New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone seeks to inspire struggling offense with club's iconic legacy: "We've got to be better"
Following their latest loss (their third in four games), New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone attempted to light a fire under his team. They've struggled to open the season and Boone is hoping to get them rolling again.
Aaron Boone: “We’re the Yankees. We’ve got to find a way to be better than that.”
Per Bryan Hoch, the team beat reporter, Boone invoked their legacy by saying:
“We’re the Yankees. We’ve got to find a way to be better than that.”
The Yankees were defeated 6-1 by the Minnesota Twins. For the second consecutive night, their only run came late in the game when it was already decided.
The offense has been frustratingly poor as they slipped to fourth place and seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. No hitter is hot right now as only Anthony Rizzo (162), DJ LeMahieu (151), Aaron Judge (130) and Gleyber Torres (128) are even above league average by wRC+.
They've scored six runs in the last four games and rank in the bottom third of runs per game. It doesn't help that they've suffered injuries to Giancarlo Stanton (134 wRC+ before he went down) and Harrison Bader, but the majority of their injuries have been to pitching.
Last season, they were carried by a red hot Aaron Judge. This season, no one has been that good to start the season. Combine that with injuries and poor performance from a lot of stars and the Yankees end up with a frustrating 13-10 record.
What's wrong with the New York Yankees?
The New York Yankees have suffered an incredible amount of injuries. Their injured list is populated with stars:
- Giancarlo Stanton
- Harrison Bader
- Carlos Rodon
- Josh Donaldson
- Jonathan Loaisiga
- Frankie Montas
- Scott Effross
- Luis Severino
There are a lot of potential All-Stars on that list, which is one of the biggest reasons why they've struggled. The injuries have led to more playing time for Oswald Peraza (84 wRC+), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (22 wRC+), Franchy Cordero (78 wRC+) and Aaron Hicks (-10 wRC+).
These players shouldn't be playing on a contender, but they are. Until the Yankees get healthy or make a trade of some kind, the offense will continue to sputter. Hopefully, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Nestor Cortes and Anthony Rizzo can keep them afloat until then.