Aaron Boone Needs to Stop Excusing Yankees’ Embarrassing Play

NEW YORK — I wonder if Aaron Boone really believes Yankees fans believe his excuses as the worst team in MLB continues to wreak havoc. With 14 losses in 18 games, the last in the major leagues since June 14, the Yankees have not only made fools of themselves, they have neutralized their manager.

It’s time he did something about it.

Boone has spent the last seven years being nice to his players because that’s his leadership style: gentle and calming. But Boone has nothing to show for it yet.

Now, without a contract for 2025 and with another down season, Boone must expose the lazy, sloppy play that has infected the Yankees.

It’s time to say out loud what everyone else is thinking: The Yankees are faking it. The lack of focus cost them Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox, but the malaise has been going on for weeks.

Boone should rethink his relationship with the players he protects. Because look what it’s gotten him:

— Gleyber Torres, the Yankees’ worst performer, ran to first base as the Yankees tried to mount a late comeback against the Mets last week.

— Trent Grisham recovered calmly and grounded a single to center field Thursday night against the Reds — and was humiliated when the rushing Keimer Candelario took the extra base.

— Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu made mental errors on the basepaths Friday. They failed to run hard, allowing Boston to turn an inning-ending double play in the third.

Volpe was right when he said the Yankees were “brutal.” Not only did they fall three games behind the Orioles, but the door is now open to the third-place Red Sox, who are just 4.5 games behind the Bombers.

Boone has two responsibilities. In the short term, he must catalyze the Yankees into a winning streak before next weekend’s showdown in Baltimore. Fortunately for him, Gerrit Cole will be on the mound Saturday afternoon.

But even in this best-case scenario, Cole can only help once every five days. The longer-term goal — getting the Yankees to the World Series — will require Boone to be a leader with the courage to stand up to his players.

It won’t be easy. Appeasement is in Boone’s nature. He says the right things to the Yes side – “These are tough times and we need to dig in and … find out what we’re made of” – but the response to Friday’s crushing defeat wasn’t very convincing. Boone might as well have been reading from a teleprompter.

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And then the most important message must be delivered on the bench and in the locker room.

Boone needs to step up his leadership, because players who are constantly distracted are the ones who get managers fired. Those who don’t hurry up make the manager look like he’s lost control.

Boone’s first order of business is to identify who will help the Yankees in the second half and who will end up being dead weight. Boone needs to ask general manager Brian Cashman to be an aggressive buyer at the trade deadline. And then Boone needs captain Aaron Judge to act as his enforcer.

No one needs to be reminded that No. 99 is currently the best player in the game. But if Judge is to finally become a world champion — and save Boone’s job in the process — it’s time he made his political case to his teammates.

Boone can’t single-handedly fix the Yankees. His personality isn’t strong enough to do that. It’s up to Judge to be what Derek Jeter was to Joe Torre – the messenger who made sure the Bombers of that era wouldn’t dare upset the old man.

I never saw Torre raise his voice, but he gave off an intimidating air like steam. The Yankees sensed it. When it came to authority, the Yankees had their own Murderers’ Row: from the Boss to Torre to Jeter.

Today, the Bombers are led by George’s docile son, Hal. Cashman is smart and hard-working, but mostly invisible. Boone is a diplomat. And Judge is eloquent but lacks Jeter’s sharp edge.

All that has to change if the Yankees are going to catch the Orioles. Now it’s the Red Sox who aren’t afraid of the Bombers. Even the mediocre Reds got their way this week. That should have been all the proof Boone needed: something is wrong.

Volpe’s confidence is, for now, low. LeMahieu’s decline is accelerating. Given a chance to play every day, Grisham is considered an automatic replacement. Torres should be traded for a reliever.

Obviously, the current slide won’t last forever. Who knows, maybe a boost from Cole will mark the beginning of a long winning streak.

But I wonder if the last three weeks have influenced Juan Soto. He saw the Yankees at their best — they had a .700 winning percentage on June 14 — and now he understands why fans are so angry.

Because this isn’t just a three-week phenomenon. This is a seven-year drought under Boone, a 14-year drought in total. This season is starting to look a lot like 2023 and so many other summers before that.

It’s enough to drive a manager crazy. What Boone sees should eat him up. So why doesn’t he just say it?

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You can reach Bob Klapisch at [email protected].