Are Yankees victims of a tough division or the letdown by the big three?

The New York Yankees suffered another defeat against the Angels on Wednesday, and things have hit a new low for the team. Though they are competing in the toughest division and hold better averages than teams in the AL Central, their setbacks primarily originate from the mismanagement by the Big Three — owner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman, and manager Aaron Boone.

The New York Yankees would be leading the American League Central if they were in that division. However, they aren’t and their recent games against those teams ended up in disastrous losses. Unfortunately, the team has been facing numerous challenges and setbacks this season in general and in the past six weeks in particular.

Back on June 6, when Aaron Judge was placed on the injured list, the New York Yankees were in an excellent position with a record of 36-25, their best so far this season, and were doing well in the AL Wild Card race. However, since then, things have taken a turn for the worse. Their recent series in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels has been particularly tough, resulting in another disappointing loss on Wednesday night, completing a sweep by the Angels. This comes after losing two out of three games against the struggling Colorado Rockies last weekend. As of now, the team’s overall record stands at 50-47, and they find themselves at the bottom of the AL East standings, marking the first time they’ve been in this position in July since 1990.

The Yankees faced the dreaded last-place finish in 1990, and unfortunately, it seems like a similar outcome is becoming more and more possible as the team continues to struggle. Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox are gaining momentum ahead of them. Looking back at that ’90 season, it was a complete disaster when they ended up with a 67-95 record. Then their manager, Bucky Dent, was fired as early as June, and the team faced even more troubles as George Steinbrenner, the owner, was temporarily banned from baseball for life following taking the help of a gambler to defame Dave Winfield. The Yankees crashed seventh, seven games behind the sixth-place Milwaukee Brewers.

This time around, things might not get as bad as they did in 1990. But the current situation is far from great. Since Aaron Judge got injured, the Yankees’ performance has been disappointing, with a record of 14-20. Their offense is struggling, ranking 29th in batting average and 27th in OPS. The starting rotation, aside from Gerrit Cole’s performance, has been struggling, with Nestor Cortes dealing with a shoulder injury, and Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino not performing up to expectations.

Even the usually reliable bullpen, which has been a strength for the team throughout the year, has faltered lately, giving up leads in recent games. It’s been a tough time, and emotions are running high reflecting by how Tommy Kahnle took out his frustration on the dugout fans, causing a bit of a scene.

The Yankees are facing a challenging situation, being in one of the toughest divisions in baseball and dealing with a demanding schedule. But looking at their performance, it’s becoming evident that the team is not performing at a competitive level and may miss the playoffs, a first in the last seven seasons.

In 2016, the team made some strategic moves at the deadline, which resulted in acquiring promising prospects, including Gleyber Torres. The current situation raises questions about how Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and Aaron Boone have ignored the challenges this time around. Their tepid responses to problems have contributed to the Yankees’ free fall in recent weeks.

Steinbrenner, Cashman, and Boone for Yankees’ woes

The current state of the Yankees’ performance falls not only on the players but also on the shoulders of Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and Aaron Boone. They play a significant role in shaping the team’s direction, and their decisions and statements have been questionable. Their lack of clear direction and sometimes absurd remarks have left fans feeling disheartened.

It seems like they are disconnected from reality, treating the team and its fans as sources of revenue regardless of the on-field performance. This has led to frustration among the fanbase, as they want to see a competitive and successful team on the field, not just a profit-driven approach.

During the game against the Angels, the Yankees faced a tough challenge against pitcher Griffin Canning and struck out 12 times. In total, they struck out 17 times in the game. However, instead of acknowledging the difficulty of the situation, Manager Aaron Boone made a puzzling statement, saying, “We made him work hard.” It’s hard to understand such justifications from the manager when the team’s performance was clearly struggling.

Brian Cashman created the mess

Brian Cashman is consistently deceptive with the Yankees, both through his words and actions, repeating this pattern again and again. In the 5-1 loss to the Angels on Tuesday night, Brian Cashman’s lineup included Giancarlo Stanton as the.196 batting average No. 3 hitter, who also struggles in the field and faces injury issues. The No. 4 hitter was Anthony Rizzo, who hasn’t hit a home run since May 20, despite playing in Yankee Stadium, where even a fly ball to right field can turn into a home run due to the short dimensions of the field.

During that stretch, which includes 193 plate appearances, Anthony Rizzo hasn’t hit a home run. Despite this, Brian Cashman, who appears to believe he knows better than the fans, places him as the team’s No. 4 hitter. It’s worth mentioning that Brian Cashman had the opportunity to sign Freddie Freeman as a free agent but chose to go with Rizzo instead.

By the way, it was Brian Cashman, who hired Dillon Lawson and introduced the organizational “Hit Strikes Hard” strategy. As a team, the Yankees are currently hitting.231, ranking 27th in baseball. Since Aaron Judge got injured, the team’s batting average has dropped to.217. The title “Bronx Bombers” no longer seems fitting under Brian Cashman’s leadership.

On Tuesday night, the Angels’ pitcher Patrick Sandoval had an impressive performance, dominating the Yankee hitters, despite coming into the game with a high 6.23 ERA over his last six starts.

Brian Cashman’s Yankees are struggling to find their hitting form. On breakout Tuesday, while 14 teams collected double figures in hits and 12 teams scored in double figures, the Yankees only managed two hits and one run, which is far from their usual offensive prowess.

When Brian Cashman was recently asked about the fast-approaching trade deadline and team needs, he mentioned that every general manager is likely to prioritize pitching, regardless of the situation. How about getting a left fielder? There will be several available, but Brian Cashman doesn’t just acquire players through financial force. He acquires players who seem promising but end up dealing with injuries.

Hal Steinbrenner let problems turn into big

Last month, Hal Steinbrenner, conveyed his strong displeasure toward fans who care about the team and question his ownership. He expressed his confusion, stating that he didn’t understand why they were so upset during the third week of June.

The New York Yankees have been on a tough streak lately, losing nine out of their last 11 games, including four consecutive losses after Wednesday night’s 7-3 defeat against the Angels. This loss marks another series loss to a weaker team, following previous losing series against the struggling Rockies and Cubs.

Hal Steinbrenner attempted to dismiss his responsibility when he remarked that he doesn’t care about the fans, even though it was evident that the Yankees’ performance was declining. In fact, he openly acknowledged that he doesn’t pay much attention to podcasts, radio shows, or newspapers. However, Hal Steinbrenner does keep track of the financial aspect and is aware that the value of his franchise continues to grow each year.

George Steinbrenner was famously known as “The Boss,” and he was highly passionate about winning, making it evident to everyone. On the other hand, Hal prefers not to emulate his father’s approach and has been open about it. The Yankees used to prioritize winning above all else, resulting in 27 championships. Derek Jeter’s Yankees strived to be the ultimate champions.

Hal is completely different from George Steinbrenner, and he takes pride in that fact. This mindset is prevalent throughout the organization, where criticism is not tolerated. Under Hal Steinbrenner’s leadership, the Yankees have become known for their lack of accountability, earning the nickname “No Accountability Yankees.”

Aaron Boone carries the Yankees’ problems without resolving

Aaron Boone’s answer was to spout cliches, saying that they were not leaving any stone unturned and emphasizing that there was no problem in the team.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are not making efforts to initiate offense with hits and runs, stolen bases, bunts, or shaking up the lineup. It’s been a while since anyone attempted a drag bunt. They should consider hitting the ball the other way instead of always going for big swings. Some teams have shifted their hitting approach to focus on contact hitting, but the Yankees have not followed suit. For example, the Marlins made a trade to acquire Luis Arraez, who is known for his magical contact-first approach.

In the past, one of the Yankees’ strengths was their ability to work the count and battle into deep counts against pitchers. However, things have changed, and pitchers are no longer hesitant to challenge them. The current Yankee lineup is facing more aggressive pitching and is not working the count as effectively as before.

Since June 4, the Yankees’ OPS has been .658, which shows a decline in their offensive performance. Under the leadership of Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and Aaron Boone, the Yankees have shifted from being known as the “Evil Empire” to a team that seems to ignore its issues, earning the nickname “See No Evil Empire.”

Following defeats, Aaron Boone often provides statements like this: “The compete and the intent and the focus of the guys today was excellent.” The Yankees manager tried to cover up problems until they go out of hand.

Aaron Boone has no guts to point out problems in players and make them accountable. The manager often told the players need to improve, but that’s about as far as he will go. Aaron Boone suggested that Anthony Volpe should focus on making contact. Rizzo needs to show more power. Stanton should try to reduce the number of times he strikes out. Cole has the ability to go even deeper into games to help the bullpen.

In the Yankee system, there seems to be no real challenge, and it’s evident in how their managers respond and how the players are utilized; they’re rarely pushed to improve. All of that falls on Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman.

As for Aaron Boone, who knows if he even has a backbone and goes into meetings upset? After every loss, he portrays a kumbaya atmosphere, as if he’s managing a local playground team – and not one of the most prestigious and proud organizations in baseball, with 27 World Championships (but only one since winning three in a row in 1998, 1999, and 2000 under Joe Torre).

Boone is always using cliches, and when he was asked on his @TalkinYanks segment about whether he regrets not walking Shohei Ohtani, who tied up Monday’s game with a two-run home run, the sensitive manager responded with the oldest defensive line in the book, “When YOU manage the team, YOU can make that call.”

Then Boone continued to talk about the dangerous Mickey Moniak and downplayed Ohtani’s home run-hitting rate, saying he only hits home runs about 10 percent of the time. While Moniak is having a great year, the focus should have been on not letting the best player in baseball (Ohtani) beat them and taking on the challenge of finding a way to get Moniak out. However, in the next night’s win, Moniak got three hits, including a home run. This showed that in the span of two games against a team that had not won a series since June 16-18 (over the Royals), the Yankees and Boone proved they couldn’t get Ohtani or Moniak out consistently. Moniak may have 11 home runs, but Ohtani has 35, making Boone’s plan seem illogical.

Aaron Boone is known for being aggressive with a lead, but it can sometimes backfire. He tends to rely heavily on the bullpen, which can lead to fatigue and problems for the team. This pattern has been observed over the years. For instance, Michael King had an excellent 1.65 ERA in his first 19 games, but it increased to 6.27 in the last 13 games.

After the 5-1 loss, former Yankee right-hander Phil Hughes wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night that it might be the last Yankee game he was watching for a while. As a Yankee fan, it’s essential to take pride in the team, but also not settle for less. If the team is struggling, which can happen in baseball, it’s important to be honest about their performance.

But the Yankees’ big three doesn’t seem to prioritize putting the best product on the field.

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