'What the (bleep) is happening?' -- observations from a weird time to be a New York Yankee

Some players disagreed with roster decisions

9/5/2022, 9:54 PM
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On Monday morning I asked a Yankees player this simple question: "If I were just to say to you 'what the f--- is happening,' what’s the first answer that comes to mind?"

"I would probably answer with, 'I don’t know, what the f--- is happening?'" the player said.

All over the clubhouse, dugout and field on Labor Day morning, with the Yankees back from a 4-6 road trip that felt worse and allowed thoughts of the 2007 Mets (but worse! A 15.5 game lead!) to creep in, the chatter was the same. Is this team going to be OK? Are they really in the midst of an historic collapse?

Multiple defeats against the dregs of the league in Oakland and Anaheim, followed by a series loss in Tampa over the weekend -- which ended in a win that was hardly comforting, Clay Holmes 90 feet from blowing a save -- left Yankeeland in a state of dazed confusion. This after a 10-18 August, the second worst record in all of baseball.

Monday’s game provided a measure of relief, bringing Aaron Judge’s 54th home run, five solid innings from Jameson Taillon and four shutdown frames from the bullpen. This was important. But no single game can wash the muck off a troubling second half for the team -- especially one that might yet again cost the team Giancarlo Stanton.

The Yankees will almost certainly reach the postseason, likely as winners of the American League East. But the way the year began, anything short of a World Series appearance would feel like a letdown.

For months, this seemed like an historic team, ready to join a list with the 1927, ‘61 and ‘98 Yankees. Baseball is so weird that the ‘22 Yanks can still feasibly win a World Series -- now, though, this is a situation of white-knuckle survival rather than dominance.

Here are a few of the points and theories we encountered in talking to people on and around the team:

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Judge still provides a significant uplift

Can you imagine if Judge were not here to marvel at? The Yankees cannot. On Monday, he once again muscled his way to a vibe shift for the entire team; after the game, teammates were discussing his opportunity to beat Roger Maris' 61 home runs instead of wondering what the f--- was going on with a potential collapse.

"It’s hard enough for me to just hit one," marveled Isiah Kiner-Felafa, who hit his second of the year in the win.

Surely, it was a relief for the team to talk about Judge in the late afternoon, and not another loss.

The injuries are a substantial problem

For all the talk about roster construction, team leadership, and bad mojo, many of the Yankees' problems are rooted in a far simpler issue: Injuries.

Michael King was a key part of a dominant bullpen until he fractured his elbow. Luis Severino was a cog in the once-dominant rotation before his lat strain. Scott Effross was a clever trade deadline find until his shoulder barked.

On the offensive side, Andrew Benintendi (wrist) is a significant loss, even though he arrived after the Yanks’ hot start. DJ LeMahieu is, too, because he can play but is hampered at the plate by a toe issue that will not go away until the offseason. This is a very big deal. He’s here, but not really.

Anthony Rizzo (back; headache) is another component of the team’s once-balanced lineup that is now limited. And Stanton, hitting everything on the ground since returning from the IL with an Achilles injury, was hopping around in the middle of his sixth-inning at-bat Monday after twice fouling a ball off his foot. He departed for a pinch-hitter in the eighth, and while X-rays were negative, Aaron Boone did not know if Stanton would be able to play Tuesday.

Maybe several of these players will become healthy in time to lead the team through October. As it stands now, one wonders if the season has been irrevocably derailed by injuries.

Some players disagreed with roster decisions

It is always foolish to generalize a "feeling in the clubhouse," when said clubhouse is comprised of more than two dozen individuals -- but in some corners of the room, players grumble about what they perceive as too much of a focus by the front office on tuning up for October at the expense of winning in August and September.

A few examples: The decision to trade Jordan Montgomery because he wasn’t expected to crack the postseason rotation in exchange for an injured Harrison Bader; the decision to push Severino to the 60-day injured list; the decision to option Ron Marinaccio to Triple-A for roster reasons.

A rational explanation exists for each of these moves, especially with the massive divisional lead that the Yanks once enjoyed. But it’s a fact that some players felt a deceleration from above, and objected to it -- even if it’s easy to apply a narrative in retrospect, after all the losing that happened after those decisions.

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The clubhouse still supports Boone, whose comments are becoming more pointed

Oftentimes when a team struggles, players grumble about the manager. And while no boss is universally beloved, the Yankees do appear to maintain their appreciation for Boone’s passionate engagement.

“He’s wearing it as much as any of us,” one Yankee said, noting that players tend to assume that the front office, not the manager, is behind the unpopular moves listed above.

One shift in Boone’s style is becoming apparent: His public comments, typically positive to a fault, are becoming far more blunt and pointed. This is clearly not an accident or coincidence.

On Saturday, Boone called the Yankees' loss "embarrassing." He also offered the rather startling quote, "If we don’t dig ourselves out, you’ll have a great story to write." Not long ago, he pounded his fist on a table during a news conference.

That latter act might have been performative, but that’s part of the point. Boone is using his public platform to prod the clubhouse, a noticeable change in strategy.

That Astros series in June left a mark

On the night of June 23, the Yankees defeated Houston on a Judge walk-off hit to improve to 52-18. The imagination ran wild with what it meant: The Yanks were finally able to bully the Astros; they had recaptured the spirit of 1998.

Two days later, three Astros pitchers no-hit the Yankees. The next day, it nearly happened again before the Yanks came back. Ever since, I’d wondered if that weekend had punctured the Yankees' confidence, or shifted the vibe in some ineffable way. Stupid, right? A writer would try to manufacture that sort of narrative.

On Monday, though, I ran it by two Yankees, who didn’t find it ridiculous. "Shocking," was how one remembered the no-hitter more than two months later. Season-changing, though? We shall see.

There are reasons for deep concern, there are spots of optimism -- and there is still time for this story to conclude in any number of ways.

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