.com. 

In Tuesday night's YES Broadcast both Michael Kay and David Cone reiterated the opportunity this team has to "claw back into it" as long as they can string together wins over the next 10 games on the road. To me, that is a big ask, but is it possible, sure. 

The Yankees have to reverse all of their bad habits—leaving players on base, swinging at bad pitches, making mindless errors and swinging for the fences instead of focusing on making contact. They have to win games like they did Tuesday night—take an early lead and hold that lead. And they have to take that positive attitude and confidence they have in the clubhouse and transfer that to the way they play. They can't win if they save all of their offense for night. I hope they can take that piece of advice and transfer it to field. Wake up Yankees and win. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD WE TRY TO GET CODY BELLINGER, MR. HEYMAN?

Jon Heyman needs to stop with the click bait garbage. The "baseball insider" is grasping at straws. It's annoying.  The Yankees need alot of fixes to right the ship right now, but what they don't need is a .250 hitter named Cody Bellinger. And not only did he suggest Bellinger... his nugget is madness.

He writes:

"If the Cubs sell, Cody Bellinger, a free agent after 2023, may be a nice fit for the Yankees as a left-handed hitter who could man left field and give the Yankees one of the game’s best defensive outfields.

In the meantime, Billy McKinney and Jake Bauers have been two of their more productive players lately. Bellinger’s dad Clay won two rings with the late ’90s Yankees."

So, break this down.  "IF THE CUBS SELL". So right there it's a fantasy trade. There's no conversation between the Cubs and Yanks. There's nothing.

Number 2... "Billy McKinney and Jake Bauers have been two of their more productive players lately."  Right. So why are we entertaining your made-up trade idea?  

Three... "Bellinger’s dad Clay won two rings with the late ’90s Yankees."

AND? What does that mean? So, his dad played for the Yankees, so Cody now makes sense? It's ridiculous.

Non-story. Garbage. Not worth your time.  The fact that the New York Post actually allows him to even put this in print is embarrassing.

Look, the Yanks need to figure it out with what we have already. It's not gonna be easy, but adding money to our payroll, having big names coming in with star power and not much more is not really what we need to do right now. We need to figure out how to win with what we have.  Heyman is right... guys like McKinney and Bauers are doing good things... so adding a star for literally the only reason of selling some jerseys is so ridiculous.  

We will be fine. We probably won't make the playoffs this year, but would we with Cody Bellinger? Give me a break.

THAT NEWS ABOUT JUDGE THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY

Aaron Judge has been out for a bit and since then the Yankees have been sucking the life out of the fan base.  Look, playing well against Seattle is always a good thing, but we need to keep winning. Guys like Jakes Bauers and Billy McKinney have done what they're supposed to do and we fans are appreciative, but we want Judge... that's the bottom line. We like Coors light, but we really want a Coors... you feel me?

Well, here's a terrific update for ya'll. Empire Sports Media writes:

"MLB Network’s Brian Hoch reported that Judge has commenced pool, balance, and strength work, aiming to resume throwing and light hitting by week’s end."

Hitting by the end of the week is something that I find to be amazing.  I wonder how he feels jogging or running, or even how his foot feels in the batter's box. I guess we will soon see but trust me when I tell you (and I know you know) This is great news!

THE IDEA OF 'TYLER O'NEILL TO THE YANKEES' IS A RIDICULOUS RUMOR DROP

We don't need another outfielder that's hurt, Jon Heyman.  What we need is a healthy roster.  That's the only thing holding the Yankees back.

Jon Heyman is famous for making up bad rumors to get you to click at home and wish we had something better on our team than what we actually we have, but in this case, this "Tyler O'Neill to the Yankees" rumor is kind of irresponsible and ridiculous.  You wonder why I get on baseball insiders for stupid stories? This is one.  Sports Illustrated writes:

"...One player who has been in trade rumors all season and could potentially be on the move is outfielder Tyler O'Neill. One team that reportedly has come up as a potential destination for the two-time Gold Glove winner is the New York Yankees, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman...

"If they do sell, free agents to be Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty should go. With their outfield glut, Tyler O’Neill is another logical trade candidate. He’d fit the Yankees, who could use a left fielder."

O'Neill currently is on the injured list but could begin a rehab assignment shortly."

Did you see that next line written by Patrick Mcavoy?  ON THE INJURED LIST BUT COULD BEGIN A REHAB ASSIGNMENT SHORTLY.  How in the world does this help the New York Yankees who are currently 10.5 games back in the American League east? And also, why do we need another guy from the Cardinals who is hurt. God, I love Harrison Bader, but the guy can't stay on the field. He's also an outfielder, as is Aaron Judge, hurt, Giancarlo Stanton, often injured... Billy McKinney and Jake Bauers fill ins, and Oswaldo Cabrera who is just happy to be there.  We don't need more broken-down players with "a chance" to play with us if he's healthy.

And that brings me back to Heyman. Hey Jon, just shut up.  It's tired now.  

THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET BADER

UPDATE 4pm: NJ.com reports that Bader: "...opted to play two more rehab games Friday and Saturday with Double-A Somerset."

The Yankees are moving along pretty decently in the outfield, but nothing would be better than to have Aaron Judge and Harrison Bader back.

Right now Bauers and McKinney are holding their own, but even they know the show is temporary.  The other night Bauers got demolished on social media because he "gave up" on a ball in the outfield against the Mets, allowing the Mets to walk off and win.

Bauers could be the Worse OF in all of baseball https://t.co/VSbRsiUDXU

— Bobby Milone (@BobbyMilone29) June 15, 2023

I mean, being honest here, running after a ball deflecting off a wall with a guy coming around third wasn't gonna stop the Mets the other night. Just look at the timing. It was what it was... and I have news for you, guys like Judge and Bader would have done it similarly. So, the hard look at our backup outfielders "not doing their job" is not only unwarranted... it's stupid. 

But back to Bader. The other night the Somerset Patriots put this together and put it out for everyone to see.  The truth is Bader, when healthy, has the energy and heroics to make things happen in the Bronx and having him back will be a plus:

Tonight just got a whole lot Bader #RepBX
🎟 | https://t.co/CyEDG1sjwD pic.twitter.com/birYw2mve9

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 14, 2023

Now there is word that he may be back any day now. The New York Post writes:

"The plan has been for Harrison Bader, who played Wednesday with Double-A Somerset, to rejoin the big-league club for the series that begins Friday in Boston.

Presuming Bader has not suffered a setback, the Yankees will have a true center fielder on the roster again.

Without Bader and Aaron Judge, and with Giancarlo Stanton only available as DH, the Yankees have featured three converted infielders (Jake Bauers, Oswaldo Cabrera and Isiah Kiner-Falefa) and a corner outfielder (Billy McKinney) who had been forced to play center."

The bottom line is we need Bader back, not only for his defense, but to bolster the offense and energize this club.  

Let's Freaking Go!

THE YANKEES - RED SOX RIVALRY FEELS REAL AGAIN!

Source: The Boston Globe

Between the orange haze, the Belmont Stakes and my own travel schedule, this Yankee-Red Sox series just snuck up on me. And guess what, just in time. Sure, we are playing without Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, which just feels wrong, but I have to say, this rivalry really fires me up. And maybe it is keeping my mind off of the potential that we may not see Judge in the Lineup until after the All-Star Break. 

"Since Judge bruised and sprained his toe against the Dodgers, Boone has cautioned that the Yankees won’t have a set timetable for his recovery until Judge’s swelling goes away. He received a PRP injection in his toe earlier this past week, a shot designated to promote healing in the area. They need to let that injection do its thing before reassessing the situation," reported NJ.com. 

Source: Fox Sports

In fact, it must be killing Judge not to be in the lineup, “It doesn’t feel great,” Judge said on Thursday regarding his injured toe. “If it felt great, I’d be out there.” I know Derek Jeter absolutely loved playing the Red Sox, facing them more than 300 times in his 20 year career. 

Alas, to focus and perhaps keep me fired up, earlier this week I got a message from my son in preparation for this weekend's match up against the Sox. He sent me this Tweet from a Yankee fan which bears repeating, 

"I will now be suffering from an acute case of "F the Red Sox brain for the next 72+ hours. It's a serious condition so be re2spectful. Please direct all solicitations for rational thought to my secretary. We'll get back to you Monday at the earliest." That is exactly the feeling I have. Even though we are not at full strength, it feels good to be playing the Red Sox and engage in this heated rivalry that has been building every year, even before I was born.

The Red Sox-Yankee rivalry has had a healthy reprise in the last several years after a short hiatus. This hiatus likely stems from the successes from the Rays and Blue Jays and the Sox drop in the standings in recent seasons, but there's nothing like a weekend with the Red Sox in the Bronx. But as the Boston Globe points out, "There’s been a genuine sense of surprise here at Yankee Stadium that it took this long for the Red Sox and Yankees to meet for the first time in the 2023 season, that 10 weeks had passed before the longstanding AL East rivalry resumed with a three-game series that opened Friday night." Yes, there's that. With the change of the schedule to include all 30 clubs playing at least one series with one another, there are less opportunities to play our rivals, which may not be great for either team. 

In an interview during the Fox Broadcast on Saturday night, Justin Turner former Dodger and Met, shared his excitement for the rivalry and how playing for Boston feels good to him. Just after the interview, Turner smashed a base hit, stole second and launched his way to third after Kyle Higashioka sailed his throw to second into center field. Although myself and the entire stadium let out a collective sigh of disgust, it was Jake Bauers who brought our breath back with a dynamic catch at the wall in left. It is this back and forth that keeps this rivalry intact despite their place in the standings and our star players out of the lineup.

Call it a distraction, nostalgic or just a long time coming, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is alive again. It feels good to write about it and somehow this series has given me jolt of energy. Now if that energy is contagious and it can help our players on the IL heal faster, well now that would be something. 

One can wish...

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof