NOT REALLY AN UPGRADE AS IT IS JUST MORE OF THE SAME

Well, well, well… look who finally decided to do something about the infield. Too bad that “something” feels like tossing a wet sponge at a five-alarm fire. After months — months! — of Bleeding Yankee Blue screaming from the rooftops that this team’s infield was a house of cards held together with bubble gum and blind faith in Anthony Volpe’s “potential,” the Yankees, in true last-minute, panic-button fashion, have made a move.

Except, it’s the wrong move. Again.

Jeimer Candelario — yes, that Jeimer Candelario — has been scooped up on a minor league deal. Not exactly the cavalry riding in, huh? This is the same Candelario who just got kicked to the curb by the Cincinnati Reds, and for good reason. The man’s been battling injuries like it’s his second job and is hitting a not-so-glorious .207 over the last 134 games. If you're trying to plug a leak in your boat, maybe don’t grab the bucket with holes in it?

But hey, what else would we expect from Aaron Boone’s Yankees? This is the same guy who plays Volpe every day while Oswald Peraza collects dust on the bench. Newsflash: Peraza is probably the better all-around infielder, but Volpe gets the VIP treatment despite his .222 batting average — and we’re supposed to keep pretending that’s normal?

This has been the Bleeding Yankee Blue gripe since last December. We begged. We warned. We said, “Hey, Cashman, the infield is a mess, and you’re doing nothing.” Crickets. Now it’s July, and the "big move" is grabbing a guy off baseball’s clearance rack. Candelario isn’t an upgrade — he’s a Band-Aid with no adhesive. And just like always, Boone will blindly slot him into the mix, analytics will say it’s fine, and no one will actually stop to watch the game and realize it’s not working.

Meanwhile, trade season is heating up and actual options are out there — Eugenio Suárez, Luis Urías, Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario — names that might actually contribute something meaningful. But instead of swinging for one of those, the Yankees went for Candelario, who has the excitement level of cold toast.

At this point, it’s painfully obvious: the Yankees have a leadership problem, an analytics addiction, and a manager who couldn’t lead a duck to water. Boone plays favorites, Cashman clings to broken strategies, and nobody seems to understand the value of grit, consistency, or letting talented guys like Peraza actually play.

This team doesn't need more spreadsheets. It needs guts. Hustle. A manager who makes decisions based on what he sees, not what a computer tells him. 

But until that day comes, fans like my buddy Joe are boycotting the Bronx. As Joe put it, sipping his beer on the 4th of July, “I’m not paying a dime to watch that loser team until Boone is gone and they stop running this franchise like a fantasy league.”

Amen, Joe. Amen.

And to the rest of you — we told you so.

TELL ME THE YANKEES ARE OK & I'LL TELL YOU YOU'RE WRONG

Let’s cut the crap: if you can’t beat the Mets, the alarm bells should be deafening.

But for the Yankees, the sirens have been wailing for years—and somehow, the people in charge are either deaf, in denial, or just straight-up dumb. At this point, Aaron Boone should be managing a buffet line, not a Major League Baseball team. The Yankees cannot win with him. Period. End of story. I have been writing this, not for months, but for YEARS. 

We’ve said it a hundred times here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, and we’ll say it a hundred more if we have to—Boone is not a leader. He’s a yes-man with a clipboard. The dude manages like he’s picking random names out of a hat. Every game feels like a blindfolded dart throw: bad bullpen choices, baffling lineup cards, zero feel for the moment. And now, the team is free-falling while Boone sits in the dugout with the same tired expression he’s had since 2018—completely clueless.

Need proof? Let’s talk Anthony Volpe for the 15th time.

The golden boy. The so-called spark. The kid who was supposed to change the franchise. Well, let’s just say the spark never lit. As of July 4, 2025, Anthony Volpe has left 152 runners in scoring position. One-hundred-and-fifty-two! That’s not bad luck—that’s statistical malpractice. He’s officially the worst in all of Major League Baseball in that category. And yet, there he is, day after day, still trotting out of the dugout like nothing's wrong.

Boone keeps penciling him in the lineup like we’re all supposed to pretend this isn’t a massive issue. But it is. It’s killing the Yankees. You can’t have a black hole in the middle of your lineup every game and expect to win in the American League East. But hey, don’t blame Volpe entirely—blame the guys keeping him in the lineup.

And that brings us to Brian Cashman.

The so-called architect of the Yankee Empire has been building with toothpicks and Elmer’s glue for a while now. The Yankees just got swept by the Blue Jays, fell out of first place, and look absolutely lifeless. That’s not all on Boone—it’s on the guy who built this roster.

Cashman assembled this mess, held onto dead weight, passed on real talent, and doubled down on mediocrity. And then he had the nerve—the actual gall—to go on record in 2023 saying Volpe would “break out” offensively in the years to come. That aged like shit.

It’s 2025. We're still waiting. And instead of a breakout, we got a full-blown breakdown. TALK ABOUT STUPID.

And while we’re on the topic of roster mismanagement, let’s revisit Gleyber Torres.

Cashman botched that one too. Let him walk out the door, burned the bridge, and now acts like the team’s better without him. Spoiler alert: they’re not. Torres was never a Gold Glover, sure—but he could hit. And in a lineup this flat, that matters. Torres took the high road when asked about his former team. Good for him. We won’t.

We at Bleeding Yankee Blue have been screaming about this for years while other media outlets just shrug their shoulders. Why? Simple. Access. They don’t want to lose their credentials. They want their clubhouse quotes, their player podcasts, and their press box seats. So they stay quiet. They call it a “rough patch.” They say the team is “struggling.” Struggling? No. The Yankees are flat-out awful—and it’s leadership, stupid. Jomboy Media? MLB.com? Even the bigger beat guys? They won’t touch this with a ten-foot pole. Because going hard on Boone or Cashman risks a phone call from the top. So instead, they sugarcoat it. “They’re grinding.” “It’s just a phase.”

Give us a break.

Clarke Schmidt knows the truth. His recent comments basically screamed it without saying it: “We're in the thick of it… every year, around June and July, we kind of grind a little bit.” Translation? Same old Yankees. Same old collapse. And it starts at the top.

Boone can’t rally this team. He never could. And Cashman? He’s lost his fastball and refuses to admit it.

Until this organization wakes up and makes real changes—**firing Boone, holding Cashman accountable, building a real roster instead of praying on prospects and worn-out veterans—**this team is going nowhere. Not to the playoffs, not to a World Series, and sure as hell not to a championship.

We don’t care who gets mad. We don’t care who calls us “too harsh.” The Yankees are broken. And we’re not gonna sit back and write fluff pieces while the house burns down.

Boone’s gotta go.
Cashman’s time is up.
And if you can’t see that, you’re part of the problem.

THE MOST AVOIDABLE YANKEE MISTAKE THAT HAL CAN FIX RIGHT NOW

It’s time to revisit something fundamental—not just in baseball, but in all of professional sports: why managers get fired.

Typically, it’s for one very clear reason: poor team performance. Especially when a team is underachieving or failing to meet expectations. You can’t replace the entire roster midseason—contracts, injuries, egos, and logistics make that impossible. So the quickest, most practical fix? Fire the manager.

It’s not just strategic—it’s symbolic. Firing the manager sends a message to the fans and players: we’re not settling. It’s the organization’s way of signaling a shakeup, and often, that kind of jolt is exactly what a stagnant team needs.

For fans like me—and like those of us here at Bleeding Yankee Blue—a shakeup right now isn’t just necessary. It’s long overdue.

So here’s the question: Why hasn’t Aaron Boone been fired yet?

 

The Yankees are flat. Lifeless. Playing like a team that either doesn’t believe in itself or doesn’t believe in the guy leading them. Boone has lost control of this team, and you don’t need a front office credential to see it. You just need eyes.

We’ve been talking about this for years, not just this season. We believed in fan pressure before it was trendy. And while the rest of Yankees fandom is just now calling for Boone’s job, we've been banging this drum since day one—because Boone has never looked the part. The fact that he's still in the dugout, still chewing seeds, still clapping politely after soul-crushing losses? It's not just baffling—it's insulting.

And don’t tell us about his “winning record.” You can have a winning record and still be a bad leader. Look around the league:

Joe Altobelli led the Orioles to a World Series title in year one. Two years later—fired.

 
Bob Brenly brought the Diamondbacks their first championship. The very next season? Fired after a rough start.

Joe Maddon, who broke a 108-year drought in Chicago, wasn’t even given a contract extension after 2019.

Why? Because in the real world, especially in big markets with big expectations, winning is everything. So is meeting expectations, developing talent and commanding respect.

Boone does none of the above.

 
He hasn’t won a pennant. He hasn’t developed the youth. He’s mismanaged bullpens and lineups. And worst of all, he’s failed to inspire. There is no fire. No edge. No sense that this guy knows how to lead a team through a storm—only that he’s along for the ride, hoping the ship doesn’t sink while he’s on duty.

Spoiler alert: it’s sinking.

Now let’s talk about expectations, because that’s where this really becomes embarrassing.

This is the New York Yankees. Not the A’s. Not the Marlins. Not some mid-market team with modest dreams of contending. This is the most successful, iconic franchise in sports. Here, a "winning record" without a World Series appearance means exactly nothing. Boone hasn’t delivered one. Not even close.

 
And if Hal Steinbrenner is content with keeping the money machine running while the trophy case gathers dust—fine. Keep Boone. Keep the status quo. Keep watching this team fall apart in the postseason, or worse, miss it altogether. 

But don’t expect the fans to go quietly. Don’t expect the bleacher creatures to stay patient. Because we’re not built for mediocrity. This franchise isn’t supposed to accept it. And frankly, neither are its fans.

The sad truth? Boone’s still here because the Yankees have lost the one thing that used to define them: STANDARDS.

This team has talent. They have stars. They have payroll. What they don’t have is a real leader at the helm. Aaron Boone is not that. He never has been. And if Hal has even an ounce of his father’s backbone, he’ll stop protecting him and start fixing what’s broken.

Because until Aaron Boone is fired, the Yankees are going nowhere.

--Alvin Izzo

BYB Yankee History Contributor

LEADERSHIP 101: HOW NOT TO BE AARON BOONE

Let’s talk about leadership for a second. Not just in theory, but in practice. What makes a good leader? Integrity. Communication. Accountability. The ability to inspire and adapt. A good leader knows when to push, when to pull, and when to look in the mirror and fix what’s broken. They don’t hide from problems—they solve them.

Now, what makes a good leader when the pressures on? That’s when you separate the real ones from the phonies. A true leader stays calm in the chaos. They own the moment, rally the troops, and make the hard calls and doesn't play favorites. They communicate clearly, build trust, and keep the mission in focus. They don’t fold. They don’t blame. And they sure as hell don’t flail around pretending everything’s fine.

So let me ask you—where in that definition do you find Aaron Boone?

Answer: you don’t.

The Yankees just blew another game to the Toronto Blue Jays, and this one was a clinic in mismanagement. The Jays dropped seven runs in the first inning, had an 8–0 lead by the third, and still somehow the Yankees clawed their way back to tie it at nine—only to promptly blow it again in the eighth. Toronto wins 11–9, and now the Yanks have coughed up first place in the AL East heading into the All-Star break.

And honestly? No one should be surprised.

The Yankees have lost 13 of their last 19. June was a disaster. The bats disappeared. The infield defense was a horror show. And the dugout? That’s where leadership goes to die.

Aaron Boone has spent the season second-guessing himself, mismanaging lineups, coddling boy toys, and throwing players under the bus when it's convenient like Jazz Chisholm. He plays favorites like he’s managing a high school team. When Anthony Volpe makes two key misplays in a 5–4 loss? Boone shrugs and calls it “aggressive.” But when Jazz Chisholm has a rough outing after being forced into third base—something he doesn’t even play—Boone basically pins the entire 12–5 loss on him. Spoiler: it wasn’t Jazz. It was the lifeless offense. But Boone needed a fall guy.

That’s not leadership. That’s deflection. That’s cowardice.

I manage a team of 15 people in real life. And I live by the core principles of leadership every single day. I revisit that list often—communication, self-awareness, consistency, decisiveness, empathy—because that’s how you keep a team aligned. When we hit tough spots, I don’t point fingers. I regroup, re-strategize, and get my people refocused. That’s what a good leader does. It's my freaking job.

Meanwhile, Boone can’t keep a lineup steady for 72 hours.

And where’s Brian Cashman in all this? Quiet. Detached. Staring at an infield that’s been a glaring problem since April and doing absolutely nothing about it. Leadership isn’t ignoring the fire until the house burns down. It’s recognizing smoke and putting it out before it spreads. Cashman’s approach has been more like roasting marshmallows in the flames.

And Hal Steinbrenner? Please. He’s not changing a thing. The seats are full. The merch is flying. The money’s rolling in. Boone could fall asleep on the dugout steps, and they’d still extend him if the quarterly profits look good.

But here’s the truth real Yankee fans know: this team is wasting talent. It’s wasting time. And it’s wasting the window to win.

Leadership matters. Especially under pressure. And right now, the Yankees don’t have a leader—they have a placeholder. Boone may wear the title, but he doesn’t own the job.

This team won’t win anything until the front office figures that out.

And if they don’t? Buckle up. The spiral’s just beginning.

WHY IN THE WORLD DOES JAMES ROWSON STILL HAVE A JOB?

It's more of the same. It's another hitting coach that holds a position while the Yankees habitually freefall offensively in June and July. It's the same episode that I am freaking tired of watching produced by Yankee brass.

Remember Dillon Lawson? He was the Yankees hitting coach in all of 2022 and part of 2023 before being fired, because he sucked. Then Sean Casey replaced him midway through the season, and he wasn't great either but in fairness, he wasn't around long enough to make long-lasting changes. Time just wasn't on his side in that dreadful 2023 season and when it was over he chose not to return. So the Yankees moved on.....

Moved on to James Rowson. At first, I was cautiously optimistic when we wrote DON'T LOOK NOW, BUT NEW YANKEES HITTING COACH IS DOING WHAT WE ASKED! It started off great. But it always does. The Yankees are red hot in April and May and then predictably free fall in June and July and then scramble to put it all back together in August. It just doesn't work and I'm tired of watching it.

To be fair, Rowson doesn't deserve all of the blame for the Yankees' 13-14 record in June, but you know what....I don't care at this point. I am tired of the same crap every season. NFL teams dismiss their coordinators when they have a slump. Granted, their season is a nanosecond compared to ours, but they don't keep coordinators around that aren't getting results. As stacked as this team is every season, with the payroll they carry and the star power the expectations are high. Hell, expectations are higher than ever now with Aaron Judge's prime being wasted and having a championship drought since 2009. 

The Yankees have no lead in the AL East. Instead, we are tied with the damn Blue Jays. That hurts my pride a little, but clearly not the Yankees. They can't figure out how to hit a damn beach ball with a bat right now. There has to be accountability here, and Rowson has said he's not worried about the Yankees offensive woes, read more HERE. Every year, same slump in summer, no one is worried and the Yankees underperform. It's wash, rinse and repeat. I am tired of it. This didn't fly back in the days we had real leadership....this team is soft.

And it will continue to be soft with this approach. The Yankees have lost 13 of 19 with last night's game and are batting .160 with RISP during that span! It's unacceptable. This is not how a team gets back to the World Series, it's how a team makes an early exit and golfs in the fall. 

Rowson needs to go. The Yankees current formula for batting coaches hasn't worked. It's time to burn that strategy book and actually recruit LEADERS who can mentor and manage this team.....because it's been missing for a (painfully) long time. Yankee brass may be content with mediocrity....but WE don't have to be.

Sorry Rowson - someone's gotta be the first to go and it should be you. That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

GLEYBER TORRES JUST MADE THE YANKEES REGRET LETTING HIM WALK

 

Nice work, Yanks.

Let’s talk about how the Yankees turned a self-inflicted wound into a gaping, infected mess. It started when they let Gleyber Torres walk out of the Bronx like he was some expendable piece of scrap metal instead of, oh I don’t know, their most consistent infielder in years.

Now? Gleyber’s batting .280 with 9 homers and 43 RBIs in 73 games for the Detroit Tigers. He bet on himself, signed a one-year deal, and spoiler alert—he's cashing in. The man is an All-Star this season. And the Yankees? They’re out here auditioning warm bodies at second base like it’s some tragic Broadway flop.

Let’s rewind, though. Gleyber was a fan favorite. He loved New York. The fans loved him. What didn’t the Yankees love? His defense. Sure, he booted a few balls, but last year the team treated every little misstep like it was a federal offense. He was under a microscope while others—cough Volpe cough—skated by with error after error. Volpe leads the league with 11 so far. I thought he was elite? But yeah, Gleyber’s defense was the real issue. Give me a break.

The way the Yankees handled this is shameful. They iced Gleyber out, gave him no real support, and then acted shocked when he decided to bet on himself elsewhere. Meanwhile, they’re still stuck holding open auditions for a second baseman in July. July! This was a glaring need in March. And what did they do about it? Absolutely nothing.

And here's the kicker: Torres didn’t just go off and quietly prove people wrong—he’s the starting second baseman in this year’s All-Star Game. That’s called vindication, and it’s gotta feel so damn good for him. He gets to shove it right back in the Yankees’ face with that sweet All-Star selection. You reap what you sow, and right now the Yankees are reaping a whole lot of infield chaos.

Trying to upgrade from Gleyber Torres is one thing—but torching the bridge entirely and pretending a reunion was off the table, even after it became painfully obvious, he was still the best option at second? That’s not strategy, that’s self-sabotage. And the fact that Cashman didn’t urgently address a glaring hole in the infield? It’s baffling, lazy, and reeks of arrogance.

The bottom line is Cashman is probably very complacent at this point. And Aaron Boone? He's just stupid with no true feel for the game.

CLUELESS BOONE & THE QUEST TO BE INCOMPETENT

Remember March 31, 2025? Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa said it plain as day: THE YANKEES HAVE A BIG PROBLEM IN THE INFIELD. And what did the Yankees do? Not a damn thing. Actually, scratch that—they made it worse.

They let Gleyber Torres walk (for nothing), propped up Anthony Volpe at shortstop like he’s Ozzie Smith when in reality he’s leading the entire American League in errors, and then, for their latest act of baseball malpractice, they shoved Jazz Chisholm Jr.—a SECOND BASEMAN—over to third base like this is some kind of summer camp positional experiment.

Now it’s July 2, and the Yankees’ infield is still a mess. Shocker. Aaron Boone is out here defending Volpe’s avalanche of errors as “aggressive mistakes” the other night, but then turns around and throws Jazz under the bus for an error he made at a position he doesn’t even play. Make it make sense.

Boone’s quote-unquote defense of Volpe and criticism of Chisholm is the kind of clueless double standard that has defined his entire tenure in the Bronx. And let’s not forget: Jazz Chisholm said it himself, loud and clear—“Everybody knows I’m a second baseman.” Yeah, Jazz. Everybody except the New York Yankees.

And guess what? Jazz is still at third in today’s lineup. Because nothing says "we're trying to win" like continuing to play a guy out of position while DJ LeMahieu—36, declining, and being babied like he’s royalty—is locked in at second because he’s “more comfortable” there and Boone doesn't want him to get hurt again. Do I know that for a fact? No, but what I do know is that there is a lot of money locked up in DJ, and they are going to get every ounce of him on the field they can.  That my friends IS a fact and Boone is being told to do that.

This is what we’re doing now? Basing defensive alignments on comfort levels instead of logic, talent, or, I don’t know, competence? DJ LeMahieu is no longer the Gold Glove vacuum cleaner he used to be. He should be at third. But here come the Yankees, protecting contracts and aging vets at the expense of...winning baseball games.

Let’s also not pretend Aaron Boone is the only problem. The front office is just as guilty—maybe more so. According to Clint Frazier (who has no reason to lie), Boone doesn’t even write the damn lineup. He said it best:

“I do feel like they hired a few too many rocket scientists to try to like make the lineup, instead of just like letting a former player or a guy that has more experience write the lineup.”

Rocket scientists. That’s what this has come to. Algorithms over instincts. Spread-sheets over soul. Welcome to the era of spreadsheet baseball, where Aaron Boone is the puppet, and the Yankees front office is too arrogant to admit they’ve created a monster with no brain and no guts.

This team is over-managed, over-paid, over-hyped—and underachieving. Every single year. And yet, Aaron Boone is still employed. Why the fuck is Aaron Boone still the Yankees manager? No one seems to have an answer. Not Brian Cashman. Not Hal Steinbrenner. Not the baseball gods. Nobody.

This infield disaster is just a symptom. The real disease? A clueless manager, a gutless front office, and a franchise more concerned with optics than winning. AND THEY MADE THE INFIELD PROBLEM THEMSELVES. Torres is a leader over there in Detroit. Good for him!

Until there's a change, the Yankees aren’t winning a damn thing.

Not with Volpe booting routine grounders at short.
Not with Jazz flailing at third.
Not with DJ being coddled at second.
And definitely not with Boone managing like it’s a beer league softball game.

Enough is enough. Wake the hell up, Yankees.  

By the way, Torres is batting .284 with 9 homers, 43 RBIs and an OPS of .823. Cashman's a moron.

MARCELL OZUNA? VERY INTERESTING.

Well, this one's spicy. Sports Illustrated recently dove into the swirling trade waters of Major League Baseball and came back with a name that should make Yankees fans do a double take: Marcell Ozuna. Yes, that Marcell Ozuna—the boom-or-bust Braves slugger with a bat built for Broadway and baggage to boot.

According to SI’s crystal ball, if Ozuna ends up getting dealt, he might just be the biggest offensive name moved at the deadline. That's not hyperbole—he’s clobbered 79 home runs over the past two seasons and finished 4th in NL MVP voting in 2023. That kind of résumé tends to catch a GM's eye—unless you're Brian Cashman, who prefers cryptic quotes and guys with sore obliques.

Now, in his age-34 season, Ozuna’s power has dipped a bit—but not into the abyss. He’s still squaring up enough heaters to scare a pitcher or two. In fact, pitchers are daring him with more velocity this year than last: 17.9% of pitches are fastballs in the zone (up from 14.9%), along with slight bumps in sinkers and sliders. He's not just seeing more pitches in the zone—he's being challenged in it. That's either respect… or recklessness.

Now, here’s the tricky part. The Braves aren't exactly known for waving white flag. If Atlanta slides and they do deal anyone, Ozuna, as a pending free agent, might be the one guy they let walk.

Would the Yankees actually bite? USA Today’s Bob Nightengale says New York is sniffing around for a right-handed bat, and Ozuna checks that box with a Sharpie. The man’s basically built to be a DH in pinstripes—power, swagger, and the ability to make an upper deck look like a chip shot. But let’s be real. The Yankees are more likely to spin some corporate nonsense about “internal improvements” and “believing in our guys” before adding a bat with as much pop—and personality—as Ozuna. Plus, if there’s even a whiff of controversy, Aaron Boone might have to hold a team meeting with crayons.

Still, it’s a tantalizing thought. Ozuna in the Bronx. Bat flips, bombs, and perhaps some long-awaited right-handed thunder behind Judge and Soto. Will it happen? Probably not.

But hey, in a season where the Yankees continue to roll out Billy McKinney lookalikes (remember him?) and call it depth, we can dream, right?

HOW IN THE WORLD DOES THIS GUY STILL HAVE A JOB?

He is literally the softest Yankee manager in history.

You know what’s more consistent than the Yankees making early playoff exits? The Yankees front office defending Aaron Boone like he’s a national treasure. It’s July 2025, and somehow we’re still here—watching this team unravel under the leadership of a guy who should be managing a Little League team in suburban Ohio, not the most storied franchise in baseball history.

Let’s make one thing crystal clear: here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, we've been banging the drum about Boone's lack of leadership since Day One. Not Day One of this losing streak. Not Day One of his tenure. I’m talking about the day he strolled into the Bronx and took over for Joe Girardi, like some fanboy who wandered onto the field and never left. We saw the red flags immediately. You? You’re just catching up.

Tonight’s 12-5 embarrassment against the Blue Jays wasn’t just a bad night—it was the kind of humiliating loss that would’ve had George Steinbrenner breathing fire and Boone cleaning out his locker by sunrise. THAT'S THE WAY IT USED TO BE! But alas, Big George is gone, and now we’ve got Hal "Soft Hands" Steinbrenner at the helm, where instead of action we get tweets and press conferences full of empty platitudes. It’s like watching a house burn while someone politely asks the fire to chill out.

This is what Boone does: he smiles, claps, and talks about “turning the page” while the team melts down. The Yankees are 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position. They’ve lost 7 of 9. Once up seven games in the AL East, now barely hanging onto a one-game lead. It’s not just bad baseball—it’s mismanaged, uninspired, lost baseball.

And don’t give me the “Boone’s doing his best” speech. Managing is easy when you’re winning. A monkey could do it with a 7-game lead in June. The real test is when things go sideways. That’s when you need instincts. Fire. Strategy. Accountability. Boone has none of that. 

The only fire he’s shown is when he tweaked his knee playing pickup basketball after his 2003 ALCS walk-off. That’s the last time this guy was relevant in a positive way, and even then, he managed to screw it up. That wasn't just a boneheaded moment—it was a preview of the baseball brain we’ve been cursed with ever since.

And yet... we kept him. Year after year, excuse after excuse, blowout loss after lifeless press conference. Eight seasons of nothingness. Boone praising guys like Anthony Volpe even when they’re booting grounders and hitting .198, while throwing shade at guys like Jazz Chisholm for a defensive error tonight. The hypocrisy is nauseating. Boone coddles his favorites like a Little League dad whose kid bats ninth but gets the game ball anyway. Accountability? Never heard of her.

And here's the kicker—Yankee fans everywhere are finally starting to catch on. They're mad. They're frustrated. But if you’re just waking up to the Boone Disaster Era now? Sorry, you're late to the party. We've been screaming from the top of the Stadium since 2018. Boone isn’t just in over his head—he’s not even qualified to bag groceries. But sure, let’s keep handing him the keys to the Ferrari... he's gonna fuck it up.

This isn’t about a bad stretch of games. This is about a pattern—a documented era—of mediocrity. Boone is the king of soft excuses and postgame nonsense. And the front office? Equally guilty. The press conferences? Stupid. The softball interviews with Boone and Jomboy? No need for them, they're ridiculous anyway.  Many in the New York Media won't even attack this guy because they want access to the players. Screw the access, how about speak the truth. If you are a true, TRUE fan you cannot possibly be happy about Aaron Boone as your manager. We are fans and we are NOT! It's been an awful 8 years with this guy. And so, I say... you want to fix this team? Start with the manager. Fire Aaron Boone. Get a leader in here. Someone who isn’t afraid to get in a player’s face or speak the truth when things are crumbling.

Until then, the Yankees will keep spinning their wheels, wasting talent, and lowering the bar for what it means to wear the pinstripes.  We will never win a championship with this guy in charge.  It's plain and simple.

No, we're not panicking because of this recent losing streak. We're just tired of being right.

LOMBARD JR. IS A REAL SHORTSTOP

 

At what point do we stop sugarcoating it? Anthony Volpe isn’t “playing aggressively.” He’s making boneheaded plays and calling it ambition. He’s not “learning on the fly” — he’s crash-landing into games, looking dazed and confused half the time, then shrugging it off in the postgame like we didn’t all just witness defensive malpractice in real-time.

And somehow, Aaron Boone and the Yankees front office keep spoon-feeding us this narrative that Volpe is elite. Please. If being elite means booting grounders and launching throws into the bleachers while trying to be a hero, then congratulations — he’s a Hall of Famer in whatever fantasy league they're running in the Bronx.

Here’s the truth: Volpe isn’t cutting it. And the cavalry might be coming sooner than we think. His name? George Lombard Jr.

Lombard’s about to suit up for the American League in the Futures Game, and it’s no accident. The kid came into spring training flashing tools like a Swiss Army knife. Then he blitzed High-A pitching like it owed him money — posting ridiculous numbers across 24 games before moving up to Double-A. Yes, he’s cooled off a bit (.660 OPS in 48 games), but context matters. He’s still adjusting, still evolving, and still oozing star potential.

Let’s talk defense — because that’s where Lombard Jr. makes Volpe look like he’s playing blindfolded. Lombard plays shortstop, second, and third. He’s got soft hands, a cannon for an arm, and actual instincts, not “vibes.” He doesn’t try to be flashy for the YES Network cameras. He just makes the play. Imagine that.

And offensively? Analysts already agree: Lombard has a higher ceiling than Volpe. He’s not up there hacking at everything with a pulse — he gets on base, draws walks, and actually understands the strike zone. He’s still raw, sure. But raw talent with real polish on the horizon? That’s exactly what the Yankees need.

Let’s be honest — if the Yankees were truly the forward-thinking, stat-obsessed, analytics-worshipping brain trust they claim to be, they’d already have their eyes glued to every Lombard at-bat. Volpe’s defensive follies and offensive mediocrity can only be excused for so long before someone finally calls it what it is: not good enough.

So go ahead and keep trotting out Volpe if you want, Boone. Keep spinning the same tired postgame clichés. But don’t be shocked when George Lombard Jr. shows up, takes the job, and makes it painfully clear that the Yankees backed the wrong horse.

Tick tock.

"WEAR & TEAR" KEEPS SOFT WELLS OUT OF LINEUP

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2025 New York Yankees: home of the soft, sanctuary of the pampered, and unofficial rehab facility for men with slightly discolored fingers.

Austin Wells—the catcher who hits like a pitcher and blocks balls like he’s allergic to leather—is out of the lineup again. The reason? Not a broken bone. Not a concussion. Not even a foul tip to the face mask. No, the 25-year-old Wells has been sidelined because of a circulation issue in one of the fingers on his non-throwing hand.

Let that sink in. A guy who’s already barely hanging onto a roster spot is now missing games because of some finger discomfort caused by, as Aaron Boone delicately put it, “the wear and tear of catching.”

Wear and tear? This kid just got here. What wear and tear? He’s caught a handful of big-league games, hits .214, and somehow already needs a day at the spa because one finger got tired. Is this what the Yankees have become? A daycare for fragile ballplayers who flinch at adversity?

Austin Wells is not a major league catcher. He’s a part-time breakfast burrito salesman with a lefty swing and a laundry list of excuses. He’s got a noodle bat, shaky defensive instincts, and now, apparently, the hand circulation of a 92-year-old retiree. And somehow, he’s being protected like a franchise cornerstone.

It’s ridiculous. And you know who’s enabling all of it? You guessed it—Aaron Boone, the world’s most enthusiastic babysitter. Boone’s doing what Boone does best: shielding his guys from accountability with a smile, a shrug, and a stack of empty words.

“We’ve gotten good feedback from the tests,” Boone said, talking about Wells like he’s some war hero recovering from battle instead of a slumping backstop with a sore finger. “It’s not something that bothers him from a performance standpoint,” he added.

Wait… what performance? Wells is slashing .214/.280/.323 with all the impact of a folding chair. His defensive metrics aren’t saving him either—pitchers don’t trust him, runners don’t fear him, and fans barely notice him until he’s out of the lineup for another mystery ailment. This guy couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. But sure, let’s protect him like he’s the second coming of Johnny Bench.

And while we’re here, let’s talk about what being a Yankees catcher used to mean.

 
Remember Thurman Munson? Yeah, the guy who batted .292 for his career, drove in over 700 runs, won an MVP, and played with a constant grimace and a permanent limp—but never came out of the lineup unless someone dragged him out. The only thing that ever truly kept Munson off the field was a tragic plane crash. I'm not being mean, the truth is he was a true Warrior. It’s not hyperbole. That’s truth. That’s toughness.

 
Jorge Posada? Criticized for his defense, sure, but he put up monster offensive numbers (275 home runs, .273 batting average) and never ducked a challenge. The man was a grinder. He took foul tips to the throat, stayed in. Bruised ribs, played through it. Dislocated fingers? Tape it up. Back behind the plate the next day. No excuses. No pampering. No Boone standing over him like a concerned helicopter parent.

Yogi Berra? That man caught Don Larsen’s perfect game with an iron jaw and a baseball IQ unmatched in the sport. He didn’t need circulation tests—he needed the ball and a win. And if you asked him to sit out because of a sore finger, he’d probably punch you in the face and go catch both ends of a doubleheader just to make a point.

But now we’ve got Austin Wells. Taking two days off while J.C. Escarra—who might’ve been bagging groceries last week—suits up behind the plate. The Yankees aren’t just soft—they’re running a clubhouse that seems more concerned with emotional wellness than winning baseball games.

How did we get here? How did we go from one of the toughest positions on the diamond—the catcher, the field general, the warhorse—to a pampered safe space where guys sit for finger discomfort? I’ll tell you how. It starts with Aaron Boone and a front office that treats players like fragile Fabergé eggs instead of elite athletes. They’ve built a culture of coddling. A padded, mollycoddled, media-coached, finger-scanning comfort zone where accountability has been replaced with carefully-worded injury updates.

And the fans? We’re supposed to just nod along and accept it. “Trust the process.” “It’s precautionary.” “We don’t want to rush him back.” Give me a break. You don’t need to rush Austin Wells back because the dude barely contributes when healthy. Again, more truth.

This is a guy who’s lucky to have a job. Instead of seizing every opportunity like a guy fighting for his baseball life, he’s riding pine for something a catcher with any real toughness would laugh off. This isn’t 162 games of grueling baseball—this is tee-ball with a medical staff.

Aaron Boone should be embarrassed. Brian Cashman should be ashamed. And Austin Wells? He should be grateful if he’s still wearing pinstripes by September.

Because at the end of the day, we’re not asking for much. Just a catcher who acts like a damn catcher. Wells isn’t that guy.  And the Yankees—once proud, once feared—are now a parody of themselves.

Bring back the grit. Bring back the fire. Bring back the days when you had to drag a Yankee off the field—not pamper him off it.

THE YANKEES NEED TO DUMP THIS BUM

 You should be embarrassed!

Another game. Another mistake. Another coddled quote from Aaron Boone. And another round of gaslighting from the Yankees front office, who seem more interested in selling us a fantasy than fielding a team that can actually win a championship. The obsession with Anthony Volpe—Boone’s golden boy, analytics’ love child, and the poster boy for modern Yankee delusion—has reached a breaking point.

Let’s talk about the moment that lit the match in last night’s meltdown. Volpe fielded a routine ground ball with runners on. Instead of throwing home to cut off the tying run—a play even a Little Leaguer would recognize—he decided to unleash his wet noodle of an arm to first base. The runner, Clement, was halfway down the line before Volpe even cocked his arm. Predictably, Clement reached safely, Nathan Lukes took off for third, and the Yankees were stuck watching a slow-motion car crash of their own making. The very next batter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., delivered a two-run dagger that sealed the deal. Between that and when he made the stupid throw to third base that was botched, I broke my remote when I threw it at the wall.

But here's the worst part. It was idiotic.  Volpe himself chimed in with a line so tone-deaf it could’ve been written by the Yankees PR department: “We’re going to be aggressive, try to make plays, and back up the pitcher. So that’s baseball. It happens.”

It happens? You saying that after a Tuesday in April is one thing. But it’s July. These games matter. And when you're a shortstop in New York, the most demanding baseball town in America, with a supposed Gold Glove pedigree, you don’t get to screw up like that and hide behind buzzwords. You either make the right play or you’re not who they said you were.

Anthony Volpe is now officially exposed. He is not an elite shortstop. He is not a generational talent. He’s not even average right now. He plays the infield like his dad’s sitting behind the backstop with a checklist. Everything is tight, overthought, and hesitant. He's trying so hard to not screw up, he forgets how to play the game. And Boone? Boone enables it. Because Boone loves nothing more than loyalty—except maybe blind loyalty.

And the front office? A disaster. They handed the keys to shortstop—arguably the most important defensive position on the field—to a kid who never played above Double-A and thought, “Yeah, that’ll fix it.” They don’t use the eye test. They use Excel sheets. They scroll through WAR, launch angle, and exit velocity and declare Volpe the chosen one. Meanwhile, the games are slipping away, one brain-dead throw at a time.

This is the kind of move you expect from the Pirates. The Rockies. The Marlins. Not the goddamn Yankees. But here we are, knee deep in the Anthony Volpe experiment, and it’s looking more and more like a disaster science fair project.

And now, finally, there are whispers—actual whispers—that the Yankees may be looking to replace him. And the name that keeps surfacing? Bo Bichette.

Yes, please.

Bo Bichette is everything Volpe pretends to be. Confident. Powerful. Consistent. Fearless. The guy’s a two-time All-Star, two-time AL hits leader, and walks with the swagger of someone who knows he belongs. FanSided’s Stephen Parello even proposed it outright: the Yankees should go after Bichette in free agency. He wrote, “Bichette would give the Yankees a much higher floor with the same superstar ceiling... He'd cost more in terms of cash than Volpe, but after years of no significant improvement, the cost is warranted.” Translation? Pay the man. Dump the myth.

At this point, give me Bichette’s bat, his confidence, his pedigree, his everything. Because the Yankees need better. We’ve had enough of soft throws, frozen faces, and postgame excuses.

Volpe lost the game last night. Point blank. And this wasn’t a one-off. This has become a pattern. And for a team with October dreams, you can’t afford dead weight at shortstop. You certainly can’t afford delusion at shortstop.

The Yankees handed the job to a kid with no college experience, barely any minor league seasoning, and a few highlight clips from Somerset. They made him the face of a position that has been home to legends. And instead of developing him correctly, they threw him to the wolves. They’re not just ruining their season—they’re ruining him.

The Anthony Volpe Era needs to end. Not because the fans are impatient. Not because we hate the kid. But because we love the Yankees. And watching this front office cling to their Volpe fantasy while Boone coddles him like he’s his third son is insulting.

Boone has to stop managing with his heart and start using his brain. And if the Yankees have any self-respect left as a franchise, they’ll admit their mistake, pick up the phone, and start planning for a future without Volpe at short.

Because right now? Anthony Volpe absolutely sucks. And we’re tired of pretending he doesn’t.