Yankees ace Gerrit Cole might be regretting signing a nine-year contract with the team in the hopes of winning a championship in New York. The Bombers are imploding, having lost five of their last six games, including a 9th inning implosion on Wednesday evening. After a lengthy rain delay, all the Yankees had to do was finish off an easy victory after plastering the Angels with seven runs in the first inning. In fact, they were up 8-4 in the 8th before closer Aroldis Chapman gave up a Grand Slam to Jared Walsh.
Chapman has been a liability lately, seeing his ERA elevate to 3.77. Over his last two games, he has allowed six earned runs, barely sneaking away with a triple play to get himself out of trouble against the Oakland Athletics several games ago. The reality is, the Yankees are in way over their head, despite having the league’s highest payroll. General manager Brian Cashman has already absolved the coaching staff of any liability, so who’s to blame?
After the defeat, slugger Giancarlo Stanton lashed out, expressing the frustration in the club and the desire just string together a few wins:
“We’re all frustrated. We’ve got to pick this shit up. That’s it.”
Skipper Aaron Boone delivered a similar message, indicating that actions speak louder than words:
“Talk is cheap right now. We need to go out and play full games and start hammering some people.”
Unfortunately for Boone, Yankee fans rained down “fire Boone†chants after blowing a late four-run lead.
At this point, it should be a consideration for the Yankees that Boone simply might not be the right coach for this team. He doesn’t seem to have that inspirational spark you want with a star-studded lineup — being considered a non-playoff contending team is simply embarrassing. If you look at any other sport, coaching is ultimately the catalyst behind extracting the most value out of extremely talented players. The Yankees have one of the best batting orders in baseball, and while all the blame can’t be designated to Boone, the coaching staff much take some responsibility for their faults.
The team is preparing to take on the Angels in the final game of the four-game series, and it is a contest they must win. They are now 8.5 games back in the AL East standings, and if they don’t win the majority of their games moving forward, the Yankees will be watching from their couches as the postseason unravels in September.