The New York Yankees entered the 2021 season as the American League favorites, but find themselves just one game over .500 in mid-June. New York was shut out 7-0 by the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday to fall to 33-32. The Yankees have a -7 run differential and are 8.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. They were 28-19 entering May 25, but are 5-13 since.
And we know how the New York media handles ugly Yankees stretches, especially when the team had been expected to be a juggernaut.
After Sunday’s loss, a reporter asked Yankees manager Aaron Boone if there’s “complacency” in the dugout and if the players are “getting used to losing.”
Boone responded, No.”
The reporter then asked, “Why not?”
Aaron Boone takes issue with the idea that the Yankees are getting used to losing:
"I know them too well. I don't think there's any getting used to freakin' losing. Hell no. Get the hell out of here with that." pic.twitter.com/GyoACZjdbl
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 13, 2021
“I know them too well, and I don’t think there’s any getting used to freakin’ losing. Hell no. Get the hell out of here with that.”
How do you expect a manager or head coach of a professional sports franchise to respond to that question? Imagine if somebody asked Jim Mora that question in his New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts coaching days.
Boone tried to get out of there with a quick “no,” but understandably snapped on the follow-up. Really, it would only prove a point of “complacency” within the team and leadership if Boone *didn’t* get angry on that follow-up.
It’s likely that the Yankees are just in a slump that happens to most teams throughout the 162-game season, and the team is well aware of how talented the roster is and what the expectations are. Now, if it’s keeping up like this 1-2 months from now, obviously that’s alarming.
